Why Did Apple Disable iCloud.com from Android Phones?

Question

Level 3

754 points

Why Did Apple Disable iCloud.com from Android Phones?

When an iPhone is lost or stolen on the street, in a club, restaurant, store, etc., we need the ability to use the nearest Internet access device available to reach on Find My iPhone.

Often times that is an Android phone from a nearby person, I have used Android phone browsers twice in the past to access
Find My iPhone on
iCloud.com.

Why did Apple disable access to iCloud.com from Android devices sometime in the past two years? It seems like a huge step backward in helping us recovering iOS devices.

Posted on Dec 3, 2016 6:02 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Dec 3, 2016 6:11 PM in response to cyberbiker

I personally do not own an Android device I may know the problem

1. The brower is not support meaning that browser does not handle it well (Try a different brower)

2. Apple want there product to be used on Apple product and its a marketing thing

Hope this helps,

-DrGoldNerd

Reply

Answer 2

LACAllen

Level 8

43,602 points

Dec 3, 2016 6:55 PM in response to cyberbiker

It's mobile browsers they are blocking.

You can't get there in iOS either, unless you have a way of "requesting" the desktop site.

Reply

Answer 3

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 4, 2016 7:04 AM in response to LACAllen

DrGoldNerd, from a marketing standpoint it is surely in Apple's best interest to help us find our $650-$850 diphones as rapidly as possible.

LACAllen, the problem is with all Android browsers. I haven't checked Windows mobile browsers. iPhone browsers bring up the iCloud.com page below which subsequently opens apps for the choices listed.

Reply

Answer 4

FoxFifth

Level 10

475,461 points

Dec 4, 2016 8:37 AM in response to cyberbiker

cyberbiker wrote:

...

iPhone browsers bring up the iCloud.com page below which subsequently opens apps for the choices listed.

On an iPhone you can get to the iCloud desktop site by pressing and holding the refresh button (semicircular arrow at top right of the screen) from the screen shown in your screenshot above and then tapping Request Desktop Site when the option appears.

I don't have an Android phone so don't know how you request a desktop rather than mobile version of a site on them.

Reply

Answer 5

Dec 4, 2016 11:54 AM in response to FoxFifth

In Chrome on the current Android you can select 'Request Desktop Site' from the 'three vertical dots' menu at the right-hand end of the toolbar. This will bring up the iCloud website, however the programming on the site is not designed for more limited browsers and there's no guarantee that everything will work as expected.

Reply

Answer 6

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 4, 2016 11:54 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Thanks, Wilmut1. Request Desktop Site in Settings works for not the Google and the Firefox Android browsers, respectively, as indicated below.

That permits us to get any nearby smartphone to access Find My Phone immediately when out and about.

Reply

Answer 7

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 4, 2016 11:56 AM in response to cyberbiker

Typo just above. Request Desktop Site works in both browsers.

Reply

Answer 8

LACAllen

Level 8

43,602 points

Dec 4, 2016 4:17 PM in response to cyberbiker

LACAllen, the problem is with all Android browsers. I haven't checked Windows mobile browsers. iPhone browsers bring up the iCloud.com page below which subsequently opens apps for the choices listed.

As I pointed out... this was not an Apple vs. Android thing.

The mobile browser is what is being prevented from rendering icloud.com properly. Anyone's mobile browser. Even iOS's Safari needs the desktop site to limp through the site.

Reply

Answer 9

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 5, 2016 2:46 PM in response to LACAllen

I would think Apple would put a premium on our being able to find a lost or stolen phone as quickly as possible.

The iPhone Safari browser brings up a mobile iCloud webpage. There is no logical reason not to code the mobile page to work for both iOS and Android OS.

Reply

Answer 10

LACAllen

Level 8

43,602 points

Dec 5, 2016 3:05 PM in response to cyberbiker

Tell apple.

Apple.com/feedback

Apple has provided find my phone as a way for users to possibly locate their device.

Apple's contribution ends there IMO. That the tool is not optimized for mobile browsers is irrelevant. IMO of course.

Reply

Answer 11

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 6, 2016 4:56 AM in response to LACAllen

<

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3035100/phones/android-leads-and-windows-phone-fa des-in-gartners-smartphone-sales-report.html

Reply

Answer 12

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 6, 2016 5:01 AM in response to LACAllen

<

Reply

Answer 13

cyberbiker Author

Level 3

754 points

Dec 6, 2016 5:07 AM in response to LACAllen

Apple Feedback is already en route.. Discussion threads like this are not to tear Apple down. They are to make it better.

LACAllen, at the end of 2015 around 80% of the smartphones worldwide used Android OS. Since we don't carry laptops with us everywhere, I would imagine that it would be highly relevant to ANY iphone owner who loses his or her device in a public place to be able to quickly borrow an Android smartphone from someone nearby, if another iPhone wasn't readily available, to access Find My Phone. Permitting a mobile website accessible by the Android OS is a simple matter of coding.

This is not a forum to beat issues to death so I'll let the matter rest there.

Reply

Answer 14

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Dec 8, 2016 9:15 AM in response to cyberbiker

This is a volunteer forum, we can not discuss Apple policy on it as per the terms of service we agreed to when we signed up to use it.

Submissions

Stay on topic. Apple Support Communities is here to help people use Apple products and technologies more effectively. Unless otherwise noted, do not add Submissions about non technical topics, including:

Speculations or rumors about unannounced products.
Discussions of Apple policies or procedures or speculation on Apple decisions.

Apple Support Communities Use Agreement

Reply