iCloud Won't Sign In

Question

Level 1

8 points

iCloud Won't Sign In

Hey all,

I don't use iCloud much, but every once in a while I do sign into it via System Preferences on my Mac. Lately however, I have been unable to sign into iCloud this way. Logging in via web browser works fine, but every time I attempt to enter my Apple ID and Password in System Preferences, when I hit the "Sign In" button the spinning wheel appears next to it, and after a few seconds both entry fields clear themselves and the wheel vanishes. I've tried this multiple times, but it is always the same result. This has been happening for the past few days also, not just at one time on one day.

Has anyone seen this before, and maybe have a solution? Thanks in advance.

Posted on Jan 27, 2016 11:41 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Jan 29, 2016 2:48 PM in response to STERLINGJS

Might be a corrupt .plist.

Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

Quit the application.

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.

Restart the computer, open the application, and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.

If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.

Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.

Reply

Answer 2

STERLINGJS Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 1, 2016 10:27 AM in response to Eric Root

Okay, I moved the .plist to my Desktop and restarted and tried the log in again, but no change. I then took all the files in that same location that had "com.apple.systempreferences" in their name and did the same thing, but with no change as well. I am still unable to log into iCloud via System Preferences.

Reply

Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Feb 1, 2016 12:20 PM in response to STERLINGJS

Try a restart.

Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.

Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.

Isolating an issue by using another user account

If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode using your normal account. Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up after waiting 10 seconds. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application un-installer. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode

Safe Mode - Mavericks

Safe Mode - About

Safe Mode - Yosemite

Safe Mode - About El Capitan

Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan.

Reply

Answer 4

STERLINGJS Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 1, 2016 2:58 PM in response to Eric Root

All right, I tried making a new administrator account, and once this was complete, tried logging in again. This time, it worked. So, this means my user account is the issue, correct? Would there me any other way to fix this besides making a new User Account and transferring over my data?

Reply

Answer 5

STERLINGJS Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 6, 2016 9:40 AM in response to STERLINGJS

Something else I just noticed: when logging onto iCloud.com on another device, and checking the My Devices list in Settings, my affected computer shows up in the list even though it does not appear to be signed into iCloud on the device itself. It is as though to iCould, my affected device is still signed in, but the device shows that iCloud has not been signed into. Thoughts?

Reply

Answer 6

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Feb 6, 2016 12:49 PM in response to STERLINGJS

What happened when you booted into the Safe Mode?

Reply

Answer 7

STERLINGJS Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 6, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Eric Root

When I booted into Safe Mode, nothing changed. I was still unable to sign into iCloud via System Preferences, with the same issue occurring. A following normal reboot and login attempt gave the same result again.

Reply