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NikonAnn2
User level: Level 1 (16 points)

iCloud interfering with Mac file management and sign-in issues

I need help urgently! 


I need to turn-off iCloud because it interferes with files that I am trying to copy to my Hard Drives. Now Apple says that I have had too many sign-outs from my Mac.?! Neither does Apple recognise my newly-set Password (which has two 9s in the middle of it).


I am actually finding iCloud to be unworkable because it interferes with populating my HDs. 

I have about 30 TBs in hard drives and I do NOT want iCloud to keep back-ups of any of them. 


Neither do I want iCloud to keep backups of my Photos, Documents, Applications, Contacts etc. (I have back-ups of everything already.)


Please can you tell me how to disable iCloud from these backups; or tell me how to disable iCloud safely and easily when I want to populate my HDs.


I have a fairly complicated personal network: one MacBook Pro tower containing 5 HDs; one Mac Mini; 3 external HDs; one MacBookPro with four HDs. All of this is interconnected by wifi or direct wiring and everything is already fully backed-up without any help from iCloud. 


iCloud definitely needs the capability of being turned-off when it is not needed; and it needs to be able to be disabled from backing-up the contents of a network of Macs.

I think I need iCloud but I am really not sure why?!!

Posted on Oct 19, 2026 12:51 PM

5 replies

Zurarczurx
User level: Level 6 (8,142 points)

Oct 19, 2026 1:07 PM in response to NikonAnn2

iCloud doesn't backup anything on your Mac. iCloud is a synch service, not a backup. Why do you think it is backing up your hard drives?



Richard.Taylor
User level: Level 7 (25,466 points)

Oct 21, 2026 7:48 AM in response to NikonAnn2

As Zurarczurx says, iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos are not backup services. It may be that you have no need for using iCloud. What is it that you want it to do? Why do you have iCloud turned on?


You might want to see this:

Understanding iCloud Drive - Apple Community


Richard.Taylor
User level: Level 7 (25,466 points)

Oct 23, 2026 7:20 AM in response to NikonAnn2

NikonAnn2 wrote: …I think that I have now got iCloud more under my control and have turned off its back-up capabilities for some of my computers.

That's great! You've said that you have your own backups, so it sounds like you know what you're doing. I thought that I would throw in that we need more than one backup of our files. I use Time Machine to do incremental backups that are quick and efficient. But I've had hard drives, both mechanical and solid state, go all dead parrot on me, so I also periodically copy my Photos Library and Nikon NEF files to a separate drive, and I have big lumbering hard drives for archiving files.


And while iCloud isn't a very good backup, I use it to synchronize my pictures (and some files) among my devices. And it does provide (rather volatile) off-site storage in case of catastrophic home loss.

NikonAnn2 Author
User level: Level 1 (16 points)

Oct 22, 2026 8:00 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thank you so much for your help.

I think that I have now got iCloud more under my control and have turned off its back-up capabilities for some of my computers.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256379114