Is there any way to speed up iCloud file/folder downloads in Finder?

Question

Level 1

32 points

Is there any way to speed up iCloud file/folder downloads in Finder?

I need to create local copies of data in iCloud Drive. When accessed through a browser, it is not possible to select a folder for download or more than one file at a time for download. In both these cases, the download button is inactivated.

When accessed through the Finder, folders and/or multiple files can be downloaded, but it's painfully slow. My download speeds vary between 186KB/sec and 340KB/sec. My normal download speed is >25MB/sec from all other sources.

I'm on Tahoe with all updates, M5 MBPro.

I have read that Apple throttles iCloud Drive download speeds. Is there any way to speed this up? Thank you.

MacBook Air (M5, 2026)

Posted on Oct 10, 2026 12:02 PM

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Answer 1

MrHoffman

Level 10

166,721 points

Oct 11, 2026 8:43 AM in response to ridgecritter

As others have stated, iCloud Drive operates at the speed it operates at.

Is storing this iCloud Drive data elsewhere an option, whether on your own storage locally or NAS or remotely at another site you control*, or on your own hosted storage at a hosting provider, or with a hosted storage provider such as Backblaze or SpiderOakONE? Preferably somewhere with faster access?

As an alternative to manual operations with iCloud Drive, run a script or shortcut periodically. (Some reading)

*Time Machine to a NAS at home and a second NAS at a business or office can get parallel wireless distributed backups, as an example of backups not using iCloud Drive, or getting those backups sorta-indirectly from the local iCloud Drive (not optimized) storage.

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Answer 2

Oct 11, 2026 12:42 AM in response to ridgecritter

Some iCould Drive operations like "Remove Downloads" are frustratingly limited to max 10 item batches. And even then some folders' local content is not completely set as cloud-only if the user wants to make more room for local storage.

But at least in GG I "Download Now" doesn't seem to have such limit (I don't use Optimize so currently all items are also local so it is easy to backup them to external drives -- CCC has an option for that if Optimized storage option is used).

And via iCloud web, I can download 26 files in one batch, for example.

I did not measure download speed. And yes, when I got a new Mac, its iCloud Drive filled frustratingly slow although I could manually download individual items quite fast during that, though.

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Answer 3

ridgecritter Author

Level 1

32 points

Oct 11, 2026 12:19 PM in response to MrHoffman

I'm trying to download all my iCloud data for local storage. When I've confirmed that the download is complete, I'll turn iCloud Drive off and self-serve or otherwise locate the data in a more responsive storage system. I'm on the 2TB tier, and it's got ~1.7TB. It takes forever to download. 😊

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Answer 4

Oct 13, 2026 7:47 AM in response to ridgecritter

ridgecritter wrote:… locate the data in a more responsive storage system.

That's good thinking. iCloud is not a storage system--it's a Synchronization Service. If what you want is off-site storage, then iCloud probably isn't for you.

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Answer 5

Zurarczurx

Level 5

7,058 points

Oct 11, 2026 1:07 AM in response to ridgecritter

Not in my experience. Upload and download speeds are variable and the only consistent thing is that they are slow.

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Answer 6

Oct 11, 2026 8:12 AM in response to ridgecritter

Best thing is to have something to do while it works. Sleeping is a good choice.

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