Why doesn't iCloud work?

I think I'm going to have to buy a phone with a lot of local storage so I can end the nightmare I'm having with iCloud. Nothing ever, ever works right. I once signed out of iCloud on a MacBook, then things I deleted on that computer also got deleted on other devices. So "signing out" isn't really signing out. Recently I signed out and signed back in on my MacBook and iPhone to make a notification go away (the only solution per official Apple support), and the contacts don't match on my phone and laptop messages any more. Every time I sign out and sign back in it gets worse and worse as far as messages and contacts matching. Contacts in the contacts app on my MacBook also don't match my phone or iMessages. The issue there is duplicates keep getting created and they can't be removed. I tried "remove duplicates" and it just sat there for 20 minutes and I couldn't cancel or force quit the contacts app. The whole point of cloud services is to not have to be syncing between devices all the time but this is worse than having to sync manually because it just syncs haphazardly even when I'm signed out. Does anyone know how to move to strictly local? "Signing out" isn't really signing out.



MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 13.4

Posted on Jul 4, 2023 11:32 AM

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4 replies

Jul 5, 2023 2:05 PM in response to ecmorrell

Hi ecmorrell,


There are some great resources about using iCloud, and we can provide those for you. We'll also try to provide some "rules" which can help when using iCloud.


First thing to understand is what happens when you sign out of iCloud, so you know the effects:

Sign out of iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac - Apple Support



As you know, iCloud is a syncing service, and settings need to be made for the syncing to happen for apps, Mail, Contacts, and other items.

Change which apps sync and store data with iCloud - Apple Support

Sign in to iCloud on all your devices - Apple Support


Take a look at those pages, and the information contained about how to set up iCloud, so that info is going to sync.


The biggest rule to remember, is any data which is synced, then deleted, will be deleted from all devices and iCloud website.

This page shows how to make copies of your iCloud data, so it can be extra safe:

Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support


If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to ask. The community will do it's best to answer and assist.


Take care!




Jul 5, 2023 8:24 PM in response to mingoslkd

Another thing is when messages start to take up too much space I delete the photos out of my messages but they always reappear on the exact same device within a few minutes. I've spent hours over the last couple years selecting photos to delete to clear up space and it doesn't work. It's like iCloud is restoring backups for no reason. Other cloud services work, things match across devices. iCloud is a mess.

Why doesn't iCloud work?

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