My internet service provider suggested my slow speeds during the day might be because of the ongoing iCloud backups of my MacBook Pro. They suggest I reschedule the backups for the middle of the night, while I'm asleep and not using my devices. Is it possible to schedule iCloud backups for only certain times of day?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12
iCloud is a synchronization service, it does not back up your Mac. To back up your Mac you'll need to use Time Machine or an equivalent. You're only syncing your items across devices using iCloud (not technically a backup as changes that you make are destructive and cannot be reversed). Whenever you alter a file that you sync, it automatically syncs again. Outside of that, iCloud remains inactive on a Mac.
On an idevice, you cannot schedule backups. Backups happen when a device is powered.
iCloud is a synchronization service, it does not back up your Mac. To back up your Mac you'll need to use Time Machine or an equivalent. You're only syncing your items across devices using iCloud (not technically a backup as changes that you make are destructive and cannot be reversed). Whenever you alter a file that you sync, it automatically syncs again. Outside of that, iCloud remains inactive on a Mac.
On an idevice, you cannot schedule backups. Backups happen when a device is powered.
Your MacBook does not backup to iCloud. Your devices may if you have enabled iCloud backup. You cannot schedule backups.
Thanks for the clarification. I often backup on a hard drive through Time Machine. I guess what I really meant to ask was: Can I manage the timing of iCloud's syncing process? And I now understand the answer is no.
Still confused. My internet provider sent this message to me in answer to my inquiries about slow speeds. I'm just trying to figure it all out:
"As for the speed issues, it looks like there's a lot of what we call "upload saturation" during the day, which means a device on your network is uploading a lot of data. That would definitely cause the speed issues you're seeing. Would you happen to know if any of your devices use services like Dropbox, iCloud, Adobe, Google Drive, or any other cloud service? Those tend to be the big contributors to upload saturation."
When I informed them I only used iCloud they suggested this:
"That could definitely be the cause. I see the saturation happening mostly between 8am-2pm. Are you able to change when your devices back up to iCloud to a time in the middle of the night, so it doesn't interrupt your use of the service during the day?"
Any thoughts about this will be appreciated.
Muguy, not sure what you are referring to. In fact, my iCloud account is set to backup everything in Photos, Calendars, Desktop folders, Mail, and Contacts on my MacBook Pro, as well as my other devices. But if you're correct about not being able to schedule iCloud backups, thank you for that info.
If anyone else has ideas, I'm still hoping for advice.
Can I schedule iCloud backups?
