iCloud Drive folder is not syncing on my new M1 MacBook Air.

I am not able to see my iCloud Drive folders and files on the new laptop. I am signed into the same user in all devices. Changes I make in my other devices sync with each other without issue but just not with the new Mac. I just see my local folders in my iCloud Drive. (attached)

Similar issue with other apps. I can't see any iCloud files in Automator, Books, Preview etc. If I save a file to these apps, it does not get uploaded to my iCloud Drive.

My iCloud Drive is selected to sync.

The uploads are all stuck.

MacBook Air

Posted on Nov 23, 2020 12:51 AM

Top-ranking reply

slava185

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Mar 19, 2021 9:12 AM

I had the same issue with iCloud Drive feature on my new MacBook Air laptop (M1, 2020), macOS Big Sur, Version 11.2.3. iCloud Drive on the laptop didn’t sync files with iCloud Drive on the iCloud.com (web). I’ve got into this situation after my old MacBook Air laptop (2013) was damaged by the water spill and cannot be accessed any more. When the new laptop (M1, 2020) has arrived it was activated with the same credentials (Admin UID/PWD and AppleID/AppleID PWD) as the user on the 2013 laptop. iCloud Drive feature on (M1, 2020) laptop worked fine for Contacts, e-mails, Notes, Photos, iMessages, etc., but it didn’t work for the iCloud Drive files. The complete new MacOS re-installation on (M1, 2020) didn’t help. The consecutive upgrades from Version 11.2.1 to 11.2.2 to 11.2.3 didn’t help either. I created a new Admin User and new AppleID account on the (M1,2020) laptop and iCloud Drive feature started to working as designed. However, the prospect of moving the files, Contacts, Photos, etc. from the original account to the new one was not encouraging. In addition, I would have to re-assign my iPhone and iPad registered with the original account to the new account and it would require re-installation of all none-default apps on those devices. So, I tried another scenario to fix iCloud Drive synchronization feature. I have changed the Admin PWD and AppleID PWD for the original user on (M1,2020) laptop. As a result the iCloud Drive feature immediately started to working as designed.

My recommendation for the Apple Customer Support (I worked with two Senior Apple Support Advisers) would be to try to changing Admin PWD and AppleID PWD for all scenarios when iCloud Drive sync feature is not working. For the Apple Software Engineering I would recommend to take a look at the new laptop activation scenarios when the user is entering the same credentials for the new laptop as they were established for the old laptop on the same account. The Migration Assistant (Finder->Application->Utilities->Migration Assistant) functionality might be also affected. Thanks for the hunch to DiZoE user from this discussion board https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252081633.

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92 replies

Chrjy

Level 1

8 points

Jan 5, 2021 5:26 PM in response to gurbirgill1984

So just received a MacMini M1 and was having the same issue.

What resolved it for me was the following:

I noticed it was downloading the photo library but none of my iCloud documents.

I did a get info on the photo library and it said around 11GB and I thought it had finished because after 4 hours that number hadn't moved.

I then went into iCloud to check how big my photo library was and it said around 18GB but yet the file on my machine did not move past 11GB.

I opened the Photos app and low and behold the rest of the photos started downloading. Once photos had finished downloading, my iCloud desktop documents started appearing and everything was fine.

Jan 5, 2021 8:52 PM in response to Chrjy

I think the cause is linked to that. I just don’t get it why Apple has prioritised “Photos” over “Desktop and Documents”. I know this last aspect is unchecked by default when it comes from the factory.

Thanks to the kind and patient help of Apple Support we were finally able to solve the issue by going through my old MacBook Air and the new one. We need to be 100% sure that “Desktop and Documents” are ticked in “iCloud” (old device) and later in new one to complete the process.

Apr 29, 2021 3:23 PM in response to gurbirgill1984

Just got my new MacBook Air 2020 with the M1 chip, running Big Sur, had this iCloud Drive issue and also iCloud Mail not updating in the Mail app. Since I use multiple devices, iPhone 12 + iPad Pro + iMac + MacBook I rely on iCloud to keep my Video and work files available. I had to get it to work and after a couple of hours I did.

I initially entered iCloud sign in and having the "Options" tab then show up, like another User above mentioned. iCloud Sign in was "hung" or unresponsive. Result: No luck with iCloud Drive or Mail
Signed out of iCloud and Restarted
2nd Sign in to iCloud, activated "Find my Mac" and some folders showed up that were installed by Third Party apps like Artemis, Final Draft etc. But not my folders. Under iCloud preferences: Toggled OFF the "Optimise Mac Storage". Under iCloud Drive>Options>Apps that store data on iCloud>disabled "Documents and Data".
Signed out of iCloud. Brought all my devices together and Unlocked all of them.
Restart and 3rd Sign In - This time I was asked to enter the Password for my iMac - but it kept rejecting it. After the 3rd rejection, it asked for my iPhone passcode. This too was rejected 3 times. Same with my iPad passcode!
Signed out of iCloud and Restarted.
Restart and 4th Sign-in to iCloud. This time it asked for my iPhone Passcode and after a short pause accepted it on first try.
VOILA! iCloud Drive synced up and iCloud Mail now updated and showing in Mail app.

I'm not sure what changed but maybe try using your other IOS devices and their passcode(s) to sign in and keep Restarting until the MacBook recognises the passcode.

Hth

Dec 13, 2020 4:28 AM in response to DiZoE

hello there! many thanks this worked for me on my M1 MacBook Pro

I signed out of iCloud, then changed my administrator password. I realised I was using exactly the same password as my old MacBook 12", which is still active, so I made a new one up.

Re-booted and signed back in to iCloud. Didn't work at first so I rebooted again and hey presto my files and folders started showing up in the iCloud window in Finder.

hopefully it's fixed now....fingers crossed

Dec 29, 2020 11:46 PM in response to gurbirgill1984

I finally get it to work!

After getting this issue more than a month ago - I have tried every solution I can find, log out/in Apple ID (cause all sort of issues, and result in an empty drive!), switch off/on iCloud drive, reinstall system, etc.

At last I decided to do this: try switching off different options in iCloud Drive, then off/on the drive, and wait. Typically it takes about a day…then the result is the same: empty drive.

After seeing some latest posts, I tried switching ON Desktop and Documents sync - then off/on the drive, and everything comes back after a few hours.

Almost cried, this is the simplest solution - and hopes it help!

Mar 17, 2021 3:37 PM in response to Peterdenb

It totally does it!... After days trying to sort it out with apple support, it turns out that making a new user and deleting the previous/original one is the solution and it did work immediately and flawlessly. NOW I’ll be able to start using my new $2,000 MBA M1... 😅 Thanks!!! 🙌🏼

FranBS

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2021 4:13 AM in response to gurbirgill1984

I have being suffering the same problems I read here. After 2 months of headaches and not using Icloud at all because it would take ages for a doc to sync, I found the problem. I turned off wifi and used 4G (LTE) of my phone to conect my M1 MacBook Pro to internet and boom! suddenly everything works perfectly. I turned on wifi again and the problem returned. My wifi works perfectly for everything else so there si some kind of conflict. Now I have to solve this but finally found some answers. Hope this can help someone.

Nov 27, 2020 9:47 PM in response to Peterdenb

I created a new user. Logged in and set everything up. I restarted the computer and then all of a sudden everything started to load on my desktop and in iCloud. Finder works great too. I deleted the old user and I am good to go. Thanks

Jan 5, 2021 9:39 PM in response to SmileyPR2

“Desktop and Documents” is off on my old machine, and in new machine, “Desktop and Documents” must be on in order to work. I don't have iCloud Photos switch on for both devices.

Hope this info helps others.

tzu-hsiu

Level 1

4 points

Jan 25, 2021 7:57 AM in response to MikiSVK

It works for me!!!!!!

These are my steps:

1.Turn off Firewell(as the MikiSVK said)

2.Plug-in power adapter.

3.log out from iCloud files (settings - up right Apple ID - iCloud - iCloud Drive (unmark / turn off) - same thing mark / turn on)

4.Restart

Feb 25, 2021 10:10 AM in response to gurbirgill1984

Solved!

I had the same problem with my new MBA M1, I kept trying to log out and back into my iCloud account, and also turning off iCloud Drive the back on again (as well as switching off Desktop & documents Folders) until all of a sudden it started downloading..

Dec 12, 2020 9:35 AM in response to gurbirgill1984

Unfortunately none of the other mentioned options work for me. I had to fully uninstall the operating system, format my disk and install Mac OS once again. After that it worked fine.

Dec 18, 2020 12:24 AM in response to SAB380

Hi. I don't think it took hours - potentially up to an hour but I didn't notice specifically. Did you create a new user? If not then you definitely need to do this - it didn't work on the user created by the setup process.

The other action I took was a complete rebuild of Big Sur, although I'm not sure if this was a required step. It might be worthwhile contacting Apple before you do this though to see if they have identified the issue yet. Also, when I rebuilt my laptop I ran into an issue that caused it to fail, so you might need this article - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211983

Nov 30, 2020 3:33 PM in response to condelirios

Yep, I tried many of the other suggestions here—and literally just helped a friend who just got his MBP. The only way this gets unstuck and starts syncing is to plug it in with the brick it came with, create the new user, delete the old user, let the photos sync (overnight if you have to) and then iCloud Drive and the rest of your settings will populate after. Don’t waste your time with the other suggestions...I’ve tried them. For 3 days. This is a bug Apple has to fix. I had the same issue back in 2018 when I bought my 15" MBP. I don’t remember what got it syncing back then, but this is the answer now.

DiZoE

Level 4

3,033 points

Dec 16, 2020 1:11 AM in response to toddfromla

Hey Toddfromla!

Did you happen to check: open Finder, on the top menu hit Go > Home?

In there do you happen to see a folder named, “iCloud Drive Archive”? I’d check there to see if your data was saved locally to your Mac when (Maybe) iCloud Drive was disabled.

Likewise, do you happen to see the data at iCloud.com > iCloud Drive? (Also when there, “Recently Deleted”)?.

Another good spot to check there at iCloud.com is Account Settings > scroll down and hit “Restore Files” if you are missing data, and it’s not showing up at iCloud.com > iCloud Drive, and was deleted some how, it may be available to recover from an archive, if there.

Likewise, checking the Trash of your Mac and Recently Deleted on your other devices is a good place to look, and if course a Time Machine, and/or iOS backup are awesome recovery tools.

For what it’s worth, I have a few friends that only use Mac, and say this isn’t only happening on the new M1 Macs, but also earlier Macs and different models, so it’s possible this is something that has to be worked out on their side, contacting Apple never hurts to either find a solution, temporary workaround, or even contribute to a possible solution if it hasn’t been worked out yet.

It maybe a burden, but no software, hardware or server will always be perfect all the time, if there is any company ready and willing to work on an issue like this, it’s Apple. Hope it works itself out soon!

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iCloud Drive folder is not syncing on my new M1 MacBook Air.