How to Add iCloud Drive to File Explorer on Windows 10/11

• Understanding iCloud Drive
• How to Add iCloud Drive to File Explorer
• Possible Actions after Adding iCloud Drive to File Explorer
• Troubleshooting Common Issues with 7 Solutions
• Further Reading: How to Access and Transfer iCloud Drive Files on Windows?
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Understanding iCloud Drive

Before we go to the steps of how to add iCloud Drive to File Explorer, let's have an overview of iCloud Drive first.

iCloud Drive is Apple's cloud storage service that allows users to store their files, photos, videos, and other data on the cloud. It provides a seamless experience across Apple devices, enabling users to access their files from their iPhones, iPads, and Macs. However, it does not mean you cannot access iCloud Drive on your Windows PC or Android phone. You can take advantage of iCloud for Windows or iCloud.com. 

iCloud Drive offers automatic synchronization, ensuring that any change made to a file on one device can be reflected on all other devices connected to the same iCloud account. But sometimes iCloud may be not syncing with your Windows PC because of the different environment or other reasons.

How to Add iCloud Drive to File Explorer

How do I get iCloud Drive on my Windows 10? It is not difficult, and this post will show you how to add iCloud Drive to File Explorer and how to download/upload/delete files on iCloud in File Explorer.

How to Add iCloud to File Explorer

Step 1: Download and install iCloud for Windows on your computer.

Step 2: Launch iCloud for Windows by entering your Apple ID and password.

Step 3: Check the box next to "iCloud Drive" and other iCloud features you want to enable on your PC. Then click the "Apply" button to save your settings.

Step 4: After launching iCloud for Windows on your Windows PC, you can open File Explorer. Then, you can see the iCloud Drive folder where you can access the iCloud Drive files.

Possible Actions after Adding iCloud Drive to File Explorer

After you successfully add iCloud Drive to your Windows PC and enable it by the "How to add iCloud Drive to File Explorer" guide, there may be more actions that you want to such as adding iCloud Drive to the desktop, pinning it to Quick Access, adding files to iCloud, moving files from iCloud to your PC, and downloading files from it. In this part, you can learn how to achieve the above actions with detailed instructions.

Add iCloud Drive to Quick Access

Step 1: Open File Explorer on your Windows PC.

Step 2: Right-click the iCloud Drive folder and choose "Pin to Quick Access". Then, you will see iCloud in the "Quick Access" list.

Put iCloud Drive on Windows Desktop

Step 1: Open File Explorer and find the iCloud Drive folder.

Step 2: Right-click the iCloud Drive folder and choose "Send to" in the dropdown menu. Then, choose "Desktop (create shortcut)" and you will see an iCloud Drive shortcut on your Windows desktop.

Upload Files to iCloud Drive

Step 1: Open File Explorer and drag the files you want to add to iCloud.

Step 2: Drop the files into your preferred folder in iCloud Drive. After waiting for seconds, you will see those files saved to iCloud. Then, you can access these files on any device with iCloud Drive turned on.

Remove Files from iCloud Drive But Keep Them on PC

Step 1: Open File Explorer and navigate to the iCloud Drive folder.

Step 2: Drag the files from iCloud Drive and drop them into your desktop or other folders outside iCloud. Then, the selected files will be removed from iCloud and saved in another place on your Windows PC.

Download Files from iCloud Drive

Step 1: Go to File Explorer and navigate to iCloud Drive.

Step 2: Double-click on the file you want to download and view. When there is a hollow circle with a green check icon next to the file, it is downloaded to your computer and you can access it offline.

Troubleshooting Common Issues with 7 Solutions

If you encounter any issues while adding iCloud Drive to File Explorer, try the following troubleshooting solutions.

Further Reading: How to Access and Transfer iCloud Drive Files on Windows?

If you do not need to access iCloud Files on the desktop, you can choose to add your iCloud Drive account to MultCloud and manage files on the website. MultCloud is a free online cloud management service to which you can add all your cloud drives and accounts for file centralization. Except for iCloud Drive, MultCloud also supports iCloud Photos, Google Drive, Google Photos, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc. If you also have these cloud accounts, you can easily transfer files between iCloud Drive and these clouds with an automatic process.

To transfer iCloud Drive files to another cloud, Cloud Transfer can do you a favor. This function is specially designed for cloud-to-cloud file transfer, and the transfer process can run offline. With Cloud Transfer, you can ignore the manual downloading and uploading steps. All you need to do is choose which files you want to transfer and where you want to save them.

Access and Manage iCloud Drive Files

Step 1: Get a free account on the MultCloud website.

Step 2: Click "Add Cloud" and the iCloud Drive icon, then go through the two-factor authentication to connect your iCloud Drive account to MultCloud.

Step 3: Click the iCloud Drive under "My Online Services". Then, you can access your desired files. Besides, you can manage these files with functions like Delete, Download, Share, etc.

Transfer iCloud Drive Files to Another Cloud

Step 1: Add Google Drive (for example) to MultCloud by clicking "Add Cloud" and its icon.

Step 2: Tap on the "Cloud Transfer" button in the left bar and choose iCloud Drive as the source and Google Drive as the destination. At last, click "Transfer Now" to start the transfer process.

Conclusion

After reading the step-by-step guide on how to add iCloud Drive to File Explorer, you must master the method. If you encounter any trouble during the installation process, don't forget to check the 7 solutions in the post to solve it. Besides, if you want to further integrate iCloud Drive with another cloud, using MultCloud Cloud Sync will be a quite good attempt.

Of course, MultCloud has more functions like Cloud Transfer, Cloud Backup, and Email Migration. Once you find yourself needing to transfer your Gmail emails to Dropbox, OneDrive, Evernote, or other clouds, you can try MultCloud Email Migration which can automatically convert the emails into PDF files and save them to the cloud.

FAQs

How do I add a cloud drive to File Explorer?

If you want to add iCloud to File Explorer, you can follow the steps shown above to do so. If you prefer other clouds like Google Drive or Dropbox, you can also download their desktop app and then you will see a folder of the cloud in File Explorer. Since you are using a Windows PC, OneDrive is pre-installed on your desktop and you can add it easily in File Explorer.

Why is iCloud Drive not showing up in Finder?

iCloud Drive may not appear in Finder if it's disabled in iCloud settings, not enabled in Finder sidebar preferences, or if you're signed out of iCloud. Also, network issues or macOS glitches can cause this.

How do I add an iCloud Drive folder to Finder?

To add iCloud Drive to Finder, open Finder > Settings (or Preferences) > Sidebar tab, then check “iCloud Drive” under iCloud. Ensure iCloud Drive is enabled in System Settings > Apple ID > iCloud. Once enabled, the iCloud Drive folder will appear in Finder’s sidebar for easy access.