What are /r/iCloud's favorite Products & Services?

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Not sure if I am going to be of any help here, but here goes.

I have a MBP that is my primary work machine. That MBP backs up my Documents, Desktop and Downloads to iCloud. I have a MBA, which is a backup laptop, should something happen to the MBP. Well, something did; it needed to go to Apple for repairs.

So, having backed everything up to iCloud that I needed, from my MBP, I logged in to my MBA. I can access all the documents I need from iCloud, without having to replicate them. I can also save documents to iCloud as well.

I suppose that this is something similar to what you want or would like to do?

Additionally, I have setup Syncthing to backup from both the MBP and the MBA to another Windows computer. So, just in case I have a network issue, then I can access the files locally. Here's a good article about how someone else uses Syncthing. Apparently, with a little configuration, you can use Syncthing with iCloud. [Don't hold me to that though!]

So, anyway, whilst I can access my files from the MBP from the MBA, I decided not to tempt fate and setup the MBA to sync up with iCloud. I didn't know how this would actually work; which computer would take priority, if this was the case. If this were true, then I'd imagine that the one might wipe out the files of the other.

Apologies if this is not very helpful. It's just my experience, as is. I do hope it does help a little though.

I’ll be quick because I’m running late for work and I’m also on mobile. I’m trying to do the same and I think I know what the problem is:

1. Create or change your Apple ID. I changed mine from Gmail to iCloud. My main iCloud account. You cannot change this account and it’s best if you keep this one private as to avoid hacking. If no one ever knows this address or if it’s never on any mailing list, your changes of getting hacked are greatly reduced. Go to iCloud.com > Settings > Manage Apple ID
2. Create an email alias. This is the email you want to use. You can create up to three. There’s a seven day period of you create three, delete them and then try to create more. Important thing is that you cannot sing in into tour Apple things with this alias. So, can’t sing into iCloud, App Store etc. For that use your main iCloud account from step 1. Go to iCloud.com > Mail > Settings (gear icon bottom left) > Accounts > create alias
3. Moving from Gmail will take a long time. If you want to move all the emails, you will need a desktop service like outlook and lots of time. I chose not to do this. I might download them all to my PC later or something. iCloud doesn’t have all the filtering features (not as good anyway) that Gmail does. The easiest way is to forward tour Gmail to iCloud, it that defeats the purpose of google sniffing around. So you’ll have to do it on a case by case basis. When you get an email from somewhere, go to the site and change your email/login address. If you visit a website, review your account settings and change your email address. You might need to set rules and folders on iCloud manually to match the settings on gmail.
4. iCloud is as private as Gmail with the bonus of no company sniffing your email for data, but is not as secured as ProtonVPN.

Here is the best option.

https://www.fastmail.com/?mtm_campaign=private-email&mtm_source=googleads&mtm_medium=ppc&gclid=CjwKCAjww8mWBhABEiwAl6-2RSRwhn4nCzWGxVFK1DWyatB6Rtz_ociiKdhLHRJE2yz-L3bc4-TpGBoCG18QAvD_BwE

You can forward your iCloud to fastmail and also setup fastmail to send as iCloud works awesome. $5 month is worth it.

I use something called FreeFileSync to create a local copy of my iCloud Drive every time I boot my PC.

https://freefilesync.org/

It also has a addon called RealFileSync, which syncs file across two folders. So with that you could sync a file on your PC with one on your iCloud Drive.

First, make sure you are connected to your WiFi. If not, you’ll be uploading data using your cell phone plan’s data.

There can be many problems causing this:

Your Internet Service Provider

Depending on your home internet plan, you may have fast downloads and slow upload speeds. To check your current speed, go to https://www.speedtest.net/ For extra money, you’ll have to ask your ISP about other internet plan options where the speeds are equal.

Your Router

If personally bought a wireless router, it is important to not the data transfer speeds. It is usually displayed on the front of the box. If your internet was working probably before and recently has become slow, try rebooting/turn off and back on the router. (Also, it is worth mentioning to update your routers firmware. Google it.)

Hmmmm..... Why is my Local backup like 400 GB and Photos need to re-upload after a restore then?

Have just inspected my Encrypted Finder Backup from Yesterday with the latest version of iMazing 2.14.2. Yes Photos Downloaded Locally to the iPhone is included (Download and Keep Originals must be selected for this to include all Photos). This also applies to my other iCloud data like Calendar and Notes.

https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-extract-files-and-data-from-an-encrypted-iphone-backup

>But how do I get select things from my backup?

You can't.

What version iOS are you using? When did the problem start occurring? It could be this: https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_rushes_out_ios_112_to_fix_december_2_date_bug-news-28555.php

It's not about how strong your password is but how unique.

You could use a 100 character long password but if you use it multiple places it's only as strong as the weakest website. With websites getting breached all the time you're just spreading out your attack surface.

Change your password to something unique, something like this https://1password.com/password-generator/.

Yes! Appreciate the feedback. I was observing how icloud works and at the end I concluded that it is not a backup service but provides some functions.

Either way, I have been using wasabi cloud storage and bought arq backup software. End to End encryption before it leaves your network.

Arq and Wasabi have saved me a few times. I get to kick back from either but do like the service. $6/ month for 1TB - not bad at all.

Arq has a similar service if you do their subscription

Arq Backup

Wasabi Cloud Storage

Also, why not just use Arq cloud? I use cloud storage for several different things so wasabi gives me more flexibility.

Just take baby steps, start with a single hard drive and a good syncing tool. Rsync is great tool but can be a little complex, perhaps another tool like FreeFileSync can help sync/mirror your files. It’s available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

BTW, another tool that I find absolutely useful is PhotoSync. With it I am able to transfer photo/videos from iPhone/iPad to many target destinations (e.g. Mac). It also allows me to delete the photo/videos from mobile after copying and gives option to keep my favorites on phone (as tagged). Furthermore, you can specify a folder and file naming scheme during the transfer, you can have it auto-create folders by year and rename your files as you wish. This way you can have your family/daughter’s picture nicely stored and organized. Just a thought, I have 4 Kids and can relate how important it is to capture our Kids as they grow up! Wish you all the best!

MAC https://freefilesync.org/

iPhone/iPad https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photosync-transfer-photos/id415850124

Unfortunately they store your personal data if you use their push services:

> The only scenario in which we will temporarily store this data is if users of Canary Mail for iOS choose to enable Push notifications when they receive email. In that case, Canary will temporarily store your email address, credentials, sender, subject line, and first line of the message on our server. All data is cleared from our server when notifications are disabled on Canary Mail for iOS or when a user switches from using Push notifications to Fetch mode, in which case all data is stored on the device.

https://canarymail.io/privacy.html

Just wanted to follow up - I did have luck using ExpressVPN and indicating that I was in another country, this allowed me to log-in. However, you have to pay a monthly fee for the VPN, and obviously this isn't an ideal or permanent solution. Really hoping that iCloud resolves itself soon.