The reliability and performance of iCloud Drive sync are out of our control. If syncing is not working, the following tips might help to get it working again.
As the upload and syncing process of External Storage spaces will depend entirely on 3rd party services, we do not recommend using External spaces across different devices since it can lead to data conflicts and data loss. If you're unsure of how to use your spaces, please reach out to our support team for more information.
Troubleshooting tips
1. Trigger Sync by Opening Finder and the Files App.
You can try to trigger the sync manually. Open up a `Finder` window (and optionally navigate to your iCloud Drive folder) on Mac. On iOS (iPhone and iPad), open up the `Files` app once and navigate to your iCloud Drive folder. There you can also check if everything is enabled.
Sometimes the files are found but not downloaded. Normally Craft requests to download your documents and assets.
2. Edit a Document
Change the content of a document to kick off syncing. Then iCloud Drive should notice the change and start syncing.
3. Make Sure You Have Full Internet Access
You need to be on Wi-Fi or have a fast cellular connection. Make sure your device is charged, otherwise syncing may be slowed down to preserve energy. Also, please ensure that no firewalls such as LittleSnitch are blocking iCloud services.
Corporate firewalls and privacy programs such as TCPBlock can block traffic to iCloud’s servers too.
4. Switch on/off Airplane Mode
Reconnecting to the network can also kick off the iCloud Drive sync.
5. Is Syncing Allowed on Cellular?
Make sure that "System Services" is enabled under `Settings` → `Mobile Data`. This needs to be able to sync when you are not on Wi-Fi. Check if you’ve turned “Use Cellular Data” on in Apple’s `Settings` → `iCloud` → `iCloud Drive`.
6. Make Sure Your Battery Is Full Enough
When your battery is low, your device will not sync as fast as normal to preserve power. Hook up your hardware to a power supply and turn off power-saving mode to get the full syncing back.
7. iCloud Storage Limit
Check if you haven't exceeded your storage limit. Craft can't sync if you hit the limit.
8. Restart Your Devices
To make sure the iCloud services are running in the background, restart your devices.
9. Is iCloud enabled?
On iOS, you need to be logged in into iCloud with the same Apple ID as on the other devices, and iCloud Drive should be enabled.
On Mac, You need to be signed in into iCloud with your Apple ID, iCloud, and iCloud Drive has to be enabled. Click on the Apple icon top left on your desktop menubar, then `System Preferences…` and select `Apple ID`. There make sure `iCloud` is selected on the left. Check here if you are signed in (you should see your name and email address) and if iCloud Drive is enabled.
10. Is ‘Optimize Mac Storage’ Disabled on Mac?
It should be disabled. Find this preference under `Apple ID`. Either look for this in the System Preferences or just search for it using Spotlight.
With this preference enabled, your Mac will try to offload content to the cloud and only download it when you open the file directly. This leads to missing files, and thus your documents will not show up right away after creating or editing them on your mobile device. Turn it off if it was enabled to force your Mac to download iCloud Drive files right away.
11. Be Patient
The iCloud Drive syncing takes time to initiate in the background if you are using it the first time. If you have never synced with Craft before, it could take a day to start. Just waiting often solves the problem. You can also try switching on/off the flight mode to kick off the sync or opening Finder / Files to manually trigger the sync.
12. iCloud Drive is Hanging
If you are signed in into iCloud and everything is enabled, but syncing is still hanging or extremely slow, here is what you can do: The simplest way to fix this is to sign out and back in into iCloud.
On iOS, you can disable and enable iCloud Drive as well. This will delete the local iCloud Drive files and re-download them.
13. Set the time automatically on all your devices
Mac: `System Preferences` → `Date & Time` → `Set date and time automatically
iOS: `Settings` → `General` → `Date & Time` → `Set Automatically`
14. Update your OS
Apple is continuously improving iCloud with every version of their Operating Systems. We suggest in general, that you update the operating system on all your devices.
15. Is iCloud working on Apple’s side?
Check Apple’s System Status page, for the status of either iCloud Backup or iCloud Drive.
If you used Craft on one device and decide to switch to a different device and want to save to the same document, remember to open Craft on the secondary device for each external location to refresh its state before using Shortcuts, the Share Sheet, or other apps that send data to Craft to avoid possible session conflicts.