As an Apple user, you may rely on iCloud on daily basis but maybe you are still unsure about how it works. It only takes a few minutes to set up the service on your Mac, iPhone or iPad and you can enjoy the convenience solution that it provides. In order to help you to understand iCloud and what it can do for you, we’ll take a closer look at this technology in this article.
Understanding iCloud
iCloud is a simple solution to keep all your devices synced and it allows you to share information between your iOS devices and a computer. The data on each device is updated automatically to ensure that you can access the latest information on all the devices. iCloud is free and it works without requiring a wired connection. Since it works in the background, it won’t affect the performance of your system and you don’t need to take any particular steps to use it.
There are many situations in which iCloud can be very practical. For example, if you take photos with your iPhone, the images are automatically available on any other Apple device that is connected to iCloud . You don’t need to transfer photos manually from your iPhone to your computer because they can be accessed on your computer, without any required input from you.
Apart from syncing photos across your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, iCloud allows you to sync other data such as Calendars, Contacts, Notes, iTunes purchases, Safari bookmarks and more. With iCloud, you can backup your device and find a device that is lost. iCloud stores your data safely on a remote server using online (or cloud) storage technology. You can store your information online in a safe manner and access it from any device, whenever needed.
How to create an account
In order to be able to use iCloud, you need to create an account. There are no fees involved in creating and holding an iCloud account and in general, this can be the same as your Apple ID. Just in case, your Apple ID is the email address that you used to sign up for iTunes. The Apple ID and password are used to download apps or music and if you want to keep things simple, you can also use it to set up an iCloud account. Just keep in mind that if there is more than one person using the same Apple ID, it is advisable to create a different iCloud account.
How to set up iCloud on an iOS device
When you are setting up a new iOS device, you are required to enter an Apple ID and to configure iCloud. There may be an active iCloud account already, but you may not know about it. If you chose not to enable iCloud during the original setup, don’t worry, you can still enable it at any time. You just need to open the Settings app and select iCloud. If the option is not enabled, you will be required to enter the Apple ID and password. Once you are logged in, you will see the options available to sync multiple kinds of data. Just set the slider control to the ON position whenever you wish to sync data across your devices.
How to set up iCloud on a computer
If you have a Mac, you can select iCloud in the System Preferences and sign in using your Apple ID and password. PC users have to download the iCloud control panel, which is available on Apple’s website. After you have installed it on your computer, you need to open the Control Panel, open iCloud and log in using your Apple ID and password.
