The item couldn't be downloaded. Please check your internet connection, then try again.

I also have this problem, all files can be downloaded, but folders cannot.

When downloading a project, I have to go into each folder and subfolder and click all the small icons on the files to download all everything, this is not good, if it is not fixed, iCloud is not usable.

It was resolved for about a couple weeks but it's back again. No major or minor system or application changes. No Apple updates. I also see now, in the Messages app, on the Mac "Downloading Messages from iCloud..."

I am also experiencing this problem. Folders cannot be downloaded and I need to individually download each file in the folder.

I'm also receiving the error message "The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36)" when trying to copy and paste a folder in iCloud Drive (no problem with individual files)

I am having this same issue.

Folders can't be downloaded (I get the same error message that everybody else is getting) but the individual files can. Also have the same "Error code -36" issue when trying to move a folder in iCloud Drive, but no problem with individual files. The Error code -36 thing seems to be intermittent and I haven't yet found exactly what conditions make it happen.

In my case the problem was limited to folders that were stored in the Documents folder of iCloud Drive. I "solved" the problem by manually downloading each file and copying them in a different folder within iCloud

Was having this same issue, the error code changed now to "couldnt be downloaded because some data can't be read or written", and now just gets stuck on "preparing to move" files.

The only thing that's worked so far is taking files inside a folder (not including any folders) and compressing them, and moving the compressed zip file back to local. Even this is tedious and does not make for a usable cloud service.

Posting to keep this thread alive, please fix this! Thank you

I just wanted to say that I experience this exact same problem on my Intel MacBook. I could download files, but not folders. When trying to download a folder, the message from the topic appears.

My connection is more than fine, iCloud Drive is the only application experiencing issues. I tried restarting several times to no avail.

After ~30 minutes or so of idling, the problem was gone without actually doing anything. This looks like an internal sync problem with iCloud Drive, but I couldn't tell exactly what. It's not that surprising either since iCloud Drive is quite a nightmare when syncing. This really needs some attention.

Best,

Juanma

This works! Thank you.

I figured what was happening after this work-around. I started having the same issue after getting the latest Mac. My documents started showing the cloud with the arrow and the error message as per the OP.

In fact, the error message is misleading, it's nothing to do with the internet, as so many posters here (including me) have found (no problem at all with the internet). All it is is that iCloud is optimising your iCould storage. So if you click into specific documents (the folder will show the cloud with the arrow to say it is not yet downloaded) which are showing the "arrowed cloud", you can actually download them individually. In other words, various documents have been chosen by iCloud NOT to be downloaded to your Mac itself (to optimise storage), but they are all downloaded "on demand" without problems. Whenever a single document has been chosen to be in the "downloadable on demand" category, the whole folder shows the "arrowed cloud".

In summary, it is not a problem to have a folder with the "arrowed cloud". Clicking on that cloud produces the error message as per this post. However, it is possible to access any individual document within that folder, including those that have not been downloaded yet, because they are downloaded "on demand". It is only a little annoying to see an "arrowed cloud" on the side bar against all these folders, but in practice, no documents have been lost or is not downloadable. If you find the "arrowed cloud" icon annoying and would like all your folders to be already downloaded (as opposed to be not yet downloaded, but "on demand"), then as per teomor's post, just uncheck "Optimise Storage" in iCloud settings, and all your documents will be downloaded onto your Mac (and the "arrowed clouds" will become "full clouds"... eventually). But this will obviously make up more available space on the Mac. The idea behind the "Optimise Storage" feature is to leave as much unused space on the Mac, so that only documents on demand are downloaded as and when needed. Hope this makes sense!

I did read the entire post. From your last paragraph of your post.

"The item couldn't be downloaded. Please check your internet connection, then try again."

Do you use vpn services , cleaners / anti virus / third party softwares /apps in Mac if so uninstall them .

It's not our connection. I also suddenly have this issue.

I am also having this issue. Seems to be only for folders.

EVERYONE: please post your issues here so we can get Apple's attention!

Had this same issue. Running `killall bird` in the terminal works to get sync unstuck, but folder still isn't showing on other devices.