You may be looking for a way to transfer iCloud to Google Drive because of the impacts on work efficiency by the iCloud storage limitations.
This is a common problem with many iCloud users, and we will help you by giving the best solutions to help you safely migrate the data from iCloud storage to Google Drive.
Benefits of Choosing Google Drive over iCloud
iCloud is the cloud storage platform owned by Apple, and the immense success of Apple products is known to everyone. However, their cloud storage yet exhibits the largest number of restrictions in storage space, synchronization, integration, and others.
It works best only on Apple devices and services. On the other hand, Google Drive, which is the cloud storage platform of Google, is preferred by a wider user base as it not only works well within the Google ecosystem but also syncs very well with the other tech ecosystems.
Let us now give you a quick comparison of the two storage drives that will make you understand why one would like to transfer iCloud to Google Drive.
Features of Google Drive
- Free sign up
- Free 15 GB storage for everyone
- Manual data storage allowed
- Sync and function easily with all top apps
- High level of enterprise and consumer productivity due to the sync with Google G Suite and Gmail
Features of Apple iCloud
- Frees sign up
- 5 GB free storage for apple users and 1 GB for non-apple users
- Sync and function only with iOS and macOS apps
- Manual docs and files storage allowed
- Integrate only with iWork apps like keynote, numbers, and pages
You must have easily seen that Google Drive is much more versatile in terms of integration facilitation than iCloud storage.
Even the amount of storage space offered by iCloud is much less; it’s less than that offered by services like DropBox, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.
Google storage makes the online collaboration of Gmail, G Suite, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Docs even better by giving them ample and fully accessible space to function. This is why major world enterprises prefer Google Drive more.
So if you are convinced now that you want to transfer your iCloud data to Google Drive, you will need a PC and some of the best methods. This data transfer is mostly done manually, but if you are not good with tech, then you can directly go to read the third method.
PS: let’s learn how to transfer Google Photos to iCloud.
Transfer iCloud to Google Drive via Desktop Apps
This is one manual way of transferring iCloud to Google Drive, which you can consider semi-automatic, too, for it involves the help of some third-party Desktop applications.
Users with a Mac laptop have easy access to iCloud via the macOS. Hereby, the only additional things they must do are get access to the Google Backup on the same laptop and a Sync app for the same.
This method is good for those users who need to perform mass data transfer at once because selective file transfer would become very tedious.
Follow These Steps Then:
1. Go to the following web address https://drive.google.com and then keep scrolling until you find the download link for Google Drive accessible on macOS.
You can also open the following address https://www.google.com/drive/download/ and from here, download the application.
2. Launch the application and enter all the details for signing in to your account.
3. After signing in successfully, open your web browser now. Launch a new tab or window on it, and then open your Google Drive again. Make a new folder in there and enter any name for it. This is a mandatory step.
4. Your Backup & Sync application will appear now, asking you to select the data you wish to get synced.
You can select the iCloud drive folder and end the process, but it doesn’t have to be done this way as it can cause problems transferring iCloud to Google Drive. Thus, you don’t have to select an option at this step.
5. Hit the option of Next, and then a prompt will appear regarding the syncing of files in Google Drive to a particular folder of the Mac system.
A link will be simultaneously created for Google Drive, and you can see that in the sidebar of Finder. This will be helpful for us later. Next, select the option Sync My Drive to this computer.
6. Next, select the option Sync only these folders and click on the empty folder created in the previous step. This is for setting up Google Drive in the Finder but not syncing the Google Drive to anything in the Mac drive that can use the time and bandwidth.
This is because we facilitate data transfer between drives and do not sync them both ways. If you wish a syncing to happen, you can tick the box of Sync My Drive to this computer, and that will be done.
7. At this step, we need to check that all data has been downloaded on your Mac device by iCloud directly.
This is because sometimes, iCloud only downloads some of the recent data on the Mac device, and the rest of it remains in the cloud storage only, even though the platform’s default settings facilitate the downloading of the entire data on the device in case of proper storage available.
Thus, we are assuming that the default iCloud settings are activated on your Mac device to proceed with transferring iCloud to Google Drive.
8. You can check for the same by opening the Finder and then clicking on the option of the iCloud drive. Check out the icon of a cloud with an arrow pointing downwards. Click on it upon finding it. If this icon is absent, your data has been downloaded, and you can move directly to the next step.
9. Once you have ensured that all the data from the iCloud drive is present in the Mac local storage, especially the files you want to transfer to Google Drive, launch a new window on the Finder and then select the Google Drive option.
10. Go back to the folder you selected for syncing with the Mac application Backup & Sync.
11. Open yet another window in the Finder and then select the option of the iCloud drive. Select all the folders and files in it that you wish to migrate to Google Drive now.
12. Now, start dragging and dropping the selected folder and files from the iCloud drive window to the window of Google Drive. All the background operations necessary for this process will be facilitated by Google Drive and macOS.
After the process, open Google Drive in any web browser and check if the files were successfully moved and uploaded.
Transfer iCloud to Google Drive Via a Web Browser
This method of transferring iCloud to Google Drive is apt for those users who only need to get some files or folders transferred from the iCloud storage platform to Google Drive.
We understand the previous manual method involves many steps that cost a lot of time.
This method subtracted some of the steps and involved the usage of a web browser for quick transfer without the need to download any third-party app.
- Open the web browser on the Mac PC and then launch its Google Drive address.
- Complete the sign-in stage and then make a separate folder in Google Drive.
- Double-click on that folder now and let it remain open. Stay on the same tab.
- Launch the Mac Finder and select the iCloud drive option.
- Now, start choosing and dragging the files in the iCloud drive, and finally, drop them in the Google Drive folder you left open in the browser. The files will start getting uploaded to Google Drive as a result.
Wondershare InClowdz – Best Software for Transferring Data from One Cloud Storage to Another
We have seen and understood that transferring data from one cloud to another is difficult, and most methods must be carried out manually.
That also means a lot of scope for errors, and any small mistake can put all your precious data at risk. This is why we would recommend all of our dear users to take help from a professional tool that can transfer iCloud to Google Drive safely and efficiently.
Thus, we introduce Wondershare InClowdz, a software developed by a company called Wondershare.
Wondershare InClowdz is one great tool with all the capabilities and advanced functionalities to migrate phone data stored in one cloud platform to another.
This applies to data stored in various storage platforms like iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and many others.
This way, the tool makes it possible for you to access data on multiple clouds according to the device that you are using and also transfer files anytime you want.
Let us now see the method of using this amazing software for migrating data from iCloud to Google Drive:
1. First, download the software on your PC from its official website and install it properly.
2. Launch the Wondershare InClowdz program on the PC and sign in to your user account. If you haven’t used this software, you will be required to make a new account.
Click on the option of Create an account and fill in all the entries rightly till a new account is created.
3. Login with your account credentials, and once the login is successful, click on the tab of Migrate.
4. You need to add cloud options to the source and destination drives. For that, click on the option of Add Cloud Drive and then add the simultaneous cloud options between which you want the data to get exchanged; in this, you need to select iCloud and Google Drive.
You will see the option of iCloud appear in the tab of Source Cloud Drive and the option of Google Drive in the tab of Target Cloud Drive.
5. You will now have to authorize the cloud options you choose, which will be done after you follow the instructions as they appear on the screen.
6. All the preparations have been made for the file transfer steps now, and you have to start the data transfer process from iCloud to Google Drive.
Click on the option of Source clouds, iCloud, in this case, and all the files in that storage will be displayed. Select all the files one by one that you wish to transfer.
To select all the data at once, you can tick the Choice box present next to the option of the Cloud.
7. Now click on the option of the target folder in the destination, Google Drive, in this case, where you want the files to get transferred and stored.
8. Finally, hit on the button Migrate to start the transfer process.
You need to wait now, just as it will be some time till the process finishes, and you will find all your chosen data stored in Google Drive from its previous storage, iCloud. It was that simple!
The program guarantees fool-proof data transfer as the advanced algorithm weans out all the possibilities of any error.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Can I transfer my iCloud files to Google Drive without losing any data?
- Yes, by following the methods mentioned in this article, you can transfer your iCloud files to Google Drive without losing any data.
- Which method is the quickest for transferring a large number of files?
- Using a third-party migration tool or syncing with a computer can be the quickest methods for transferring a large number of files.
- Is there a cost associated with using third-party migration tools?
- Some third-party migration tools may have a cost associated with their services. It’s advisable to research and choose a tool that fits your budget and requirements.
- Can I transfer my iCloud photos to Google Drive?
- Yes, you can transfer your iCloud photos to Google Drive by using the Google Photos app.
- Will my shared files and folders in iCloud retain their sharing settings after the transfer?
- It’s essential to manage the permissions and access settings of shared files and folders during the transfer to ensure that they retain their sharing settings in Google Drive.
Conclusion
We highly recommend you go with the Wondershare InClowdz software to transfer iCloud to Google Drive as it does the job so simple compared to the tiresome and complex manual methods.
The process is surely not easy because of the tight knitting of the iCloud drive with apple servers, so taking professional help would be the best way out.