How to Access iCloud that Apple Never Told You
Last Updated on January 13, 2023 by Jason BeniCloud is a truly powerful service provided by Apple. Once you turn on iCloud, All Data will be uploaded to cloud and you can access them anywhere, such as your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or even your Windows and Mac.
What data does iCloud Sync? Wow, that is quite a long list.
I mean almost all your data will be uploaded to iCloud including Photos, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Notes, Safari Bookmarks, Home, Wallet, Game Center, Keychain and iCloud Backup.
You must notice that iCloud contains iCloud Backup. But what is the difference between iCloud and iCloud Backup? And what data does iCloud Backup includes?
iCloud Backup is just a partial feature of iCloud. iCloud Backup includes data as below:
- App data
- Apple Watch backups
- Call Log history
- Device settings
- HomeKit configuration
- Home screen and app organization
- iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages
- Photos and videos on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (if you turn on iCloud Photo Library, your photos and videos are already uploaded to iCloud, so iCloud Backup will not have them.)
- Purchase history, like music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books
- Ringtones
- Visual Voicemail password (requires the SIM card that was in use during backup)
Access iCloud Backup on PC and Mac.
What is iCloud Drive?
iCloud Drive is very similar with Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox. You can store any type of data in iCloud Drive. And you will find them available on any devices including iOS Device, Windows and Mac as long as internet connection is valid.
How to Access iCloud Drive files
To access file in iCloud Drive is an easy job.
- Access iCloud Drive files at iCloud.com.
- On Mac: Go to iCloud Drive in Finder.
- On iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 11 or later, access iCloud Drive files from the Files app. On iOS 9 or iOS 10, you can access them from the iCloud Drive app.
- On your PC with Windows 7 or later, install iCloud for Windows, you can access iCloud from pc with iCloud Drive in File Explorer.
How to Access iCloud
Once you have iCloud turned on, all data mentioned above will be uploaded to iCloud and distributed to all your iOS Devices and Mac. So, you can access iCloud files from all those devices. And you can access them at iCloud.com. If you could not find iCloud files on your device, please check the list as below:
- Make sure that you have turned on iCloud on your device;
- Make sure that you have logged in iCloud with the same Apple ID among those devices;
- Make sure that the data source device has valid internet connection.
How to Access iCloud Backup
iCloud Backup is the last remedy for iPhone data lost. If you want to access files in iCloud Backup you can only restore your iPhone from iCloud Backup, which will remove all data that generated after the Backup made. What if you just want to get some files out from that iCloud Backup without restoring the whole backup? Here I will show you how to access iCloud backup on PC or Mac.
In the following steps, we will download the whole iCloud Backup package to PC and extract data from the Backup file with an iCloud Backup Downloader – iMyFone D-Back.
Step 1 Download and Install D-Back on your Windows or Mac.
Step 2 Launch D-Back and select Recover from iCloud Backup on the left navigation menu.
Step 3 Click Start button and Select those file types that you want to recover by ticking the boxes below file icons. Confirm your selection and click Next button on the bottom-left.
Step 4 Sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID.
Step 5 All your iCloud Backups will be listed in a table with date and file size, just select to download one that most likely contains files that you want.
Step 6 Wait patiently when the program is downloading iCloud Backup and analyzing your backup afterwards. When everything is done you are free to preview all data in the backup and even pick some to export to your PC for local backup or sharing.
Access iCloud Backup on PC and Mac.
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