ICloud sign in: all the instructions on how to access your iCloud account from iOS, macOS and even Windows PC to have all your files at your fingertips.
If you’ve recently bought a brand new Apple device, perhaps for the first time, you’ll have found yourself in front of a whole new universe, made up of extremely useful proprietary services and features. Among them is iCloud, which you can access with your personal profile to take advantage of all the convenience of networked data storage.
Being a neophyte with the products of the company of the bitten apple, you’re probably wondering how to access iCloud from your device, so as to start taking advantage of the service offered by Apple that allows iOS, macOS and even Windows PC users to create backup copies of their data on what can be called a kind of online hard drive, known as iCloud Drive, and then synchronize them on all devices in possession.
How to create an iCloud account
Before tapping on the fateful “iCloud sign in” button, with which you’ll have all your files at your fingertips, from photos to videos, through documents and even web browsers, you must of course create your own iCloud account. To do this, it is essential to have an Apple ID. Usually it is Apple itself to invite us to create one when we buy a new device, through a very straightforward procedure: connect to the official Apple website, fill out the registration form with all the required data and confirm your identity by clicking on the link that was sent to you by email from the Cupertino company. As an alternative, there is also the automatic registration through iTunes, a free service that can be downloaded on PCs and instead already pre-installed on Mac computers.
How to access iCloud from iOS
The iCloud login, as mentioned above, can be made on different devices, even those not signed by Apple. The first to interest us are obviously those with iOS mobile operating system, so iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In addition to creating an Apple ID, to use iCloud it is required that this be chosen as the default system to back up data on the device in use. Nothing could be easier, counting that it is one of the options selectable during the product activation process.
If for any reason you have instead activated your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch without checking this option, go to the home screen and tap on the “Settings” icon recognizable by the symbol with a gear wheel, then click on your username and select “iCloud”. In the dedicated screen, turn all the switches of your choice to “ON” at the options you’re interested in, be it contacts, calendars, mail, photos, documents, and so on.
After properly logging into iCloud on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you can also immediately view the status of the service and manage all your stored data. This means that you can edit and delete them, as well as add new ones by always tapping on the “Settings” icon from the home of your iOS device, and choosing “iCloud” followed by the “Storage” item. In the screen you can now see, clicking on “Total Space” you can check how much storage space is still available, while opting for the “Manage Space” item you’ll be able to manage all the data stored on iCloud to free up space as you see fit.
How to access iCloud from macOS
Also on Mac computers, iCloud is a valuable ally to anyone who wants to better organize their documents. To proceed, go to the “System Preferences” icon visible in the Dock, and immediately click on the “iCloud” heading that pops up on the virtual desktop.
Just like before, macOS also takes care of data management: if you want to view the status of your iCloud with the details of the data saved on its server, from the iCloud window of System Preferences click on the “Manage” button; instead, if you want to delete, add or edit data, open the Finder and click on the “iCloud Drive” item in the left sidebar.
How to access iCloud from Windows
A section of iCloud sign in is also provided for Windows users. Provided we have first downloaded and installed the dedicated client on our computer, and then configured it following the standard wizard. Now there is then the possibility to login to the service by entering the data used in the registration phase of the Apple account. As usual, choose which item to put a check mark on, so you can synchronize contacts, mail, calendars, media items and any file that can actually be stored. Favorites are synced with your default browser, photos are saved in the folder under “Options”, and contacts and mail can be accessed directly online at the official iCloud.com website.