Just purchased new Macbook Air 256GB and my SSD is full

korngold wrote:

My files are not actually on my SSD, they are stored in iCloud. So, nothing I can actually use is taking up all the SSD space--just that odd cache file above.

You are not undersatnding what others have posted. iCloud is not a storage device. Everything you have in iCloud is also on your local SSD.

I'm sorry, I do not know what is going on either. However, one thing you should know is that iCloud only mirrors what is in a computer. It is NOT a storage app. It is designed for sharing between devices.

korngold wrote:

iCloud on this computer is set to manage all documents/desktop, same as my iMac.

As Ronasara told you iCloud Library/Drive is only a syncing services and NOT an off computer storage facility. Everything in the iCloud library/Drive is also on your Mac. Try can opt to have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled which will store reduced size versions of photos and documents when the free space gets less than a specified amount.

If you've had the MBA less than 15 days take it back for a full refund no questions asked and get one with the largest SSD you can afford and 16 GB RAM.

korngold wrote:

Just purchased an M1 Macbook Air with a 256GB SSD. Had the computer up and running an hour, and I'm getting messages that the SSD is full.

Been a Mac user 30 years, and I currently have 4 other Macs (2017 Macbook Pro, 2009 Mac Pro, and an 2019 iMac) and 2TB iCloud storage. My 256GB iMac is running Catalina and shows plenty of space left because everything is stored in iCloud.

Viewing my user folder on the M1 Air shows my username takes 1.03TB. However, when I click detail on that, only 8GB of usage shows as being on my SSD.

This is only happening on the M1 Air with Big Sur. All other machines still have Catalina and are managing space on SSD vs. iCloud appropriately. iCloud on this computer is set to manage all documents/desktop, same as my iMac.

I tried contacting Apple support, and the tech didn't understand what was going on and was not able to help.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/f1352262-038b-496f-9482-b8b78528c28d

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/ad7846cc-8ca1-4b7d-881c-132e86b36e73

You have a limited 14-days for a full refund or exchange for one that suits you better:

Call Customer Support (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753)

Returns & Refunds

https://www.apple.com/shop/help/returns_refund

For a person with so long as history on the Apple Eco-System there is an aspect still being over looked or misunderstood even though other persons have attempted to explain.

iCloud was designed and intended as a Conduit to have files in the cloud. So changes to a document made on one device are reflected to all other devices using the same Apple ID. And yes, a reduced size of all these files are on the Internal Drive for when Internet Connect is not available - changes can be made and when Internal Connect is gained - the changes will upload.

It was not intended to be like at external drive for storage purposes.

Aside - Original Picture on Original posting is showing in Downloads Folder a 5.45 GB which is occupying Storage Space