Audio files not working after uploading to iCloud Drive

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Level 1

11 points

Audio files not working after uploading to iCloud Drive

The other day I was working on a project with limited time and needed to quickly clear some space/storage on my computer to save the finished item. To free up some space, I transferred a folder of audio recordings from my documents to my iCloud Drive. After this project was done and I had more storage available on my computer again, I transferred the folder back but now none of the audio files will play.

I've tried opening them through the music app (default) as well as through Quicktime and VLC, but nothing happens when I click on them - it doesn't even automatically open these programs. If I hover over the icon within my documents and press the little play button that appears, it comes up with the loading icon (with the pause in the centre and the rotating circle) but doesn't actually start playing. When I opened the file in Books, it did appear as an audiobook but I couldn't play it. I've tried importing the audio into both Logic Pro and iMovie but neither would let me import the audio files saying that they couldn't be imported. I tried emailing one of them to myself but it didn't attach to the email. I've also tried duplicating the original files and then trying to open these - when I clicked on them it started up the music app, as usual, but never starts playing them. Additionally, when I tried copying and pasting the entire folder back into my iCloud Drive, the only item within the folders that copied across was this duplicate I made and not the other original files. Restarting my computer and relaunching Finder hasn't helped.

These files were a series of podcasts I downloaded ages ago and are no longer available on the internet so I really hope I haven't lost them. I was working my way through them and they were working fine when I last listened to one, probably a couple of weeks ago. I've tried opening both the file I next wanted to listen to, and ones that I've already played so I know they previously worked on this computer, but nothing is working. My other audio files on my computer are also still working fine, so I don't know if transferring them to the iCloud Drive and back somehow corrupted the files and has made them all unplayable, in which case is there any way to fix this? Or does it sound like another issue, and if so could anyone offer any possible solutions? Thanks

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on May 20, 2020 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

Leanne_68

Community Specialist

May 25, 2020 8:40 AM in response to abbie-13

Hi abbie-13,

Thanks for getting back to us with the additional information. The gray icon you're seeing does indicate that the folder or file hasn't been downloaded from iCloud Drive to your device:

How to download content from iCloud when using Optimized Storage

It doesn't sound like it would be possible to restore the files from a Time Machine backup at this point, however it could be a good idea to turn it on going forward. Since nothing is happening when you try to click to download the folder from iCloud Drive, I'd like to have you test what happens if you try to download the folder and play the audio files both in safe mode and another user account:

Keep us posted on the results.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

abbie-13 Author

Level 1

11 points

May 23, 2020 7:53 AM in response to raina_b22

Thank you for your response.

These recordings were in the file format .m4a. The folder currently says it's 942 KB for 218 items but I believe it was bigger before (I'm not sure of the size, but each recording is between 20 minutes and 2 hours so I can't imagine it would've been 942KB originally). To upload them to iCloud Drive I think I just moved the folder from Documents on my MacBook into the iCloud Drive. I have transferred other documents and media in this way before and never then had any problems accessing them through iCloud Drive, however I didn't check whether the audio files worked once they had been uploaded to iCloud Drive so I don't know if they stopped working at this point or once I transferred them back to my laptop. As it was a big transfer it seemed to take a while to upload so I just left that running in the background and after a few hours it appeared they'd uploaded properly. My iCloud has 50GB of storage and I don't recall anything saying I'd exceeded that when I moved the files across.

Something I have noticed is that in my iCloud Drive, a lot of the items have a little grey cloud with an arrow symbol next to them - does this mean that the items haven't fully downloaded into the drive? This symbol was also present next to the folder I moved across and the items within it, but when I clicked on it nothing happened. Is it possible that the files didn't upload properly so then all I transferred back to my computer is effectively their thumbnails?

I've just tried to use Time Machine but it seems it hasn't been set to automatically back up and so I can't go back in time to restore the files. If I turn it on now would that help at all since this issue has been recent or would it only start backing up from this point?

Thank you for your help so far, I hope the information I've provided might help in finding a solution/answer.

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Answer 3

raina_b22

Community Specialist

May 21, 2020 8:26 AM in response to abbie-13

Hello abbie-13,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities! I understand that some audio files are no longer playable after uploading them to iCloud Drive on your Mac. It sounds like you've already done some great steps to get these files to play, and I would be happy to help explore additional options to consider.

Could you tell us more about what type of file format these recordings were in? How large was the folder and what steps did you take to upload it to iCloud Drive? The "Store your files in iCloud and save space on your device" section in the resource below covers the steps you'll usually want to take in order to move files:

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

It's also important to note the following:

iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support

"What types of files can I store in iCloud Drive?

You can store any type of file in iCloud Drive, as long as it's 50GB or less in size and you don't exceed your iCloud storage limit. That means you can keep all of your work documents, school projects, presentations, and more up to date across all of your devices. Learn more about managing your iCloud storage.

You shouldn't store app folders, libraries, or .tmp files in iCloud Drive."

Based on what you've described, it is also possible that the recordings did not finish uploading to iCloud Drive before they were deleted from the Mac. If that's the case we'd want to look at restoring them from a Time Machine backup, if you have one available:

Use Time Machine to restore deleted files or older files - Apple Support

Let us know what you find.

Take care.

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Audio files not working after uploading to iCloud Drive

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