Files app on iOS always shows cloud and downward arrow icon

Question

Level 1

29 points

Files app on iOS always shows cloud and downward arrow icon

Hi guys, I'm running iOS 14 and have a few questions about the files app.

If I drag and drop files (documents, pictures etc) on my Mac to the iCloud drive, when I look at these files on my iPhone they have a cloud icon with a downward arrow. I know this means that the documents are held in the cloud and I need to click the arrow to download them. But, is this normal? If I drag and drop documents to Dropbox, they're instantly available on my iPhone.

Am I doing something wrong?

iPhone 11, iOS 14

Posted on Sep 25, 2020 2:18 AM

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Answer 1

zinacef

Level 10

88,720 points

Sep 29, 2020 9:36 AM in response to A1ps

You're not getting anything wrong as most folks don't realize that iCloud is not a cloud-based service like some of the third party options, e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. It is a syncing service which also happens to use on-device storage as well albeit a smaller footprint.

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Answer 2

A1ps Author

Level 1

29 points

Oct 1, 2020 7:07 AM in response to zinacef

Thank you. So, am I right in thinking that as iCloud is not a Cloud based service, all it is doing is taking me to my online iCloud account where I've stored my documents, and then when I click the Cloud icon, downloading these documents ONTO my phone?

If so, why call it iCloud?

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Answer 3

zinacef

Level 10

88,720 points

Sep 25, 2020 1:00 PM in response to A1ps

Yes, it's normal because if you wish to have access to those files on your device, you will need to download it by tapping on the symbol.

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Answer 4

A1ps Author

Level 1

29 points

Sep 29, 2020 2:33 AM in response to zinacef

Thank you zinacef. I thought that the whole purpose of having files in the Cloud is so that you don't need to store it on your phone hence you save storage space. If I have to download files from iCloud, surely that defeats the whole purpose. For example, if I store file on Dropbox, I have instant access to them without the need to download them or store them on my phone.

Or am I getting this all wrong. Sorry!

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