How do I get rid of iCloud?

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Level 1

6 points

How do I get rid of iCloud?

How do I get rid of iCloud? I really can't handle the stress of dealing with it. I upgraded to 2TB paid version a year ago as I though this will be a convenient way of storing my files.

Oh how wrong I was!

Firstly, it took more than a month to back up the files. Then, I grew anxious with my files missing from computer and I tried to remove the "optimizer" option just to realize that all files are now gone ( on computer and in cloud). I checked the YT on some tips and started to recover files by synching with cloud, it took me another 2 months and I don't even know if it is complete ( the dial never gets to full circle). At least, I can now see files on iCloud. But there is no option do download all! The most I can do is in batches of 1000. I have nearly 100k files! So, I bought a large portable disk and trying to download all files in batches. It only does it as zip folders and after I downloaded about a half, I realized that most of these folders won't unzip as files have been corrupted during the download. I really hate iCloud by now. It added so many gray hairs to me and wasted weeks of my time when I could actually be productive. I now am terrified to change any settings in iCloud until I download all files. In the midst of all this, I've been locked out of my apple account multiple times and it took days to recover the account because my login is tied to ipad which died years ago. Apple does a great disservice to it's loyal customers. I used to be one of the very first users with a bubble iMac and then with the 1st ever iPad ( that one which had no camera). Now, I can't wait until I totally migrate away from apple. Dell is fine, HP is fine, Windows is not good but usable, Linux is fine. Anything but not Apple. If anyone know how to escape this Apple trap please share your experience.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Jul 30, 2024 5:49 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

muguy

Level 10

82,519 points

Jul 31, 2024 4:15 AM in response to Danonmoon

The cloud status is an available column to view in finder. Right click on the column headings. The status will also appear in most views as an icon. If you enable optimize and then drag a file (optimized) to a location that does not sync (external drive) the file is downloaded automatically as part of the copy process.

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Answer 2

muguy

Level 10

82,519 points

Jul 30, 2024 7:53 AM in response to Danonmoon

Anything that you sync to iCloud is also on your device. If you enable optimize, then, and only then, may some files offload to iCloud only status. If you have more files than space on your Mac, you’ll find your hard drive either filling constantly or other behavior. If you’re syncing your Mac, your files will be in finder and you can offload from there an external drive or other location.

if you’re logged into your Mac with the same Apple ID, you should not have issues with regaining access to your account.

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Answer 3

Kurt Lang

Level 9

62,190 points

Jul 30, 2024 7:57 AM in response to Danonmoon

The only thing I use iCloud for is to have Find My on for my devices. I have no use for it otherwise as I can back up my files all by myself to an external drive. And other than a power outage, they're always available no matter what happens outside of my home.

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Answer 4

muguy

Level 10

82,519 points

Jul 31, 2024 5:04 AM in response to Danonmoon

You can only download 1,000 files at a time using a browser. You can install iCloud for Windows and have all of your documents sync to your PC then move to a drive. Personally, I would either turn optimize back on or offload the largest files first. Then, as space frees, turn off optimize.

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Answer 5

Danonmoon Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 30, 2024 2:33 PM in response to muguy

Thanks for your reply. The weird thing about Apple is that everything is deliberately not user-friendly. Even this post, for me to reply to, I had to jump through the hoops to find my own post ( and I couldn't), so I can only find it via gmail and reply to your message.

Regarding the iCloud, the issue really starts when you disable the optimize function. After doing so, you really have no way of knowing if the files are back in your computer ( at least I couldn't figure out how to see if all files have returned ). And you could dismiss my claims if I was someone who doesn't deal much with computers; however, I've been coding in Basic since mid 80th and used Mac, PC and Linux daily since. I just find that everything turned weird with Apple after they ingrained iTunes into every aspect of their product. I understand, this is marketing, but, c'mon, don't destroy your legacy and dump cr*p on people just because you have a huge market share.

Yeah, I was still logged in on Mac, but there's not much I can do with it as it is constantly freezes due to sync with iCloud. So, I am trying to download from iCloud using my PC and portable drive.

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Answer 6

Danonmoon Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 31, 2024 4:42 AM in response to muguy

Thanks. I know what you are saying, that little cloud icon next to files and folders in finder. It says 'downloaded', the issue, however, is that "get info" for iCloud drive in finder returns 600GB, while iCloud shows 1TB used out of 2TB space. Thus, Idk where the 400GB gone missing. My optimize function is disabled and I don't have the courage to enable it again and deal with the havoc once more.

At the moment, I'm trying to download all cloud files using my PC and portable drive, but its a sketchy process as apple won't let downloading more than 1000 files at a time, and the downloads are in zip format which often doesn't unzip. Any idea how to download the entire Cloud in one go?

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Answer 7

Danonmoon Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 31, 2024 8:15 AM in response to muguy

Thanks for the suggestion. I have downloaded the iCloud for Windows. It seems very straightforward. The issue however is still the same: Syncing.

Why there's no simple two-way communication with iCloud as one would expect. Why there's no download or upload option. I don't want "syncing" my entire computer to iCloud. I selected to only sync photos and it's now uploading my computer photos on iCloud while I only wanted to download from iCloud.

Apple is really, really convoluted. idk why they make it this hard. Must be a good revenue source for them as I keep paying while trying to figure this out.

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Answer 8

muguy

Level 10

82,519 points

Jul 31, 2024 8:32 AM in response to Danonmoon

Syncing is syncing. iCloud is primarily a synchronization service. It will upload and download so that your entire collection is available in iCloud and on all connected devices same with any files you place into iCloud You cannot only elect to download or upload; it's all or nothing. If you wish to not have items sync, you need to move the files into a location that does not sync.

You might be overcomplicating things by turning sync on/off and using multiple devices. The easiest thing by far is to simply move any files that you do not wish to sync out of folders that sync. If you have not enabled desktop and documents to sync, you can drag files there. If you have enabled those locations to sync, you can drag files into a top level folder or disable desktop and documents (if disabled, the files move into iCloud Drive only and you get new desktop and documents folders on the Mac). If you device is full, you may need to first free space by moving your largest files.

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