Transfer iCloud Drive to Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox

Why Files End Up Leaving iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive tends to fill up on its own, with whatever Apple's apps and your synced folders hand it. Sooner or later something forces a move.

• 📦 The 5 GB runs out — The free iCloud plan is shared with device backups and photos, so a drive full of project folders is usually the first thing to get squeezed. Moving it elsewhere frees the space without paying for iCloud+.
• 🪟 Half your devices aren't Apple — iCloud Drive has apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and a Windows app, but nothing for Android. A work PC or a phone from another brand sees it only through a browser.
• 🤝 Your collaborators live somewhere else — Clients and teammates share through Google Docs, Microsoft 365, or Dropbox links. A folder there is easier to hand over than an iCloud sharing invitation.
• 🔁 You're switching platforms — Leaving the iPhone for Android, or the Mac for a Windows laptop, means the files you kept in iCloud Drive need a new home first.
• 🗃️ One tidy account instead of three — Consolidating scattered folders into the storage you already open every day is simpler than remembering which service holds which project.

What You Need Before You Start

The iCloud side is the fussy one — Apple only lets outside tools in when a few settings line up. Check these first and the rest is routine.

• 🌐 "Access iCloud Data on the Web" switched on — On your iPhone or iPad open Settings → your name → iCloud and turn it on. OurClone's sign-in asks for it, and rclone's documentation says it must be on for accounts that use Advanced Data Protection.
• 🔑 Your normal Apple Account password — rclone's documentation is explicit that app-specific passwords aren't accepted; use the regular Apple Account password plus the two-factor code.
• 📱 A device or phone that can receive the code — Apple sends a 6-digit code to a trusted device, or by text to a trusted phone number.
• 🌏 Not a mainland China Apple Account — OurClone doesn't support Apple Accounts registered in mainland China.
• ⬇️ OurClone v1.4.0 or later — iCloud Drive arrived in that version; the download page always has the current build.

iCloud Drive Next to the Three Usual Destinations

The four services overlap, but they're built around different ecosystems — which usually decides where a folder should go.

Method 1: Download from iCloud, Upload to the New Home

The no-software route. It's fine for a handful of folders and gets tedious past that, because every file passes through your own computer twice.

1. 📥 Get the files onto your computer — Three ways, depending on what you have:
   • On a Mac — open iCloud Drive in Finder. Files showing a cloud icon aren't stored on the Mac yet; right-click them and choose Download Now, or Finder will fetch each one as you copy it.
   • Any computer with a browser — sign in at icloud.com/iclouddrive, select the files, and click the download button — the cloud with a down arrow in the top-right toolbar. They land in your browser's download folder.
   • On Windows — Apple's iCloud for Windows app shows iCloud Drive as a folder in File Explorer.



2. 📤 Put them into the destination — In Google Drive, click New and choose Folder upload (or File upload), or drag the folder into the browser window; OneDrive and Dropbox offer the same options in their web apps. Faster for big folders: copy it into the synced folder of the Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox desktop app and let that app upload it in the background.

The catch is the double handling. The files are downloaded in full, sit as a second copy on your disk, and are uploaded again — and a browser tab that closes or a laptop that sleeps mid-upload means starting that folder over. For anything beyond a few gigabytes, Method 2 does the same job without the middle copy.

Method 2: Move iCloud Drive Straight to the Other Cloud with OurClone

OurClone signs in to iCloud Drive as a storage, then streams files to the destination from your own computer — no relay server, and no unpacking folders by hand. You add two storages, then run one Migrate job.

• 🍎 Step 1: Add iCloud Drive as the Source (Apple Account Sign-In) — In OurClone open the Add tab and pick iCloud Drive. The dialog reminds you to turn on Access iCloud Data on the Web; then enter your Apple ID and password (the Remote Name can stay as it is) and click Continue. Apple asks for a verification code next: type the 6-digit code shown on your trusted device and click Verify, or click Didn't get a code? Text me instead and pick a trusted phone number. If the account uses Advanced Data Protection, Apple may ask you to approve the sign-in on a device too, which can take up to five minutes. Once it finishes, iCloud Drive appears in your storage list.





• 🔗 Step 2: Add the Destination (Browser Sign-In) — Back in the Add tab, choose Google Drive. A browser window opens; sign in and authorize OurClone, and Drive joins the list. OneDrive and Dropbox work the same way — see the OneDrive and Dropbox pages if you're connecting them for the first time.



• 🎛️ Step 3: Pick the iCloud Folder, the Destination Folder, and a Mode — Open the Migrate tab. On the source side choose iCloud Drive and browse to the folder you want to move. On the target side choose Google Drive (or OneDrive or Dropbox) and select or create the destination folder. Then choose a mode:
  • Copy — duplicates the files into the destination and leaves iCloud Drive exactly as it was. Start here.
  • Move — transfers, then deletes the originals from iCloud Drive. This is the one that frees iCloud storage, so use it only after you've checked a Copy.
  • Sync — makes the destination folder mirror the iCloud folder: extra files that exist only in the destination are removed; iCloud Drive itself is untouched.
  Click Start Transfer.



iCloud Drive is the source on the left, Google Drive the destination on the right, with Copy selected. OneDrive and Dropbox are picked the same way.

• 📈 Watch It Land, Then Spot-Check — The Task panel shows files done, speed, ETA, and anything that failed. When it reads completed, open the destination in OurClone or in its web app and compare a few folders. If you chose Move, confirm iCloud Drive no longer holds those files.

Run a Copy on one small folder first and open it on the destination. Once it looks right, queue the larger ones. The sign-in Apple gives OurClone is a web session, not a permanent key — rclone's documentation puts its lifetime at about 30 days — so if a transfer later fails with an authentication error, add iCloud Drive again from the Add tab to sign in fresh.

Method 3: Transfer iCloud Drive with rclone (Command Line)

OurClone is built on rclone, and rclone has its own iCloud Drive backend. It's the choice for scripts and headless machines — with the catch that you handle Apple's two-factor prompt yourself.

Step 1: Install rclone

Download it from the official page, or run brew install rclone.

Step 2: Configure the iCloud Drive remote

Run rclone config, choose n for a new remote, name it icloud, and pick the iclouddrive backend with the drive service. Enter your Apple ID and password, then answer the verification prompt with the code from your trusted device or by text. Add a second remote for the destination — gdrive for the drive backend, or onedrive or dropbox — and finish its browser sign-in.

Step 3: Run the transfer

The three verbs match OurClone's modes:

# Copy — iCloud Drive untouched, files appear in Google Drive
rclone copy icloud:Documents gdrive:iCloud-Documents --progress

# Move — delete from iCloud Drive after each file arrives
rclone move icloud:Documents gdrive:iCloud-Documents --progress

# Sync — make the Google Drive folder mirror iCloud (deletes extras in Google Drive)
rclone sync icloud:Documents gdrive:iCloud-Documents --progress

Add --dry-run before the first real move or sync, and use rclone lsd icloud: to see the top-level folders you can point at.

Caveats

• ⚠️ The sign-in expires after about 30 days; run rclone config reconnect icloud: to authenticate again.
• ⚠️ move and sync delete files — check the direction before you run them.
• ⚠️ If the account uses Advanced Data Protection, Access iCloud Data on the Web must be on, and Apple may ask you to approve the sign-in on a trusted device.

What Trips Up an iCloud Drive Transfer