Icloud files not showing on family member's devices

I recently used family share to split out my wife's devices from mine. My understanding was that when I set up her family share settings to share my iCloud drive, all her devices would be able to see, add, upate, or delete any files that already exist in that one iCloud drive. Apparently my understanding of what sharing means was wrong. So what do I need to do to allow her devices to see and manage all of the existing files in "my" iCloud drive?

iPad Pro, iPadOS 15

Posted on Sep 2, 2022 01:48 PM

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3 replies

Sep 2, 2022 02:00 PM in response to MSmallsr

If you shared iCloud storage, that does not give access to others. See the following from Share iCloud+ with your family - Apple Support

When you share an iCloud+ subscription, everyone in the family group uses their own account. That way your photos, documents, and other information stay private, even though you're sharing access to the service. You simply share the features and space available in iCloud+ with your family members, so you only have one plan to manage.


To share data on iCloud, see the following:

Share files and folders in iCloud Drive on iCloud.com - Apple Support

Share files and folders in iCloud Drive on iPad - Apple Support


Sep 2, 2022 04:04 PM in response to FoxFifth

Wow! Thanks! Hit the nail on the head except for one issue. I first tried to share my Documents folder but when I hit Share, the next screen did not show a button for Share Folder in iCloud. So, I went ahead and texted the link. My wife opened it and all the files were downloaded except for two files that had the little cloud and down arrow in the upper right corner. I went ahead and clicked these files to open them but they did not show up in my wife’s Document folder in iCloud. This could be serious because most of the files we work on are in the Documents folder. I performed the share procedure on a couple of other folders and the Share Folder to iCloud button showed up and the procedure went as documented. Then these folders show as being shared by me. Why didn’t the Documents folder share properly?

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Icloud files not showing on family member's devices

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