How to synchronize Internet Accounts from macOS with iOS

Question

Level 1

8 points

How to synchronize Internet Accounts from macOS with iOS

What I'm trying to achieve

As indicated in the Keychain FAQ, "iCloud Keychain can also keep the accounts you use in Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Messages up to date across all of your Mac computers.". And I want it! 😎 To be specific, I want to synchronize the Accounts I have configured on my MacBook (macOS, see screenshot below) with my iPhone (iOS) so I can reuse the configured email accounts instead of having to setup all of the 6 accounts again on my iPhone.

Tech specs

MacBook Air
- 13-inch, Mid 2012
- macOS Sierra - 10.12.2 (16C67)
iPhone 7 plus
iOS 10.2.1 (14D27)

What I've tried

I activated iCloud Keychain in macOS (see screenshot below). I would think that this is enough to make my Internet Accounts available for synchronization through iCloud.

Then I activated Keychain on my iPhone (see screenshot below). I would think this is what makes the Internet Accounts from iCloud available on my iOS device.

The problem

I think I setup everything properly (of course 😉) but I cannot figure out how to get my iPhone to show/use the Accounts I previously setup. All I get is this (in "Settings > Mail > Accounts"):

The questions

Hopefully somebody can tell me whether I'm doing something wrong, missing something or using a wrong approach. Or maybe I'm missing a screen/setting?

Thanks in advance! 🙂

iPhone 7 Plus, iOS 10.2.1, null

Posted on Jan 25, 2017 6:01 AM

Reply

Answer 1

coencoppens Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 25, 2017 6:41 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Makes a lot of sense, too bad though that it doesn't work like that 🙂

The thing that got me into believing it was possible was the way the FAQ was written; it would have probably saved me some time if the text read "iCloud Keychain can also keep the accounts credentials you use in Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Messages up to date across all of your Mac computers.".

Thanks for the help!

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Answer 2

Jan 25, 2017 6:36 AM in response to coencoppens

Keychain will synchronize a list of logins and passwords. It won't automatically add those accounts to your device. And, on an iOS device, those passwords are accessible only through Safari.

You'll need to add the accounts to your iPhone in Settings>Mail>Accounts>Add Account.

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Answer 3

Jmaharry

Level 1

4 points

Sep 17, 2017 8:19 AM in response to Jared Cohen

Yes it does work like that. I wonder do you have to set up a new iOS device by restoring from a device you currently own?

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Answer 4

Jan 25, 2017 7:51 AM in response to coencoppens

Yes, I agree, it would be great if it worked the way you thought!

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Answer 5

Mar 26, 2017 6:27 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

I'm quite sure that I've seen macOS or iOS (don't know whic), behaving just like that: new internet account added in one device and automatically added to another...

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Answer 6

Jul 18, 2017 9:22 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Incorrect. I can't seem to figure out how/why/when it works, but iCloud absolutely, positively, will sync an account added on one device to your other devices. When it feels like it...

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