I like the convenience and security of using iCloud+, however I've run out of room on my 2 TB plan. If I move a bunch of data from my iMac hard drive to an external drive, then I loose the security of the iCloud backup and to a lesser extent the ease of access to that data on my other devices. I suppose another alternative is using a different cloud service. How have others dealt with hitting this ceiling?
iMac (2017 – 2020)
It's important to know that iCloud is not a backup but a synchronization service. You may wish to purchase two external drives. One for content and the second for backup. You can also elect to still use iCloud features. This is pretty much my set up. Photos and media are stored externally with another drive for Time Machine backups of my Mac and media. I still use iCloud services for synching files, photos, everything else.
It's important to know that iCloud is not a backup but a synchronization service. You may wish to purchase two external drives. One for content and the second for backup. You can also elect to still use iCloud features. This is pretty much my set up. Photos and media are stored externally with another drive for Time Machine backups of my Mac and media. I still use iCloud services for synching files, photos, everything else.
Thanks for the input. I do use an external drive for time machine back ups. Having a second external drive to off load folders and files seems like a good solution to accommodate the iCloud+ 2 TB limit.
If iCloud+ would allow you to select specific folders for synchronization, that would be a good solution. The best solution of course would be if they would raise that 2 TB limit.
What about unchecking folders and files in iCloud+ and purchasing a Dropbox subscription for those? I see that they have a 2 TB plan available with an additional 1 TB add-on. Also, I believe with their service you can choose which folders to sync obviating the need for a second external drive.
External Hard Drive or iCloud Alternative?
