Mac cannot connect to iCloud

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Level 1

21 points

Mac cannot connect to iCloud

I have been using my MacBook Air (current version is macOs High Sierra 10.13.6) for over 3 years, but never faced such an irritating issue before.

A window keeps popping up which says "This Mac can't connect to iCloud because of a problem with <apple id>. Open iCloud preference to fix this problem". I open iCloud preference and enter the password to proceed and this message appears "An unknown error occurred" and the there is no end to the loop starting from the beginning! In the process, my mail boxes and iCloud drive files have disappeared.

I have gone through at least 30 discussions in various forums about the exact issue as mine. I have tried almost all the solutions suggested except probably formatting the Mac. I have tried the following:

1. Changed password

2. Signing out of iCloud on this mac does not happen as the same error shows after entering the password

3. Restarting and shutting down the Mac several times

Requesting for help please!

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Jul 24, 2018 10:00 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Eric Root

Level 10

684,057 points

Jul 25, 2018 11:47 AM in response to Shyampat

Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. Please post back on whether or not this worked. Also try the Safe Mode. Please post back on whether or not this worked.

Isolating an issue by using another user account

Safe Mode - About

Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan. also Sierra

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

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Answer 2

Shyampat Author

Level 1

21 points

Jul 26, 2018 10:22 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks for your prompt response.

The issue persists in the safe mode. However, it doesn’t happen with a new user for which I also created an internet account.

Just to be more specific, let me try to explain my issues more clearly.

1. The moment I boot my Mac and login, the following pop up appears.

2. I open iCloud Preference and enter my password and this appears.

3. My internet accounts have disappeared and When I try to create one, this is what it shows

4. My mail accounts have also disappeared. When I open the mail app, it prompts me to choose a mail account. When I do that this is what it shows

5. I do not have a Time Machine backup of a recent date. The last one is about a year old.

6. On someone’s suggestion, I also tried resetting smc and pram.

7. I am not a technical person

AND ALL THESE ISSUES STARTED AFTER I UPDATED TO MACOS HIGH SIERRA 10.13.6 ON 15th July 2018.

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,057 points

Jul 27, 2018 12:14 PM in response to Shyampat

You are welcome. Might be a corrupt .plist.

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

Quit System Preferences.

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.

For Mail, what shows in Mail/Preferences/Accounts?

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Mac cannot connect to iCloud

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