Learn how you can get, set up, and access iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, or even a web browser like Chrome or Safari.
iCloud is Apple’s service that store your contacts, reminders, photos, passwords, backups, and more in the cloud and seamlessly make them available on all your devices.
If you’ve recently bought your first iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you might wonder how to set up and access iCloud. Let us begin by telling you a bit more about iCloud, its requirements, and then the steps to enable and use iCloud on Apple and non-Apple platforms.
Why you may want to set up iCloud?
iCloud is the adhesive that binds all your Apple devices together and ensures your data syncs wirelessly. As mentioned, you can use iCloud to store and sync photos, videos, device backups, passwords, files, contacts, calendar events, reminders, notes, messages, and more.
Your iCloud data is encrypted. And thanks to two-factor authentication, only you can access it on trusted devices and browsers.
Additionally, you can use iCloud to share stuff like photos, photo albums, notes, files, shortcuts, and more with family members, friends, and colleagues.
With iCloud Tabs, you can see opened web pages from one Apple device on another. For instance, if you have opened idownloadblog.com in Safari on Mac, you will see it in Safari on your iPhone and iPad. iCloud also ensures your Safari bookmarks, Reading Lists, and more are up to date on all your devices.
iCloud Drive is similar to Google Drive, One Drive, and Dropbox. You can store almost all kinds of files safely in it. Plus, third-party iOS apps can also save their data here. For instance, WhatsApp keeps your chat backups in iCloud Drive.
Finally, you also get a free @iCloud email that you can use like any other email.
Additionally, if you pay and upgrade to iCloud+, you get premium services like Hide My Email, Private Relay, and HomeKit Secure Video support.
In short, iCloud is one of the essential things to set up on your Apple devices. And it is effortless to do that, as shown below.
Requirements for getting iCloud
iCloud offers lots of features, and many of them require a specific version of iOS or macOS. For instance, Account Recovery Contacts is available only if you are on iOS 15 or later. Shared Notes require iOS 9 or later. iCloud Drive is available on iOS 8 and later. For iCloud Drive folder sharing, you must have iOS 13.4 or later. And so on.
Therefore, we can say that as things progress and new iCloud features are added, they require modern versions of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. But in general, if you are on the latest version of iOS, you should have everything currently offered.
That all being said, to use iCloud (and at least its initial core features), you need:
- An Apple ID
- Internet connection
- iOS 5 or later on iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (3rd gen), and later
- Any iPad, as even the first iPad released in 2010, supports iOS 5
- Mac running OS X Lion 10.7.5 or later
- PC running Windows 7 or later
Set up and get iCloud on iPhone and iPad
When you buy a new iPhone or set up one after erasing it, you are encouraged to sign in using your Apple ID. Once you do that, it automatically sets up iCloud and switches on the default options.
However, if you skipped doing that while setting up your device. Or, if you just want to ensure whether iCloud is active on your iPhone or not, here are the steps to do that.
1) Open the Settings app, and on the top, you should see Sign in to your iPhone. Tap it and sign in using your Apple ID. After that, follow the next steps. If you see your name instead of Sign in to your iPhone, that means you are already signed in. Just follow the steps below to ensure the desired iCloud services are set up.
2) Tap iCloud.
3) You have several options here. Tap See All to view everything.
4) After that, turn on the switch for the services you want to use. For some options, you may have to enable options called Use on this iPhone or Sync this iPhone.
5) Additionally, after you enable iCloud Drive, you can see apps that are syncing to iCloud Drive. You can allow or deny these apps to save data to iCloud Drive.
And that’s about it. You have successfully set up iCloud on your iPhone or iPad. To access them, open the respective apps. As an example, let’s say you enabled iCloud contacts in step 4 above. Now, you can access all your iCloud contacts in the Phone or Contacts app. Plus, from now on, when you add a contact or delete one, it will update in iCloud. If you set up iCloud on your other iPhone or iPad, it will sync everything and every change on them as well.
Use iCloud on Mac
When you power on your new or erased Mac, the Setup Assistant asks you to sign in using Apple ID, which also enables iCloud. But if you did not do that, here’s how to set up iCloud on your MacBook, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, Mac Studio, or another macOS computer.
1) Click the Apple icon from the top left and choose System Settings.
2) In System Settings:
- On modern macOS versions, you will see an option to Sign in to your Apple ID. Use your Apple ID to sign in and then follow the next steps.
- If you see your name, it means you are already signed in. In this case, click Apple Account and follow the next steps.
3) Click iCloud and turn on the desired services. The fundamentals for this are similar to iPhone and iPad explained above.
You have successfully set up iCloud on your Mac. To use the enabled services, open the respective app. For example, if you enabled Notes in step 3, you will find all your iCloud notes in Mac’s Notes app. Plus, the new notes you create here will be saved to iCloud and be available on other devices and even the web.
Access iCloud on Windows PC
After you set up iCloud on your Windows PC, you can access the photos, contacts, calendar, files, etc., stored in it. Here’s how to do that.
1) Download and install iCloud from the Microsoft Store.
2) Restart your PC.
3) Open iCloud for Windows and sign in to iCloud using the Apple ID you have on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
4) Check which services you want to enable.
5) Finally, click Apply.
You have successfully set up iCloud on your Windows PC. Now, you should see folders for the compatible enabled services in Windows File Explorer. For instance, if you enabled iCloud Drive, you will see its folder in File Explorer. Same for iCloud Photos. The files or photos you add to these folders on your PC will sync and show on your Apple devices.
Access iCloud in a web browser
You can also use iCloud in Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, or Safari to see, add, edit, download, or delete certain things like contacts, notes, photos, etc.
1) Visit iCloud.com and sign in using your Apple ID. If you are using Safari, you may see an option to sign in by Touch ID, Face ID, or by entering your device passcode instead of Apple ID details.
2) Choose one of the app or services here.
3) Additionally, iCloud on the web also lets you see Account Settings. You can manage several options here. It even enables you to restore recently deleted files, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks.
On iPhone, you can sign in to iCloud web, but it won’t show all the options. Plus, on some Android phones, you can force sign in to iCloud using the desktop mode, but the experience may be poor and unusable.
Now you know how to get iCloud, set it up, and access it on different devices. Usually, it is a “do once and forget it” kind of thing. You set it up, and it will store and sync everything on your Apple devices.
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