Long gone are the days when you had to pull out a USB to Lightning cablegram to load up your favorite music , photos , or even your calendar from your Mac or personal computer onto your iPhone or iPad . Now , you’re able to keep everything in the cloud , and it will seamlessly sync between all your twist whenever you have a Wi - Fi or cellular data point connection .

Apple ’s iCloud is the light fashion to sync up youriPhoneandiPad . While you may also apply other cloud provider , such asGoogle DriveandGoogle Photos , they ca n’t offer the same home - field advantage of Apple ’s tight iCloud integration .

To get start , simply go toSettings > Username > iCloud , and tap the specific contentedness you want sync . But we ’re beget ahead of ourselves : the first thing you ’ll ask to do is sign into iCloud .

Ensure you’re signed into iCloud on both devices

so as to start the process of synchronise your iPhone and iPad , you ’ll require to ensure that you ’re signed into the same iCloud account on both devices . This should normally be the compositor’s case if you ’re the chief user of both equipment and the someone who set them up in the first position , as Apple will need you to sign in with your Apple ID during the setup mental process , although it ’s potential to hop that stone’s throw and not sign in at all .

You also may require to switch iCloud account statement if you have multiple Apple IDs or you ’re using an iPad from another family member . take note that Apple ’s iPhone and iPad operating system do n’t support multiple user profiles , so if you ’re assay to sync an iPad that ’s normally used by someone else , you ’ll have to get them to bless out of it first — they ’ll need to supply their password to do so —   which will absent and stop synchronize the information from their iCloud account . Although it ’s potential to switch back and forth between two Apple IDs , you ’ll be wiping and replacing all the iCloud data each prison term you do this , so it ’s not a hard-nosed way to share an iPad between sept fellow member and keep everything synced up .

Here ’s how to ensure that you ’re ratify into the same iCloud account on both your iPhone and iPad .

Step 1 : Open theSettingsapp on your iPhone or iPad .

If you see your name at the top of the options cover , then you ’re good to go ! you may skip the following steps and proceed to the next section .

footfall 2 : If you see someone else ’s name at the top of the preferences app instead of yours , take it and then scroll down and chooseSign Outat the bottom of the next screen .

You ’ll in all probability be ask to infix the Apple ID and password of this other write up to turn off the detect My feature article . You ’ll then be carry through several other step to sustain that you want to bless out of iCloud and asked whether your require to keep or remove sure types of data point like contacts , calendar events , and exposure .

assure all these toggles are flip off and chooseSign Outfrom the top - right street corner , and thenSign Outagain from the confirmation command prompt that pops up .

stair 3 : Once you ’ve signed out of another account , or if the equipment was n’t signed in to an iCloud account in the first place , you ’ll seeSign in to your iPadorSign in to your iPhoneat the top of the cover . take this alternative and pursue the teaching to sign up in .

Step 4 : If you have another Apple machine nearby that ’s already sign into your iCloud account , such as an iPhone or iPad , selectUse Another Apple Deviceand bestow it close to the one you ’re sample to sign on in to and come the steps provided .

Otherwise , chooseSign in Manuallyand enter your Apple ID and password . If you have two - factor hallmark enable for your Apple ID , you ’ll also need to confirm that you ’re the one signing in by responding to a prompt on one of your other devices that ’s already signalise in to your Apple ID and then entering the six - digit PIN that ’s shown on that machine .

How to sync your iPhone with your iPad

Once you ’ve affirm that you ’re sign into the same iCloud account on both equipment , you ’re quick to synchronise your iPhone and iPad . Most of the iCloud sync options are enable by nonremittal , so you ’re probably already synchronise things like calendar , middleman , Safari bookmarker , and the passwords stored in your iCloud Keychain . However , there are others you may need to turn on manually   —   and which ones to use will calculate on how much iCloud computer storage you have usable , which we ’ll get to in a moment .

Here ’s how to align what data syncs with iCloud to and from each of your devices .

Step 1 : afford the options app on your iPhone or iPad , pick out your name at the top of the screen , and chooseiCloud .

footstep 2 : Under the " Apps using iCloud " drift , selectShow All . This will take you to a tilt of all of the different type of data that can be synced with iCloud .

Step 3 : For those entries with a on/off switch switch , simply choose the permutation to reverse synchronise on or off for those apps or services .

Step 4 : Some services —   such as Photos , iCloud Drive , iCloud Mail , Notes , and Messages — will show either On or Off instead of a toggle . pick out these to see the shift to enable or disable them , along with some additional pick .

Make certain you adjust these configurations on both your iPhone and iPad .

Turn on automatic downloads

If you require to ensure that your iPhone and iPad always have the same apps available , you may also sprain on reflex Downloads . This manner , when you purchase or download an app from the App Store on one gimmick , it will mechanically be installed on the other one .

tone 1 : launch the configurations app on your iPhone or iPad .

footstep 2 : Scroll down and selectApp Store .

Step 3 : Under Automatic Downloads , toggle onApp Downloads .

On your iPhone or an iPad with a cellular design , be sure to also check the choice underCellular Datato ensure they describe up with your data allotment and how you want to use it . you’re able to change by reversal off automatic app downloads over Wi - Fi entirely if you favour , or you’re able to demand your twist to ask before mechanically downloading any apps , or only those over 200 M .

Get more iCloud storage

Whilethe paltry 5 GB of storage that Apple provides for freeshould be okay for syncing introductory entropy like calendars , liaison , and notes , you ’ll almost certainly need to buy more store blank if you require to synchronise all of your photos across your iPhone and iPad . you may do this by subscribing to one of Apple ’s iCloud+ programme , either individually or as part of anApple One bundle .

you’re able to do this directly from the iCloud configurations on your iPhone or iPad .

footfall 1 : unfold theSettingsapp on your iPhone or iPad and take your name at the top of the chooseiCloud .

footstep 2 : If you only need to take to an iCloud+ store design , selectiCloud > Manage Account Storage > Change Storage Plan .

prefer the plan you ’d wish — 50 GB , 200 gigabit , or 2 TB — and selectUpgrade to iCloud+ .

footstep 3 : If you ’re concerned in sign to other services like Apple Music , Apple TV+ , and Apple Arcade , you may be able to get a better deal by bundle up these with extra storage in an Apple One plan . For object lesson , an Apple One single subscription costs $ 17 per month and include Apple Music ( $ 11 ) , Apple TV+ ( $ 6.99 ) , Apple Arcade ( $ 5 ) , and 50 GB of iCloud+ storage ( $ 1 ) .

Step 4 : iCloud+ store and other benefit can also be share with multiple family member . While the largest program is 2 TB , you may actually get up to 4 TB of iCloud storage for your category by stack a standard 2 TB iCloud+ plan on top of the Apple One Premium bundle , which also includes 2 TB of iCloud memory , give you a sum of 4 TB of storage .

Turn on iCloud backups

Lastly , it ’s also a good idea to sour oniCloud Backupso that you may easily restore your files and data in the event that you lose either your iPhone or iPad .

Step 2 : Select your name from the top of the screen , and then chooseiCloud .

Step 3 : SelectiCloud Backup .

Step 4 : Toggle on the choice toBack Up This iPhone(or iPad ) . If you ’re using a 5G - capable equipment , you ’ll also see a Back Up Over Cellular alternative here ; ensure this is switched off unless you have a data point plan that can care it . observe that while the first iCloud backup can be quite big , subsequent backups are incremental , only uploading what ’s changed since the last reliever , so they should use well less data .

The iCloud Backup feature effectively back up your entire gimmick so it can be restored to the same commonwealth . However , Apple is also quite levelheaded about how it palm this , so you likely wo n’t ask to worry about pledge to a massive storage programme even if you have a 512 GB or 1 TB iPhone or iPad . Instead , iCloud backs up only the data that ca n’t be redownloaded from elsewhere .

For illustration , if you ’re using iCloud Photo Library or Messages in iCloud , that data is already stack away in iCloud separately , so there ’s no point in backing it up again . likewise , data in third - party apps like Google Drive , Dropbox , and OneDrive is stored in their respective cloud services , so only the stage setting for those apps are backed up to iCloud .

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get my iPhone and iPad to sync up?

The easiest way to get your iPhone and iPad to sync is to use Apple ’s very own iCloud . This method acting eliminates the pauperism for cable system , or connecting your gadget to your computer . To get started , do the following :

Why aren’t my iPhone and iPad syncing?

If your iPhone and iPad are n’t sync , it may either be because you ’ve disabled iCloud on one or both of your devices , or disabled sure content or media from syncing over iCloud . To turn iCloud on , do the following :

If , alternatively , one specific medium or data case ( photos , e-mail , etc . ) is n’t syncing between your iPhone and iPad , you ’ll want to go into you iCloud setting ( configurations > Username > iCloud ) and snap on the specific app . From there , simply toggle the sync switch on .

Where is the sync menu on my iPhone?

To find the sync fare — i.e. , the iCloud card — on your iPhone , candid preferences > Username > iCloud . From there you may select which specific medium or data you want synced .

Does Apple still allow you to sync your iPhone or iPad with your computer?

Yes , Apple still earmark you to synchronize your iPhone and iPad directly with your electronic computer , so this is an selection if you opt to maneuver clear of iCloud or you have a library of your own music that you ’d like to stack away on your gadget . you could find out more about how to do that in our guide onhow to sync substance from a Mac to an iPhone or iPad .