iCloud provides a clean and simple way to sync email, calendars, contacts, reminders, photos, Safari data, and documents between a Mac and iPhone.
With OS X 10.9 and iOS 7, Apple has updated iCloud and made it more robust, stable and useful; so we decided to update our original iCloud sync guide, this time focusing on syncing between a Mac and iPhone. These steps will work on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 7 or later, and Macs running OS X 10.9 or later. Make sure you update to the latest versions of iOS and OS X before continuing.
Set Up iCloud on Mac
There is an important choice to be made before we begin. some people buy music, movies, TV shows, books and apps My wife, sons and I use an iTunes account to purchase and share contents. However, we each use our own iCloud account to sync data. Users must create a second account to sync their data and enter login information for that account in the steps below.
Go to Mac and click on it. The box below opens. Those who want to create a new iCloud account should click on the link under the box on the left. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Anyone who doesn’t want to create a new account can enter their existing Apple iTunes ID, which is usually an email address and password. Those who can’t remember should click the link below the password box.
When the person clicks, the computer will display a screen with two checkboxes. The top box opens the synchronization of personal data listed in the dialog. The other opens Find My Mac, a service like Find My iPhone that helps people find a lost or stolen machine. We recommend that you choose both. Click .
The machine will ask for the user’s password and then ask to use the Mac’s location for Find My Mac. Click if you want to turn it on or keep it closed.
The next box provides three options regarding iCloud Keychain. iCloud Keychain syncs things like passwords and settings.
To turn on iCloud Keychain, OS X will ask for confirmation from another device set up to use iCloud Keychain. If a user does not have another device, select . This will delete everything stored on the account and it won’t matter as it is empty on a new account and turns the feature on. Users who have a device preinstalled must select it. The option turns off Keychain sync.
For those who choose the approval process, the operating system will send a request to the other device. The other device displays a notification on the screen and asks for the account password. Sign in and iCloud Keychain sync will turn on Mac.
This deals with the basics. Apple offers more detailed support document this shows how to handle unique cases and what to do when the above doesn’t work.
Users can then choose which options to sync or open. Here’s what each item in the list in iCloud settings does.
Note the button marked in the lower right. Click to manage data stored in iCloud. A user can purchase additional storage from Apple, delete the content of various apps that use iCloud, and view account details.
Set up iCloud on an iPhone
Open the Settings app and scroll down. Tap it to see the login screen. The link at the bottom of the screen allows users to create a new account, which we covered in the Mac section above.
Readers who already have an Apple account can enter the account user email address and password on the sign-in screen. It will start by searching for the account online and setting most of the items in the list to sync by default.
We recommend that you open all items. Do this by tapping the slider switches so that they all appear green. Three of the items listed do not offer keys (see below).
iCloud Keychain
Tap Keychain and a new screen appears. Tap the slider switch and the phone will prompt the user to sign in to their Apple iCloud account again. The screen that follows presents a message explaining that the user must approve a request to turn on Keychain sync from another pre-approved device. Use this option as we installed Keychain on Mac.
People who skip the Mac part must verify their identity using an SMS message sent to the mobile number they used to sign up for their Apple ID. They can also use the iCloud Security Code generated when signing up for the account.
Photos and Photo Stream
Tapping Photos opens another screen with three more slider switches. The first opens My Photo Stream, which uploads all photos to iCloud for sharing with others or viewing on other Apple devices.
On iPhone 5s or newer models, there is an entry asking to upload burst photos from the camera. This option tells the operating system to load all photos taken using the new Burst Mode on the iPhone 5s. Burst Mode takes a series of shots and prompts the user to choose the best one. This option allows it to sync all shots taken by Burst Mode if the user has this option turned on, or only the favorite if the user has turned the option off.
For more information, please see how to use Burst Mode in iOS 7.
The third option allows users to share photos with friends or family via iCloud. Turn it on to allow it and keep it off to not allow sharing from the phone.
Documents and Data
Tap on it to show the next screen. Open to sync documents and data from apps that support it, such as Apple iWork apps, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
Once the feature is set to sync, the user can change the setting for each listed app. In the screenshot above, notice that the two apps can share data via iCloud. Reclouder records voice memos and syncs them between iOS devices.
The last option allows the user to choose whether or not to sync using cellular data. Turn it on to allow and close to disallow.
When an app offers syncing of documents, files, or data to iCloud, it usually asks for permission to use the feature when the app is installed or the first time the user launches it.
