Using iCloud.com on an iPad browser

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Level 9

78,097 points

Using iCloud.com on an iPad browser

I have an icloud.com account with a different Apple ID than my regular ID. That was done purposely for several reasons; I also did not want to associate it with Mail app or anything else (also purposely for several reasons). So, I normally access my icloud mail via a browser window on my iMac - no problem.

This morning, I was somewhere and tried to access my icloud account on my iPad. I have icloud set up under the Settings but have never used it on the iPad. I tried to access icloud by opening Atomic Lite and Safari and typing in icloud.com. Instead of a login window, all I can get is the "iCloud" page with these options:

Set up iCloud on this device

Install find my iPhone

Install find my friends

Clicking on set up leads me through instructions of how to set up an account - which is absurd, since it is already set up. I've enabled Mail in the Cloud settings.

Can anyone help with whatever settings I need to change to be able to access icloud via the web. Thanks.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), (OS X ML, 10.7.4, 10.6.8), 2.93 GHz

Posted on Mar 5, 2013 7:22 PM

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Answer 1

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

Jun 18, 2017 9:19 AM in response to Diana.McCall

Slick, Diana 😉

HOWEVER

It is a tad more convoluted for me -

icloud.com
icloud.com/unsupported browser/ page
request desktop site
STILL unsupported browser page 😀
delete the "/unsupported browser/" part of the URL from the location bar > GO
a LONG TIME to load (2+minutes?) = with TWO spinny-wheels over plain blue background

less than elegant by a country mile 😕

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Answer 2

Jun 18, 2017 8:34 AM in response to Seacastle

Hi Seacastle. You problem may be related to the change in 3rd-party access to iCloud that was announced for June 15. You may need an app-specific password to access icloud mail from your Android phone, as described in this link: Using app-specific passwords - Apple Support.

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Answer 3

Jun 18, 2017 1:27 AM in response to Demo

Hi!

in my situation I would really like to gain access to the web user interface.

I own an iPad and an android phone.

right now my default email adress is my iCloud account on both devices. That includes calendar and contacts.

but a couple of days ago I think Apple have changed something in their backend systems because I cant access anything icloud related on my android device.

I would right now like to access the web UI to change forward settings for my email.

and since I can't access it from my chrome browser on my android phone either, I'm stuck in carrying my iPad around where ever I go, which is not optimal for me.

do you still think it's not necessary?

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Answer 4

Jun 18, 2017 9:33 AM in response to ChitlinsCC

Right. I had to do that using Chrome on iOS. But Chrome on Android (5) switched immediately. I guess nobody's trying to make this easy. Safari on iOS also switches immediately when desktop is requested.

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Answer 5

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

Jun 18, 2017 10:15 AM in response to Diana.McCall

Diana.McCall wrote:

Right. I had to do that using Chrome on iOS. But Chrome on Android (5) switched immediately. I guess nobody's trying to make this easy. Safari on iOS also switches immediately when desktop is requested.

More like "somebody" is trying to "make this hard!" 😉

[it's just an experiment to me anyway]

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Answer 6

Diavonex

Level 9

67,217 points

Mar 5, 2013 7:29 PM in response to babowa

The simple answer is you cannot use an iPad to access iCloud.com.

The work around is to use either Atomic or iCabMobile Web Browser and set Browser ID as a desktop.

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Answer 7

babowa Author

Level 9

78,097 points

Mar 5, 2013 7:33 PM in response to Diavonex

Aha - not exactly what I wanted to hear, but at least I know.

What would enable me to use it? Would the only way be through Mail app?

If that is the case, could I set it up there (for use on iPad only) or would it automatically be synced to iMac, etc? That I don't want as it may interfere with other things I need to do.

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Answer 8

Demo

Level 10

166,494 points

Mar 5, 2013 7:42 PM in response to babowa

The basic reason that you can't log into iCloud.com on the iPad is because you really don't need to.

You can access all of your iCloud stored documents on the iPad, as well as your notes, contacts and calendar events. I don't use iCloud email and don't plan on it either, but I believe that your iCloud mail would be setup in the mail app like any other email account.

Not to be nosey, but for what purpose would you need to log into iCloud.com if everything that you need is already accessible on the iPad?

And you can log in using another browser identifying as a desktop browser like iCab Mobile which I use all the time on my iPad. But it find that it is very flakey when trying to do anything in the iCloud.com account on the iPad. It works, but it is slow to respond and not all that reliable.

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Answer 9

babowa Author

Level 9

78,097 points

Mar 5, 2013 7:59 PM in response to Demo

I have absolutely nothing stored in the cloud (privacy concerns) and nothing is accessible on my iPad (there are no notes or contacts or anything else) - the only thing "on" is the icloud account itself; Mail is not activated, and neither is any syncing of any kind for anything. So, all I want to do is use icloud email - I don't want to sync, or access anything else.

The reason is: I don't want to use the cloud, but I do want to use the email (but web based only).

Are there any other browser possibilities that you know of?

Methinks this lack of usability sounds like it would make a good BR; there is no reason why a web based email service should not be available via any browser on any device. I think I just talked myself into doing that.

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Answer 10

Demo

Level 10

166,494 points

Mar 6, 2013 5:33 AM in response to babowa

Sorry but I turn into a pumpkin at around 10:30 and in anticipation of the snow storm that we had, I responded to you and then headed off to bed before I could respond again.

I am still a little confused ... Are you using iCloud email? If you are, can't you set that up in the mail app or if you can I assume that you really don't want to do that???.....

I tried Atomic and iCab Mobile and you can log into iCloud.com with both browsers identified as FireFox 15 or 17 or whatever the highest version that you can spoof with. Without having iCloud email I cannot say how it will work, but like I said, trying to create an event in the calendar for instance, is quite a challenge as the browsers do not respond like a desktop browser in iCloud.

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Answer 11

babowa Author

Level 9

78,097 points

Mar 6, 2013 3:30 PM in response to Demo

Sorry, been gone/busy all day......

I am still a little confused ... Are you using iCloud email? If you are, can't you set that up in the mail app or if you can I assume that you really don't want to do that???.....

Yes, I am using it on my iMac via a browser. I do not have it associated with Mail (purposely for multiple reasons).

I guess if I want to use it that way on the iPad, I'd need to check into buying a "real" browser. I assume you mean hitting a setting with spoofing (much like Safari in Mac OS)?

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Answer 12

Demo

Level 10

166,494 points

Mar 6, 2013 3:48 PM in response to babowa

Spoofing meaning identify the browser as a desktop version. iCab Mobile - my browser of choice will identify as a number of different browsers as you can see from the screenshot. Mercury will identify as Safari for the Mac but when you try to log in, you get a message stating that you are using an supported browser. You can "Ignore" the message and sign in anyway.

But like I said, because I don't use iCloud email, I don't know how this will work. I think that I have seen Dah*veed state that it works, but I can't vouch for it myself. I do know that using any of the other iCloud features in one of these browsers is just not the way to go. The only other thing that I can think of where logging into iCloud.com on the iPad would be useful is for creating groups in the contacts app since that feature does not exist in the contacts app on the iPad itself.

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Answer 13

babowa Author

Level 9

78,097 points

Mar 6, 2013 6:25 PM in response to Demo

Thanks, I'll check into the browser thing.......

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Answer 14

gogogon

Level 1

0 points

Dec 24, 2013 12:32 PM in response to Demo

Here is a reason, your friend breaks her iPhone and she wants to borrow your ipad to log onto icloud to retrieve her best friends # and call her for Christmas.

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Answer 15

Dec 24, 2013 12:36 PM in response to gogogon

Woohoo, back from the grave of 9 months ago! Did it take long to dig this thread up?

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