Then, enable Documents and Desktop backup, too.The best cloud backup solutions can help you avoid dealing with data loss as you always have an extra copy of your most important files stored securely in the cloud. Toggle “Photos” on to back up your media and click “Options” next to iCloud Drive.

You can do this via iCloud Settings under System Preferences > Apple ID. iCloud Already Backs Up Photos, Documents, and Desktopįortunately, iCloud already backs up your most important data, provided that you have enough space to do so. This is in stark contrast to how iCloud Backup works on iPhones and iPads, where the device is backed up in its entirety (albeit without instanced snapshots or file-level access). Restoring every file on your Mac from an iCloud backup would be limited by the speed of your internet connection.Įven if you have a fast internet connection, Apple still won’t let you point your Time Machine backup at iCloud Drive. It works a lot like Dropbox or OneDrive in that it’s used to mirror and synchronize files between devices. You can connect your Time Machine drive and look for individual files if you need to.īy comparison, iCloud Drive is Apple’s cloud storage and file syncing service. You can migrate from one Mac to another with nothing but a Time Machine backup if you want. You can use this backup to restore your Mac in its entirety, whether you had a hardware failure or need to replace your entire Mac.

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