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iCloud not Syncing Documents/App Data

I got an iPhone 5s this morning, and had previously updated my iPad and iPhone 4S to iOS 7 two days ago. I've noticed today that iCloud seems to not be syncing properly for me. Day One, which uses iCloud for syncing data, perpetually tries to upload from the iOS device but doesn't seem to be reaching the server. Similarly, when I create an entry on one of the two Macs that I sync with iCloud they do not appear on one another. Furthermore, when loading Pages in iOS on the new phone, I don't see any of my documents. I see many of them on the Mac, which I assume are locally cached. I've turned off Document syncing and turned it back on, and have restarted all devices a number of times. Is there anything I can do besides wait for Apple to straighten itself out? Is anyone else having a similar problem?

Posted on Sep 20, 2013 8:20 PM

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108 replies

Sep 25, 2013 9:59 AM in response to kepardue

Here is the latest from Apple Support. A little background first. I, as many individuals can't seem to sync Pages or Number documents as well as third party apps like Clear. I have this problem as well. The easist way to demonstrate my problem is to log onto iCloud.com and select the Pages or Numbers selection. This automatically logs me out back to the login screen again.


I have been on and off the phone with Apple Suport since last Thursday. I have been through four Specialists. I have, at times, not received phone calls that were suppose to be returned, as well as emails.


What is the bottom line...


Well engineering knows about the issue, it may not be an IOS7 issue and the time frame to correct issue is unknown at this time.


I'll let this board know when my iCloud account starts working again.


I hope that Apple is not turning into JAFCC.

Sep 25, 2013 12:36 PM in response to kepardue

**Update**


I've since contact Apple Support (two days ago) and within minutes they escilated my issue to their Super, without me asking them to. After about 45 minutes of troubleshooting, they escilated the ticket to their engineering department. I've kept in contact the the Super (an email a day) just to let them know the status of everything.


It is not Wednesday and I have had the issue since early Friday morning. After spending hours over the weekend I finally called Apple on Monday.


The Applications now showing under Documents & Data on my iPhone 5S and my iPad Mini but are still not showing up on any of my Macs or my PC.


Still keeping my fingers crossed...however, I don't think I'm be paying for extra iCloud storage ever again.

Sep 25, 2013 5:31 PM in response to kepardue

There are any number of problems one could have with iCloud. The current issue many users are seeing is this:

  • Documents & Data won't sync
  • Photo Streams work fine
  • On a Mac, an error message appears in Console uniquity-digest.log: "there was a http error 503 while talking to iCloud reason: ubiquity account locked"
  • When you log into icloud.com, you're able to log in, but if you click on "Pages", you're immediately logged out.


If the last two aren't happening to you, go try the various troubleshooting tips mentioned elsewhere. If these are, read on.


I've just spent an hour and a half on the phone with Apple support, getting myself transferred up 3 levels. This is a known issue with iCloud. It started (for me) at just after midnight on Sept 22, 2013.


The issue, simply, is this: your iCloud account has been locked.


Now for causes and solutions:

  • If you tried logging into your iCloud account unsuccessfully recently, your account may be legitimately locked.
    • Normally this lock is due to failed login attempts as a security measure. In this case, it will unlock after 8 hours.
    • Wait 8 hours and it'll unlock.
  • Starting sometime last week, this issue started affecting various iCloud customers (I don't know how many or why). If you've been seeing this issue (your ubiquity-digest.log file should show you how long this has been affecting you) for more than 8 hours, you're being affected by the broader issue.
    • Apple says they're working on it. For many users iCloud document sync will just start working again.
    • I recommend:
      • Wait until Monday Sept 30, 2013.
      • If you're still seeing the issue, call Apple Support. Tell them the following (if it's true for you):
        • Documents in (list your iCloud apps, like Pages, Numbers, Day One, Clear) will not upload to or download from iCloud.
        • On your Mac, in the Console, you're seeing an error stating "there was a http error 503 while talking to iCloud reason: ubiquity account locked".
        • When you log into icloud.com, you're able to log in, but if you click on "Pages", you're immediately logged out.


Hopefully your issue will just resolve itself. That's why I recommend waiting. The only reason to call Apple support is that if many people call, it's more likely that Apple will make the issue a priority, or update their system status. It also serves to make them aware that your account is affected, and that they haven't fixed the problem yet (in case they think they have). The downside of calling, however, is that it will take you a long time to wade through basic troubleshooting steps before getting to the person that tells you it's a known issue.

Sep 25, 2013 7:31 PM in response to Grant Grueninger

Thank you Grant.


Been locked out too for 3 days, with no idea why it happened. Hasn't unlocked yet. Must be frustrating for third-party app developers when their apps stop syncing.


What's worse is the http://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/ page has still been reporting that there are no issues with iCloud.com or Documents in the Cloud.


At least if Apple publicly acknowledged the issue, that developers could show that it's an Apple issue, not an app issue.


Also surprised that the issue isn't resolved yet, as Apple's own Pages and Numbers are affected.

Sep 25, 2013 8:03 PM in response to dignanmorse

I got a call back from iCloud support. The issue is known by the engineers, but probably won't be resolved until next week. It was confirmed by her that I'm not the only affected user. Then I complained about how misleading the iCloud service status page was. I would've expected some transparency about % of users affected for Documents & Data.

Sep 26, 2013 12:02 AM in response to kepardue

Same issue for me! Updgraded iPhone and iPad to IOS 7 on Wednesday, 18th. Soon after noticed that Numbers was not syncing up changes to iCloud.


Troubleshot my end all weekend to no avail. On Monday, 23rd Sep, I tried to get into Numbers on iCloud.com and was booted back to a login screen repeatedly.


Apple Support returned my call on Tuesday, 24th. After tech put me on hold several times he confirmed that this was a known issue to a subset of AppleID's and mine was on his list as being affected.


No timeline for a fix was known.


Today was Wednesday, 25th. One week with no document sync and it is still not working.

iCloud not Syncing Documents/App Data

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