ICloud 1 requires an Apple ID, an active Internet connection, and up to date software. If you meet the recommended system requirements below, you can take advantage of the latest iCloud features and get the best overall experience. To see the minimum requirements for each feature, you can review the minimum requirements at the bottom of this page. Feb 17, 2021 iCloud 1 requires an Apple ID, an active Internet connection, and up to date software. If you meet the recommended system requirements below, you can take advantage of the latest iCloud features and get the best overall experience. To see the minimum requirements for each feature, you can review the minimum requirements at the bottom of this page.
Recommended system requirements
iCloud1 requires an Apple ID, an active Internet connection, and up to date software. If you meet the recommended system requirements below, you can take advantage of the latest iCloud features and get the best overall experience. To see the minimum requirements for each feature, you can review the minimum requirements at the bottom of this page.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
- iOS 14 or iPadOS 14
- iWork for iOS (Pages 2.5 or later, Numbers 2.5 or later, Keynote 2.5 or later)2
Mac
- macOS Big Sur
- Safari 9.1 or later, Firefox 45 or later, Google Chrome 54 or later, or Opera
- iWork for Mac (Pages 5.5 or later, Numbers 3.5 or later, Keynote 6.5 or later)2
Watch
PC
- Microsoft Windows 10*
- iTunes 12.7
- Outlook 2016 or later
- Firefox 45 or later, Google Chrome 54 or later (desktop mode only), Microsoft Edge, or Opera
* Windows 10 May 2019 Update or later is recommended for iCloud for Windows 10.
Apple TV
Minimum system requirements by feature
To use iCloud, you need at least iOS 5 on iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPad, or iPad mini; or at least OS X Lion 10.7.5 on a Mac.
Backup and Restore
Backup and Restore is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- iOS 5
Bookmarks
Bookmarks is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
- iOS 11
- macOS Sierra 10.12 and Safari 11
- Windows 7 with iCloud for Windows 7 and Firefox 22, Google Chrome 28 in desktop mode only, or Opera
Calendar, Contacts, Mail
Calendar, Contacts, and Mail are available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
- iOS 5
- OS X Lion 10.7.5
- Windows 7 with iCloud for Windows 7 and Outlook 2010 - Outlook 2016 3 or an up-to-date web browser
FaceTime
FaceTime is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and Mac.
- iOS 6
- OS X Mavericks 10.9
Family Setup for Apple Watch
Family Setup is available on iPhone and Apple Watch with two-factor authentication.
- iOS 14
- watchOS 7
Family Sharing
Family Sharing is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV.
- iOS 8
- OS X Yosemite and iTunes 12
- iCloud for Windows 4.1 and iTunes 12
- tvOS 7.0
Files app
The Files app is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- iOS 11
- iPadOS 14 (upgraded features)
Find Friends
Find Friends is available on Apple Watch.
- watchOS 3 - watchOS 5
Find My
Find My is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and Mac.
- iOS 13 or iPadOS
- macOS Catalina
Find my [device]
Find my [device] is available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.
- iOS 5
- iOS 6 (for Lost Mode)
- iOS 7 (for Activation Lock)
- OS X Lion 10.7.5
Find my iPhone and Find my Friends apps
Find my iPhone and Find my Friends are available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and web browsers.
- iOS 8 - iOS 12
- On macOS: Safari 7, Firefox 27, Google Chrome 35, Opera
- On Windows: Firefox 27, Google Chrome 35, Edge 79, Opera
Find People
Find People is available on Apple Watch.
- watchOS 6
iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
- iOS 8
- OS X Yosemite
- Windows 7 with iCloud for Windows 4.1
iCloud Drive folder sharing
iCloud Drive folder sharing is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
Icloud 10.6.8 Mac
- iOS 13.4 or iPadOS 13.4
- OS X Catalina 10.15.4
iCloud Photos
iCloud Photos is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
- iOS 8.3
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.3
iCloud Tabs
iCloud Tabs is available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.
- iOS 11
- macOS Sierra 10.12 and Safari 11
iMessage
iMessage is available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.
- iOS 6
- OS X Mavericks 10.9
iTunes Match
iTunes Match is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, PC, or Apple TV.
- iOS 5.0.1
- On macOS: iTunes 10.5.1
- On Windows: iTunes 10.5.1
- tvOS 4.4
iWork for iCloud
iWork for iCloud is available in web browsers on macOS and Windows. Learn which operating systems and browsers support Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iCloud.
Keychain
Keychain5 is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac with two-factor authentication.
- iOS 8.4.1
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.5
Mail Drop (send attachments)
Mail Drop is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, or PC.
- iOS 9.2
- OS X Yosemite (for Mail app)
- iCloud.com/mail from an up-to-date web browser (Safari 7.2 to upload packages, such as iWork files)
- An email account that supports IMAP
- Windows 7
Messages in iCloud
Messages in iCloud is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac with two-factor authentication and Keychain enabled.
- iOS 11.4
- macOS High Sierra 10.13.5
My Photo Stream
My Photo Stream6 is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV.
- iOS 5.1
- OS X Lion 10.7.5 with Photos 1.0 or iPhoto '11 9.2.2 or Aperture 3.2.3
- Windows 7 with iCloud for Windows
- tvOS 5.0
Notes (upgraded features)
Notes is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 9
- OS X El Capitan 10.11
Reading List
Reading List is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 11
- macOS Sierra 10.12
- Safari 11
Reminders (upgraded features)
Reminders is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 13 or iPadOS
- macOS Catalina
Screen Time
Screen Time is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 12
- macOS Catalina with iPhoto '11 9.5 or Aperture 3.5, or Photos 1.0
- Windows 7 with iCloud for Windows
- tvOS 5.3
Shared Albums
Shared Albums is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV.
- iOS 7
- OS X Mavericks 10.9
Shared Notes
Shared Notes is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 9
- OS X El Capitan
Shared Notes Folders
Shared Notes Folders is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 13 or iPadOS
- macOS Catalina
Sharing Suggestions
Sharing Suggestions is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- iOS 12
Siri Shortcuts
Siri Shortcuts is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- iOS 12
Two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
- iOS 9
- OS X El Capitan
- iCloud for Windows 5
Two-step verification
Two-step verification7 is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 7
- OS X Mavericks 10.9
Voice Memos
Voice Memos is available on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and Mac.
- iOS 12
- macOS Mojave
If you use a Managed Apple ID, iCloud for Windows isn’t supported.
Some Android devices can use iCloud.com, but the site works best when using supported browsers on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and Windows.
Some features aren't available in all countries and regions. Access to some services is limited to 10 devices.
- Learn how iCloud operates in China mainland.
- You can get iWork for iOS and iWork for Mac from the App Store if they didn't come with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.
- Outlook 2010 Personal Edition isn't supported.
- To share iCloud storage with your family, you need iOS 11 or later, or macOS High Sierra or later. You can participate in a shared iCloud storage plan using iOS 8 or later, or OS X Yosemite or later.
- If you have two-factor authentication and you use iCloud Keychain, you need iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan or later.
- In some cases, My Photo Stream isn't available for new accounts. Learn how to use iCloud Photos to store your photos and videos in iCloud.
- If you don’t meet the minimum system requirements, your data is still protected by two-step verification.
Perhaps you have 10.5.8 instead of Snow Leopard.
Upgrading to Snow Leopard
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store:Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mavericks if your computer meets the requirements.
Snow Leopard General Requirements
1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
2. 1GB of memory
3. 5GB of available disk space
4. DVD drive for installation
5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
fees may apply.
6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
terms apply.
Upgrading to El Capitan
You can upgrade to El Capitan from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. El Capitan can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.
Upgrading to El Capitan
To upgrade to El Capitan you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download El Capitan from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. El Capitan is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X El Capitan
1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
Are my applications compatible?
See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mavericks, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
Lion System Requirements
1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
or Xeon processor
Icloud 10.6.8 Windows 10
2. 2GB of memory
3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
4. 7GB of available space
5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Jan 22, 2016 1:27 PM