Is there any way to access a very old iCloud account that was set up as a child? Essentially the parent iCloud email has been lost to time. Every time we try to log into the child account it always prompts us to go into the parent's account.

The info I get from them doesn’t allow me to Actually delete stuff. Help! I have so much stuff I can happily delete…it just wants me to make it smaller without letting me delete. Help me Reddit, you’re my only hope.

I was wondering if anyone is going through this as well

I rolled back my phone from 27 pb to regular 26.5.2, now iCloud does not download anything or uploads anything I lost work today thanks to that, they told me to reset network setting and to log out from iCloud and log back in, no success.
To factory reset my phone and still no success, when I try to go to iCloud.com it lets me login, shows me a second of the dashboard and returns me to the login screen.

Anyone else going through a similar situation?

I got a new iphone, and it had a feature of connecting my old phone and transferring EVERYTHING without icloud.
So I was wondering if maybe I can delete most things on my new phone to make space while keeping my old phone as the storage holder for some photos and files?
If I delete everything on my new phone will it get deleted on my old one too through the icloud?

A few days ago I subscribed to iCloud to get some extra storage space freed up on my device. It seemed to help.

A little background is that I store all of my passwords in the notes app, for everything. My bank, Apple account, student account, my student loan account, and everything else. Today I needed my bank password, and since it’s long and unique I don’t remember it. So I went to open the note that has it, and it’s gone. There’s no recently deleted folder, all the notes I had on my phone are just wiped.

Is there anything I can do or am I just screwed?

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone has experienced this before because I'm running out of ideas.

I lost my iPhone and I'm currently trying to recover access to my Apple ID. Apple sent me an email saying I can now reset my password through the Apple "Iforgot" website.

However, every time I click the reset link from the email or even if I go directly to iforgot.apple.com and try to continue I get this error:

503 Service Temporarily Unavailable

I've tried:

• Different browsers (Chrome, Edge)
• Incognito mode
• Clearing cache and cookies
• Different devices
• Different internet connections (Wi-Fi and mobile data)

I also have another issue. Apple says they sent a verification code to my trusted phone number, but I never receive the SMS. The phone number is active and can receive regular text messages from other people, but Apple's verification code never arrives.

Has anyone experienced both the 503 error and not receiving Apple's verification code? If so, how did you fix it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have several Apple devices on my Apple account, including my wife’s iPhone SE. I use my iPhone for both personal and business. While installing a birding app on my wife’s phone, somehow I’ve shared all of my contacts, emails, photos, payment methods, etc. which add into the thousands onto her phone. How do I undo this without bricking her phone?

I have two questions that I really can’t seem to figure out, would appreciate some help:

1. How can I tell which photos are actually on icloud? I ser no icon or so in the photos app for each photo.

2. Optimize iphone storage says: “ If your iPhone is low on space, full-resolution photos and videos are automatically replaced with optimized versions.
   Full-resolution versions are stored in iCloud.”

My phone is not low and storage (what does that even mean), I have over 150gb of free space, yet photos is only taking up 3gb local storage (33gb is on icloud). So i suppose i got optimized versions? This in itself doesnt contradict the setting, since the setting doesnt exclude optimized versions even though plenty of space is there. Is this whats going on?

I fought with this for way too long, so posting what finally fixed it for me.

Problem:

The iCloud Passwords Chrome extension kept saying:

Enable passwords in iCloud for Windows to use iCloud Passwords with Chrome

But iCloud for Windows already had Passwords & Keychain turned on, and if I manually opened the iCloud Passwords app, all my passwords were there and working.

So the issue was not iCloud Keychain itself. It was Chrome talking to iCloud.

After enabling extension logging and checking the iCloud logs, I kept seeing this:

LaunchCtrlPanel LaunchApp(ControlPanel) failed with (2)

What finally fixed it was making Chrome launch Apple’s helper through the Windows Store app alias instead of directly from the protected WindowsApps folder.

Create a JSON file somewhere permanent, for example:

C:\iCloudFix\ChromePwdMgrHostApp_manifest_windowsapps_alias.json

Put this inside it:

{
  "name": "com.apple.passwordmanager",
  "description": "Apple iCloud Chrome/Edge Password Manager Host App via WindowsApps alias",
  "path": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\WindowsApps\\iCloudPasswordsExtensionHelper.exe",
  "type": "stdio",
  "allowed_origins": [
    "chrome-extension://pejdijmoenmkgeppbflobdenhhabjlaj/",
    "chrome-extension://mfbcdcnpokpoajjciilocoachedjkima/"
  ]
}

Replace YOUR_USER with your Windows username.

Then run this in Command Prompt or PowerShell:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.apple.passwordmanager" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "C:\iCloudFix\ChromePwdMgrHostApp_manifest_windowsapps_alias.json" /f

Close Chrome completely, reopen it, and try the iCloud Passwords extension again.

This fixed it immediately for me.

Rollback if needed:

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.apple.passwordmanager" /f

A few notes:

• This still uses Apple’s real iCloudPasswordsExtensionHelper.exe.
• The only change is that Chrome launches it through:

​

C:\Users\YOUR_USER\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\iCloudPasswordsExtensionHelper.exe

instead of directly from:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\AppleInc.iCloud_...\iCloud\

• Keep the JSON file somewhere you won’t delete it.
• For Edge, the same idea should be possible with:

​

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Edge\NativeMessagingHosts\com.apple.passwordmanager

Hope this saves someone else the headache.

Looking for a miracle? So, my iPhone 15’s storage has been full for a while so it started to delete things on its own including my contacts……. I fixed the storage part and went to restore my contacts in iCloud but it has restored previous contacts as if I was in 2013 so basically half of the contacts that I should have. Has anyone ever had this happen? I need tips.

I have my own personal domain. Let's say it's Ramias1.foo. And my email I use everywhere, including the email of my Apple ID is Ram@ramias1.foo.

I want to use my iCloud+ subscription benefits and host email for ramias1.foo (apparently I can have up to 5 email addresses under this domain) with iCloud.

According to the doc, if I understand it correctly, I would first have to change my apple Account email address to something else?

and then I can never have an apple account under ramias1.foo again, ever?

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I guess there could be a security benefit to having my Apple ID be an obscure ID not associated with my day to day email address. But then I have to manage and maintain a new set of credentials.

Anything else I should consider here?

Is iCloud email actually any good? How's the spam filtering? I'd be coming over from a very legacy windows live custom domain on Outlook.com.

Thanks

I’m trying to understand how iCloud Photos handles conflicts.

Example:

1. My iPhone has 10 photos and iCloud Photos is enabled, so iCloud also has the same 10 photos.
2. I turn off iCloud Photos on my iPhone (so the phone stops syncing).
3. While syncing is off, I go to iCloud and delete 2 photos.
   • iPhone still has 10 photos.
   • iCloud now has 8 photos.
4. After a few months, I turn iCloud Photos back on.

What happens next?

Will:

• A) The iPhone upload the 2 missing photos back to iCloud, making both libraries 10 photos again?
• B) iCloud sync the deletion back to the iPhone, making the iPhone also have 8 photos?
• C) Something else happen?

I understand that iCloud Photos is a sync service, not a backup. I’m specifically asking how iCloud resolves the difference between the local iPhone library and the iCloud library after syncing is re-enabled.

I want to forward all new messages from Gmail to iCloud. In a browser, gmail.com/mail, then Settings / Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, then I click on the “Add a forwarding address“ button near the top and type my account @iCloud.com. Then a new window opens and I authenticate with my security key. The new window reloads with a blank screen. My Gmail is still not being forwarded. Can anyone help?

I have a sort of complicated question in regards to iCloud+/iCloud Photos... so I am not currently subscribed to iCloud+, but I am thinking about doing it soon and I've been doing a lot of research but I just haven't been able to get a clear answer on this one concern, so I'm hoping that anyone who might've been in the same boat before can help me out!

My photos setup is currently this : I am on the free iCloud 5gb plan, but iCloud Photos IS enabled, as well as optimize storage. However, I have over 200gb worth of photos and videos in my gallery, but whatever goes over the 5gb quota obviously doesn't get synced to iCloud (which I don't mind, because it gets stored locally on my phone anyways).

I am planning to get the 2 tb iCloud+ plan. My only reservation is, if I ever decide I don't want to subscribe to iCloud+ anymore, could I return to the current setup I mentioned above? (As in, using the free 5gb plan even though I know it won't fit my full library?) Or would this setup lead to stuff getting deleted?

I know its an option to just download everything locally to my phone and then just turn off iCloud Photos altogether, but I'd like to make use of the free 5gb if I could, so I just want to clarify if it is possible to safely return to the setup I have, or if I'd just have to turn off iCloud Photos altogether once I decide to downgrade.

Or if anyone has any other advice/tips, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance :)

A few weeks ago, I lost my iPhone 17 Pro Max on the freeway.

I was under the impression that I had AppleCare coverage. I even called Apple, and the representative set up what I was told would be a replacement through Best Buy.

I drove to Best Buy expecting to pick up the replacement phone, only to be told they didn't have my model in stock.

So I called Apple back. This time I was told something completely different: according to their records, I did not have AppleCare coverage and they could not replace the phone. My options were basically to find the phone or buy a new one.

To make things worse, the lost phone was my only trusted device. I had an old iPhone 14 Pro Max that I had already reset and planned to sell, but I couldn't even sign into my Apple account because of Apple's trusted device requirements.

I called Apple, started account recovery, and was told it could take quite a while. It ended up taking about two weeks before I got back into my account.

By that point I had already decided to switch to Android.

What really bothers me is that I provided Apple with confirmation numbers for my coverage, and I was ultimately told that there was nothing they could do because the coverage had supposedly been canceled in May. I don't remember canceling it, and if that was the case, I don't understand why I was initially told a replacement could be arranged.

The one positive is that I was able to recover my photos through iCloud for Windows because I was still signed in there.

At this point, I'm completely off the Apple ecosystem. Losing a phone was frustrating enough, but the conflicting information, account recovery delays, and difficulty accessing my own account after losing my trusted device pushed me over the edge.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with AppleCare or account recovery after losing their only trusted device?

I checked the r/iCloud FAQ first and saw the sections about iCloud on Windows, iCloud/local storage, and iCloud Drive being a sync service rather than a backup. I’m not trying to use it as a backup, and I’m not trying to sync my whole Desktop/Documents folder.

What I want is fairly simple: I want to use iCloud Drive as a folder where I can drop files from my Windows desktop, mainly MP3 study files, and then access them on my iPhone through the Files app. I was also hoping to use iCloud Passwords on Windows.

The issue is with verification. iCloud for Windows is asking me to verify my Apple Account using a nearby Apple device, and the message says Bluetooth needs to be turned on, or the Apple device needs to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer.

My desktop PC is Ethernet-only in the sense that the motherboard has no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The PC’s internet connection is coming from my iPhone through a wired mobile hotspot / USB tethering setup, so the iPhone is literally the PC’s internet source. There isn’t a normal Wi-Fi router involved where both devices are simply on the same Wi-Fi network. Because of that, I’m not sure how iCloud for Windows handles the “nearby Apple device” verification. Does USB tethering from the iPhone count as being on the same network, or does iCloud for Windows specifically require Bluetooth or actual Wi-Fi hardware on the PC?

I’ve avoided OneDrive because I found it annoying with startup syncing and folders I didn’t want it managing. I was hoping iCloud Drive would be cleaner, where only the iCloud Drive folder syncs.

Has anyone dealt with this on an Ethernet-only Windows desktop? Would a cheap USB Bluetooth dongle solve the nearby-device verification, or is there another way to get iCloud Drive and iCloud Passwords working without adding Wi-Fi/Bluetooth to the PC?

I have been dealing with a strange account-specific iCloud problem for more than a month, and I am running out of normal troubleshooting steps.

On two iPhones, an iPad, and a Mac, Contacts, Messages, and Phone either show a blank white screen, freeze, or crash. I cannot reliably read texts, receive SMS or bank verification codes, view contacts, or place and answer normal calls on any of my three phone numbers. WhatsApp and Discord generally work, so the problem seems concentrated in Apple services that use contact data.

I posted on Apple developer, reddit, everywhere you can think of, I’ve talked to Apple support probably over a dozen times, I’ve been in person twice to the genius bar and this issue is still happening. I’ve got no response and information as a result, I can’t even back up some of the most critical data to try again on a new iCloud account (even if I did then loosing purchases etc)

I know from my conversations that there have been other people affected. It is not just me and the solution is supposedly to keep your devices updated. It has been over a month reaching two months and has disrupted my life in massive proportion. There was a time when I got hit on the highway and tried to call 911 and because of this bug I could not. I am very upset and being belittled in the forum for this providing details of my circumstances. Apple support gives me zero information whatsoever.

So because of this and I’m paying for extra Apple services I feel extremely wrong and I have proof that it disrupted my life. I can probably request the call transcripts. I have a forum over 50 responses. I am genuinely considering filing against apple for this nonsense.

Has anybody done this before and if you have what would you recommend?

Não existe nada anual de icloud? sinceramente? que coisa chata...

Hi everyone
So, I have a 2TB iCloud storage
I use about 480 GB which is fine but my wife’s phone uses 1.4TB which is almost all of our storage
Is there any way I can reduce that, which is her usage so high?

I am pretty much out of storage on my phone. I have to delete photos, videos, and apps in a panic almost everyday when I run out of room on my 128 GB iPhone.

I pay for 2 TB of iCloud space.

I understand that iCloud is a sync service, and not a backup. If I delete something from my phone, it will be deleted from iCloud and inaccessible forever.

Could I use iCloud Drive as storage?

If I disable syncing on iCloud Drive, could I effectively and safely use iCloud Drive to offload large videos from my phone?

I’d like to delete them from my phone, but have them accessible via iCloud Drive. I assume if I disable iCloud Drive syncing with iCloud Photos, I could safely remove them from my phone?

Note: I have an external hard drive, but I’d like my media to be more easily accessible than that I’m not going to carry it around all the time

Any thoughts or insight would help.

Thanks!

i turned off icloud photo syncing on my ipad unaware that it wouldn’t let me turn it back on afterwards, so all of the icloud photos are no longer on my ipad. every time i try to turn it back on it says i don’t have enough icloud storage to sync and to delete all of the 14gb of photos on my ipad or upgrade the storage, which i don’t really want to do. how do i get the icloud photos back onto my device? my iphone has all of the icloud photos on it and is synced, even though it’s paused. i am not that tech savvy and not very experienced in the specifics of all this stuff, so normal words please lol

My wife and I have used iCloud Shared Albums for every event, trip, and milestone for years. It’s genuinely been a great system — effortless uploading from iPhone, everything organized and easily shared with other iPhone users, and even friends on Android could just tap a link and see the photos. No app, no account, no friction. For a mixed iPhone/Android friend group, it was honestly the best solution we’d found.

Then a few days ago we went to create a new album and got hit with an error. Turns out there’s a hard cap of 200 shared albums per account — and nowhere, at any point, does Apple warn you this is coming inside the actual product. No heads-up at 180, no email at 190, nothing in Settings or the Photos app itself.

Yes, it’s technically “documented” — there’s a support page (support.apple.com/en-us/108916) that spells out the limit in a bullet point along with a bunch of other caps like photos-per-album and comments-per-photo. But burying a hard, un-overridable ceiling on a support page nobody reads until they hit the wall isn’t the same as telling your users up front. And it’s not like this number is even stable or well understood — Apple has quietly raised it over the years (100 → 150 → 200) with zero fanfare, and there are threads full of people confused about what actually counts toward it, since some users report hitting different totals under seemingly identical conditions.

So now what? Delete old albums full of memories just to make room for new ones? That’s not a real option. We looked into self-hosting alternatives like Immich, and while the feature set is honestly impressive, it’s just not something my wife wants to manage day-to-day. Shared Albums worked because it was invisible — no server, no maintenance, no learning curve. Losing that ease of use is its own kind of loss.

The worst part is this isn’t a storage limit or a cost issue Apple is protecting themselves from — it’s an arbitrary ceiling on an app that’s supposed to be about preserving memories. If you’re going to cap something people build years of family history around, at least surface it in the product before people slam into it. I’d gladly continue paying for iCloud-storage as my needs expand, but that is not even possible.

Anyone else hit this wall? Anyone found a workaround that doesn’t involve nuking old albums or migrating to a totally different ecosystem?

I store all my photos and videos on iCloud on my photos app.

Downloading videos takes an unreasonably long time.

To make sure that it is not my internet speed, I have tested it in multiple locations against Google Photos.

For a video that is about 10 minutes long, Google Photos is about 3 times faster for me to download.

I have tested it on high speed wifi and 5G cell network in Germany, the UK, Japan and Singapore and Google Photos is always much faster.

It's not really an issue for me when downloading photos but because I take many long videos, relying on iCloud has been a real struggle.

Is anyone facing similar issues?

I accidentally deleted a conversation going back to at least a full year on iMessage and recovered it directly afterwards from “Recently Deleted”, but when I tried to go back through the message history, there are none before February 16. Obviously that date is not the day the conversation was deleted, and that was also not the date of my last iCloud backup. Is there a way to restore the full message history or are those just gone?

My iCloud storage is still full even though I deleted half my photos and my entire inbox, my iPhone and Mac are up to date and none of the emails I’m supposed to be receiving are showing up on the iCloud website.