How to Back up MacBook to iCloud

Do you back up Mac to iCloud regularly? And if you don’t, do you know how to use iCloud to back up Mac computers?

If you’re anything like me, you want to make sure that your documents are always backed up—you don’t want to lose them if there’s an issue with your MacBook.

Fortunately, Apple makes it easy to save files onto iCloud, so you can access and restore them if necessary.

In this article, I’ll explain the differences between iCloud and Time Machine backups, and how to do a MacBook iCloud backup both manually and automatically.

Before we start:

 

When you back up your computer, you only want to keep the important stuff—you don’t want to save a lot of unnecessary files as well. But how do you find and remove the junk?

 

MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup can help. It searches your Mac quickly and can help you remove unnecessary log files, caches, unneeded language files, and more.

 

Here’s how to use MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup:

1. Download MacKeeper and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
2. Open MacKeeper and choose Safe Cleanup from the sidebar.
3. Click Start Scan.
4. When the scan is complete, choose the files you want to delete and click Clean Junk Files.

Can you back up your MacBook to iCloud

iCloud is Apple’s cloud storage service. The free version comes with 5GB of storage, but you can also choose to purchase more.

You can use iCloud to back up your documents. You can either do this manually or automatically have your files sync with your iCloud account. You’ll then be able to recover or download them from the cloud when you need them. iCloud is also a great way to transfer files from Mac to Mac if you have multiple computers.

However, you can’t back up your entire MacBook to iCloud. While you can save documents, photos, and other files to your iCloud, you can’t store a Time Machine backup there.

What is the difference between Mac backups in Time Machine and iCloud

If you’re looking to back up MacBook completely, Apple’s Time Machine might be the better choice for you.

A MacBook iCloud backup lets you save files to iCloud. However, a Time Machine backup saves not only your documents but also your apps, settings, and passwords in your Keychain. You can use a Time Machine backup to restore everything on your MacBook.

Time Machine automatically creates and keeps a range of backups, including:

• Hourly backups for the last 24 hours
• Daily backups for the last month
• Weekly backups for time before that

You can also choose to create manual Time Machine backups. Once you’ve backed up your computer, restoring Mac from Time Machine is easy.

I like to use both Time Machine and iCloud backups—this way, my files are saved in two different places, so the risk of losing them forever is minimal.

To ensure that your Time Machine auto backups aren’t too large, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve cleared out some of the unnecessary files from your MacBook. MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup can help you here. One quick scan can find a lot of junk files—I found more than 5GB that could be safely deleted!

To use MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup:

1. Open MacKeeper and choose Safe Cleanup from the sidebar.
2. Click Start Scan.
3. Look through the results, and choose the ones you want to remove. Click Clean Junk Files.

Can you save a Time Machine backup to iCloud

You can’t save a Time Machine backup to iCloud—even if you have enough storage space. Full Time Machine backups require an external storage device, such as a USB flash drive or an external hard drive. It must have twice the storage capacity of your Mac.

How to manually back up your MacBook to iCloud

You can choose to manually save files from your MacBook to your iCloud account. If you don’t want to automatically back up all of your documents, this might be the best option for you.

Our expert’s tip: Make sure that you’re connected to the internet before backing up your MacBook to iCloud.

To manually use iCloud to back up Mac:

1. Go to the iCloud website and log in using your iCloud username and password.
2. Open Finder, and choose the items that you want to add to your iCloud.
3. Drag and drop these items into the iCloud Drive in the left sidebar.

You can also add files to your iCloud account from the iCloud website, as follows:

1. Go to the iCloud website. Log in.
2. Click Drive.
3. Choose the Upload icon.
4. Select the files and folders that you want to save to your iCloud drive, and click Upload. These files will now upload.

How to set up automatic iCloud backup for Mac

Apple allows you to automatically sync your Desktop and Documents folders between your MacBook and your iCloud account.

I like this system of backing up MacBook to iCloud automatically—that way, I can’t accidentally forget about it. Even if I didn’t remember to manually run a backup, I wouldn’t lose all my files if my computer were corrupted, or I needed to factory reset it.

Additionally, if you regularly need to work on multiple devices, this is a good way to make sure that your documents are always ready.

A hint from our team: These instructions should work whether you use a MacBook Air, Pro, iMac, or other Apple computer. I use macOS Sonoma, but these instructions will also work for macOS Ventura. If you’re using an older version, such as Mojave or Catalina, you’ll need to access your iCloud settings by going to the Apple menu > System Preferences.

To automatically backup Mac to iCloud:

1. Go to Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click on your Apple ID, and then click iCloud.
3. In the Apps Using iCloud section, click iCloud Drive.
4. Check that Sync this Mac is turned on, and then turn on Desktop & Documents Folders. Click Done.

How to make sure iCloud is backed up on Mac

Now that you’ve set up your MacBook iCloud backup, you’ll want to check that it’s actually worked—especially if you’re using automatic backups.

I like to check my iCloud backups every few days so that I can make sure my files are definitely being synced. After all, if my MacBook were broken or corrupted, I’d hate to find out that all of my documents were lost.

Our pro advice: 

 

If your iCloud storage is getting full, check out our article on how to manage iCloud storage on Mac.

To check your MacBook iCloud backups:

1. In Finder, click on iCloud Drive in the left sidebar.
2. Look through your files to check that everything is there.

If you’re using a different computer or device, you can also check your iCloud backups online.

To check iCloud backups online:

1. Go to the iCloud website and log in.
2. Click on Drive to access, check, and download your files.

Conclusion

Backing up MacBook to iCloud is a great way to make additional copies of your documents. It won’t create a full backup that you can use to restore your computer, like Time Machine, but it’s a quick and easy way to save your files.

Everyone should make sure that they’re backing up their work regularly, but MacBook iCloud backups might be especially useful for you if:

• You regularly work on multiple devices
• You store important documents on your MacBook that you can’t lose
• You want an automatic backup solution

When you’re backing up your laptop, you want to make sure that you’re not backing up lots of unnecessary files. Remember that MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup can help you clear out junk files before you start your backup.