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

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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

Nov 28, 2020 12:07 AM in response to gurbirgill1984

Hey there! This may be caused by several factors.


I have noticed lately it’s taken a while for the Desktop and Documents portion of iCloud Drive to sync once enabled, however, if disabling iCloud Drive, restarting, Enabling it again, and giving it some good time to complete doesn’t fix it:


My hunch, (And I could be wrong), but considering it seems to sync fine in other users:


I’d probably sign out of my Apple ID in System Preferences.


Change the admin password, (Even temporarily), restart.


Sign back into the Apple ID in System Preferences, restart and test.


Its probably either a user permissions or preference conflict, or a conflict with the local and iCloud Keychains, if not an item in System Preferences > Users and Groups > Login Items. (Sometimes a good test is just removing these / Restarting. (This doesn’t delete the apps, just prevents them from opening automatically).


Hope that helps.

Nov 29, 2020 12:26 AM in response to DiZoE

DiZoE, thanks for all your ideas!


Other devices sync without any issues. Addition test account on other MacBook sync without issues from scratch. Test account on M1 Mac fail, just like the main account.

If no other Mac is syncing, those newly created accounts on other MacBooks start showing folders in iCloud Drive within minutes.


Recently Deleted is empty, trashes are emptied.


I think I've tries most other things suggested too.


Side note, this happens on the M1:

"> ls -l Library/Application\ Support/CloudDocs/session/db 

ls: db: Operation not permitted"

, but not on an older Intel MacBook running Big Sur. sessions/db can't be listed, nor deleted on the M1. Unless I'm in the Terminal in recovery mode.


I'm not ready to remove all data from iCloud.com yet. I've got a lot of production data there and don't want to risk of altering any time stamps or make other mistakes in the process. I'll give Apple Support some more time to find the issue.


Dec 15, 2020 3:39 PM in response to SAB380

I had the same problem for almost a week, even Apple were unable to resolve it. However, I was able to resolve it myself by completing the following steps:


  1. Create a new user account
  2. Log into that user account and set up using iCloud
  3. Allow iCloud Photos to sync photos
  4. Allow Photos to complete its 'curation' activities (finding favourites, duplicates, etc).


The last step required the laptop to be plugged in, and not in sleep mode (so disable the energy saver). Once this process completed, my files started to appear in Finder - it took overnight for step 4 to complete though.


Hope this helps


Matt

Dec 15, 2020 11:45 PM in response to SAB380

It appeared to be shortly afterwards, although I was checking every couple of hours so it might not have been immediate. I seem to recall you had to check the Days tab, and make sure an image like this wasn't appearing (ie. it wasn't just syncing the photos that had to complete):




It might also be worth trying this again after updating to 11.1 if you've not already done so.

Dec 16, 2020 5:01 PM in response to gurbirgill1984

Well after trying everything listed here multiple times over a 48hr+ period to no results I decided I may as well call Apple's support line and determine what the next steps are. I'd already prepared my USB drive to attempt the dreaded M1 format and re-image.


They started screen sharing and looking around and logged out of iCloud and back in to my protests that I'd done that countless times already ..... and suddenly iCloud synced and started visibly loading all my files in Finder. gritted my teeth hard as the guy said, 'see you just needed to log out and back in'. ......


A few tests show it seems to be working and stable but I'm baffled by the whole experience. I'm not sure if iCloud shares anything at all with the Apple Support Network and being remotely connected was the trigger it needed to get over where it was stuck??


I just share the result here so others know the solutions are potentially quite random, and potentially something you've already tried 10 times. I don't know.....


And thank you to those who answered my questions and provided guidance. It was much appreciated.

Dec 18, 2020 2:04 AM in response to thye chean

Hey there! Good question. I’d think if you were to restore the entire user folder, including all the hidden files and preferences it maybe the same result there.


I have found at times that re-building the user folder can fix issues related to that specific user folder, as it does keep all the user data but resets those preferences and hidden files, and is a quick process:


—Always keep a backup

—Create a new admin user with a new or generic name, you can delete it later if need be.

—Log out of existing user and log into the new one.

—In System Preferences > Users and Groups, select the original user and hit the “-“ sign to delete it, then select the option to keep a copy of the home folder.

—After that, (And sometimes it’s even a good idea to create yet another user),

re create the old user “+” with the same username/account name, and password, (The Full Name shouldn’t make a difference.

—When prompted with, “There is an existing user with this name” (Or similar prompt). Select the option to “Use existing user folder”).

—When done, restart, log into your normal folder again.

—You may need to re-authenticate any accounts you had set up with a password just once.


Then test it out! Just a suggestion, as I’ve seen other steps fix this in different OS’ and Macs, but I’d say if all else fails, (Such as repairing permissions, resetting the keychain, disable/enable/restart/network/etc.), it’s a good step to try.

Dec 29, 2020 6:00 AM in response to gurbirgill1984

After call apple-support, my issue is solved. In my original preferences, Documents and Desktop was in iCloud included. But If you sign out and sign in again, under the "iCloud Drive" Options the “Desktop & Document Folders” come unselected back. This was the reason, why I can’t sync my docs. After sign out and sign in I select this option. And all the documents appear slowly. It's OK now.

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

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