iCloud files "downloaded" to iPhone; How to keep them on the phone? How to remove them from the phone?

Question

iCloud files "downloaded" to iPhone; How to keep them on the phone? How to remove them from the phone?

Can anyone provide me with a thorough Apple support link that explains how to keep "downloaded" iCloud files on my iPhone if I want to, or remove the downloaded files from the iPhone if I want to? My phone is iPhone 8, iOS 12.4.1 I'm hoping that Apple has already explained all of this and it just a matter of me finding the content.

Here's the background:

I am going on an extended trip, where my WiFi availability will be spotty, the international data plan for my phone is too expensive and some of the areas won't have cell phone coverage. There are several files that I want to always have available on the phone so that I can refer to them, whether or not I am online. For simple info, I plan on just using Apple Notes. But there are some Excel spreadsheets and pdf files I will be needing.

And also, I want to be sure that my phone has the most possible storage available for photos & videos. I've done quite a bit of searching and haven't found a way to delete downloaded files off of my iPhone to free up space for future photos & videos

I currently store most of my work from my Mac in my Documents folder which is synced with iCloud. My current plan is to download the files to my phone before leaving on the trip. I've tried this for a few files and find that they are able to open when I set my phone to "Airplane" mode - go offline. So, that idea seems to work OK.

I do not know if the downloaded files will automatically sync between iCloud & iPhone whenever I am online, or if they will only sync when I try to open the file (truly unfortunate if I'm in the middle of the jungle).

I did notice when I was downloading my test files onto the phone that some of the files I had previously used on the phone still showed the "download" cloud icon. And of course they would not open without my being online. I'm not sure what to make of that situation. Maybe a file sync issue. Maybe an update on Excel for Mac. I know that I've had to log off and then back onto iCloud on my phone to clear up some other issues. Perhaps those files became disassociated with my phone?? But regardless, I don't want to find a month from now that I am offline and unable to open a file that I had downloaded to my iPhone for the specific purpose of having it available.

I located an online article that suggests there is no way to assure that the downloaded iCloud file stays on the iOS device. That when the file is opened, it stays on the device until the phone memory starts to be approached, at which time unused files on the device are deleted - rather an automatic process. But this information was not from Apple Support.

iPhone 8

Posted on Sep 13, 2019 7:40 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

stevenfrombellefontaine Author

Level 1

17 points

Sep 16, 2019 10:17 AM in response to Joseph_S.

Thank you for all of the pertinent Apple links. A lot of information.

Without answering my questions directly, the links provided me with enough info to choose solution paths for my situation. I was hoping for simple answers to my questions, but alas, the links didn’t show them.

It seems that for my situation, I just need to avoid the iCloud interface. It’s just too complicated to achieve my goals and still use iCloud for my normal day to day activities - which works just fine.

I'm hopeful that I can use my 3rd party phone apps (Readdle Documents, Acrobat & Excel) to save renamed files directly to my phone (not in iCloud). I still plan on keeping the base working file in iCloud with my travel copy being on the phone. I know there are some risks with that strategy, but I think I can manage it.

And as far as removing previously downloaded iCloud files is concerned, it seems my best bet is to first offload those files from iCloud to my Mac and then hope that when the phone syncs it removes the files (since they would no longer be on iCloud). Then I suppose I could put the files back into iCloud at which time the phone should show the files as needing download (cloud icon). Then I would need to be careful not to touch the file icon on the phone.

Thanks for your help.

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Answer 2

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Sep 15, 2019 7:43 AM in response to stevenfrombellefontaine

Hello stevenfrombellefontaine,

Thanks for asking about accessing files without access to the internet. Please be aware, when you delete something from the device, once you reconnect to the internet, the file will be removed from iCloud, and then your other devices. I recommend downloading the files, and using them, and once you reconnect online, the changes will update.

Here is an article to help with your iOS device, as well as the info about accessing files offline, with a link to another article: Access iCloud Drive files from your iPhone and other devices - Apple Support

"Manage your iCloud Drive files while offline

If you're offline and want to access, edit, and save documents in iCloud Drive, follow these steps first.

How to access files while you're offline

To access your files offline, open the Files app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and follow these steps.

If you make changes to locally stored versions of your files while offline the changes won't appear in iCloud Drive. Upload the updated versions of your files to iCloud Drive when you're back online."

Here is an article for files on your Mac computer: How to download content from the cloud when using Optimized Storage - Apple Support

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

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iCloud files "downloaded" to iPhone; How to keep them on the phone? How to remove them from the phone?

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