sdpg
Level 1 (17 points)
Desktops

Q: Don't trust iCloud re. recovery (or Apple customer service)

Hi all, just sharing my story in case it helps - i.e. by convincing someone to create their own back up of iCloud data, or using a different service altogether (Dropbox).

 

I created my own folders in iCloud via Finder & used this system for 9 months, between 2 computers & 2 iOS devices, without issue.

 

Creating space on my iPhone, & trying to delete the elusive "Documents & Data" space hogs shown there in iTunes, I seem to have deleted these user created folders from iCloud.  (Must of been with one swipe:  I did not delete individual folders or files)  

 

I did not check iCloud until 3 days later, & the folders were simply gone.  They were not recoverable by me (in iCloud > Advanced > Recover), nor, apparently, by Apple.

 

First customer service person simply said they were gone, nothing we can do.

 

After escalating, the next two seemed to try to help by interfacing with Engineering, but still the same answer, even after providing names of missing folders & files, etc.   It felt a little like Good Cop / Bad Cop.  I never had the feeling that Engineering really wanted to try to understand & solve this issue.

 

Last 2 customer care people were brusque & unhelpful.

 

I asked for the data to be recovered, but also for an explanation of how this could happen, so that I could be comfortable using the system again.  They were very short, along the lines of "it is what it is, user beware, don't count on iCloud to recover files, create your own backups".

 

I'm not trying to abdicate responsibility for creating my own backups, but their lack of ability to recover these files 4 days later, & their lack of ability & will to understand what happened, and explain how to avoid this happening again, were very off-putting.

 

I've been a big Apple fan for over a decade, but with this sort of service, with new releases of applications actually losing functionality, etcetera, I am looking around for other options.  This is not the same Apple that I started off with.  It's a shame.

 

Hope you all have better experiences.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), '10 2.8 GHz i5, 20GB ram, 480GB SSD

Posted on Jun 7, 2016 12:17 PM

by Csound1,Solvedanswer
Csound1 Csound1
Level 9 (50,282 points)
Desktops
A:

Backing up your data is your decision, not Apples, not backing it up is foolish.

Posted on Jun 7, 2016 12:19 PM

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sdpg

Q: Don't trust iCloud re. recovery (or Apple customer service)

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Csound1,Solvedanswer

    Csound1 Csound1 Jun 7, 2016 12:19 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 9 (50,282 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 12:19 PM in response to sdpg

    Backing up your data is your decision, not Apples, not backing it up is foolish.

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jun 7, 2016 12:38 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 12:38 PM in response to Csound1

    LOL - my first line states that I hope this convinces others to backup.  I ALMOST wrote "Obviously it was my mistake to delete, and to not back up.  Please don't waste our time commenting on this aspect."

     

    Surely you know that your post was not helpful or interesting...  I guess you still could not resist.  Funny.

     

    The part I am trying to share / discuss is that it is possible to wipe out entire folders via one swipe on iPhone, and that Apple cannot / will not restore.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jun 7, 2016 12:41 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 9 (50,282 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 12:41 PM in response to sdpg

    And now you know that Apple does not backup your data for you (except in some limited fashion), you can backup yourself. Did you actually look on iClouds Settings page for the folders?

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jun 7, 2016 12:50 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 12:50 PM in response to Csound1

    Yes, this is the whole reason that I took the time to create this post -  so that others "know that Apple does not backup your data for you (except in some limited fashion)"

     

    I don't believe that I am the only one that has made that faulty assumption.

     

    "They were not recoverable by me (in iCloud > Advanced > Recover)"


    I have to laugh that I somehow indicated that your 1st post solved my problem!



  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jun 7, 2016 12:51 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 9 (50,282 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 12:51 PM in response to sdpg

    Well thanks for your error.

  • by ChrisJ4203,

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Jun 7, 2016 12:59 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 9 (57,350 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 7, 2016 12:59 PM in response to sdpg

    It seems to me that you were confusing two different things. I'm not sure what computer OS you are using, but if you are using iCloud Drive, which is the only location you could create folders for to try and add data, that is not where your backup goes if you backup to iCloud. Also, the data backed up in iCloud differs from that in iTunes. It may be necessary for you to review the information in this support document to understand what is backed up in each case. About backups in iCloud and iTunes - Apple Support

     

    The other case is that if you have placed data in iCloud drive, that is accessible by both the iOS device and a computer, if you have iCloud installed on the computer. It works a little different in OS X versus Windows. Moving data to iCloud drive is not a backup, and a backup does not reside in iCloud drive. An iCloud backup is in a separate section of your iCloud, and is not something that you can view to see what is backed up and/or access this data individually to do something with it.

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jun 7, 2016 1:04 PM in response to ChrisJ4203
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 1:04 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

    Thanks Chris,

     

    I don't think I'm confused anymore - I was in thinking that data in iCloud drive was recoverable if accidentally deleted, but now I understand that it is not and that I need my own backup regimen for it.  I only posted to inform any others that were making the same mistake.

     

    I'm using most current El Cap on my iMac & MB, & the most current iOS on iPhone & iPad.

  • by ChrisJ4203,Helpful

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Jun 7, 2016 1:34 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 9 (57,350 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 7, 2016 1:34 PM in response to sdpg

    Then use the support document that I provided to determine how you wish to backup your data and make sure you do it religiously. While iTunes backups can contain more data than an iCloud backup, if you wish to have certain items, you need to use the encryption, and that requires you to remember a password, and iTunes requires you to connect the device to the computer. iCloud on the other hand, does not require anything after the initial setup except to make sure the device is connected to wi-fi, power, and the screen locked, just as you do at night when you charge it when you go to bed. iCloud is encrypted by default, but does not require an additional password. It does however, not backup the same data the iTunes backup does. And you should check on the iPhone occasionally to see if the iCloud backup was completed and what day the last backup was done.

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jun 7, 2016 1:19 PM in response to ChrisJ4203
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 1:19 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

    Thanks Chris.   I wasn't planning on backing up my iPhone beyond occasionally hooking up to iMac via iTunes, but maybe I will look into that iCloud backup.

     

    For general iCloud, I plan to use Time Machine with my iMac.

     

    I do work remotely with my MB, and I suppose data uploaded to iCloud while I am remote is vulnerable until I get back to my iMac...

  • by ChrisJ4203,Helpful

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Jun 7, 2016 1:33 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 9 (57,350 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 7, 2016 1:33 PM in response to sdpg

    You're welcome. Good luck with your device.

  • by LACAllen,

    LACAllen LACAllen Jun 7, 2016 4:49 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 5 (4,643 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 7, 2016 4:49 PM in response to sdpg

    Time Machine is your best option by far IMO.

     

    In a perverse sort of way, using Time Machine will get you some recoverability for iCloud Drive going forward.

     

    iCloud stores a local copy of all it's files which would be included (unless you exclude it) in a Time Machine backup. So, if you deleted a file from iCloud Drive, you could use Time Machine to goo back int time and restore it. Depending on the lie of external HD your use, that could be months worth of backups and recoverable files.