iCloud is designed to keep your content synced seamlessly between devices. However, sometimes the syncing process can slow down. When iCloud starts lagging, it can be frustrating as you wait for photos, emails, and other data to transfer between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Luckily, there are several steps you can take to speed up iCloud and improve sync performance.

Understanding iCloud Sync

When you enable iCloud on your Apple devices, it creates a cloud-based backup of your content that is synced across all devices connected to the same iCloud account. This includes photos, emails, contacts, calendars, files, notes, Safari bookmarks, and more. iCloud sync uses your WiFi or cellular data connection to communicate changes between devices.

Check Your Internet Connection

The speed of this background syncing depends largely on the quality of your internet connection. Make sure you have a reliable WiFi or LTE connection with good signal strength. Syncing will be slower over slower internet connections.

Wi-Fi vs Cellular Data

When possible, use a WiFi connection instead of cellular data. WiFi is generally faster than cellular data, allowing quicker syncing. If using cellular data, 4G LTE provides faster speeds than older 3G networks.

Location of iCloud Servers

Your physical distance from Apple's iCloud servers can also impact sync times. The closer you are to iCloud servers, the faster the transfer of data. Location depends on factors you cannot control, but it can explain slower syncing if you live in more remote areas.

Free Up Space in iCloud

iCloud has limited storage that is shared between your devices. If you exceed the free 5GB of space, your sync performance may lag. Try freeing up some iCloud storage space for optimal functionality.

Offload Unused Apps

Go to Settings > General > iPhone/iPad Storage on your iOS device and enable "Offload Unused Apps" to remove unused apps while preserving documents and data. This also saves storage space.

Delete Old Emails and Messages

Regularly go through and delete old emails, texts and messages that you no longer need immediate access to. This reduces the amount of data your devices need to sync.

Disable Certain Sync Functions

You can speed up syncing by disabling iCloud sync for content you don’t regularly need immediate access to across your other devices. This reduces the amount of data transfer needed.

Photos

If you have a large photo library, consider disabling iCloud Photos on your secondary devices to lighten the sync load. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and toggle off iCloud Photos.

Mail

If you don’t need mail messages constantly synced across devices, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and disable iCloud Mail. This will reduce background data demands.

Use Optimized iPhone Storage

Using the Optimize iPhone Storage setting can help limit the space iCloud data takes up on your iPhone or iPad, while keeping it stored in iCloud for on demand download. This reduces local device storage demands.

Review Storage Settings

Go to Settings > General > iPhone/iPad Storage > Review Downloaded Videos and Photos to make sure Optimize iPhone Storage is still enabled appropriately for your needs and usage habits. Disable if you find yourself needing to redownload content too frequently.

Offload Unused Apps

You can additionally enable Offload Unused Apps here. This removes dormant apps you haven’t used recently while keeping documents and data. Quicker to reinstall when needed again.

Update Your Devices

Keeping your iPhone, iPad, and Mac updated with the latest iOS and MacOS software can improve general performance and efficiency of background processes like iCloud sync.

Update iPhone and iPad

Go to Settings > General > Software Update to update your iPhone or iPad to take advantage of the most recent optimizations.

Update Mac

On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Software Update to update your Mac computer if updates are available. Stay current for best speed.

Reset Network Settings

If you continue experiencing slow or inconsistent syncing, try resetting your network settings on the iPhone or iPad causing issues. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This will wipe all Wi-Fi networks and other connections, but can resolve software and connectivity issues impacting sync.

Contact Apple Support

If you still cannot resolve lagging iCloud sync issues, Apple technical support can provide individualized troubleshooting assistance. Be prepared to answer questions about your iCloud storage usage, connection details, iOS versions, and specifics on the inconsistencies experienced.

Tips for Faster Syncing

Here are some final tips for speeding up lagging iCloud syncing in daily use:

Connect to Power

Make sure your devices are sufficiently charged or connected to a power source so background syncing and data transfer isn’t disrupted by power saving modes or depleted batteries.

Connect to WiFi

When available, sync over WiFi rather than cellular for faster speeds. Disable Wi-Fi Assist under Settings to prevent automatic switching to cellular data during poor WiFi connection.

Close Unused Apps

Swipe away apps you aren’t actively using so your device resources can prioritize successful iCloud syncing in the background as efficiently as possible without other strains on the system.

Manual Syncing

You can manually trigger a sync by swiping down on the homescreen to engage Sync Now. Or tap Settings > your account > iCloud > Sync Now. This forces a fresh sync attempt.

Quick Tip to ensure your videos never go missing

Videos are precious memories and all of us never want to ever lose them to hard disk crashes or missing drives. PicBackMan is the easiest and simplest way to keep your videos safely backed up in one or more online accounts. Simply Download PicBackMan (it's free!), register your account, connect to your online store and tell PicBackMan where your videos are - PicBackMan does the rest, automatically. It bulk uploads all videos and keeps looking for new ones and uploads those too. You don't have to ever touch it.

FAQs

What happens if my iCloud storage is full when syncing photos?

If your iCloud storage fills up, new photos will stop syncing across devices until you free up storage space again. Delete old photos or disable certain services like iCloud photo sync as needed.

Why are my iCloud contacts not syncing properly?

Check Settings > [your name] > iCloud to make sure Contacts syncing is still enabled appropriately across your account and devices. Reset Network settings if issues persist without explanation.

How can I see the sync status of items stuck “in progress”?

Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage to identify items struggling to sync. Delete or disable such items then trigger a fresh sync attempt to resolve.

My calendar is not syncing between iPhone and Mac. How do I fix this?

Check that Calendar sync is enabled on both devices under Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Calendars. If already enabled without resolution, log out then back into your iCloud account on problematic devices before resetting Network Settings.

If I disable an app’s iCloud sync will its data be deleted?

No, disabling app sync in iCloud retains its data locally without ongoing backup and sync functionality. To delete app data, you must delete the app itself from your device or under Settings > General > iPhone/iPad Storage.