The secret way you can double Apple’s iCloud storage limit up to 2TB

Here’s what’s strange. Apple’s iCloud storage plan goes up to 2TB – even for the whole family. My wife’s iPad has 2TB of storage. You can do it MacBook Pro and Mac Studios with up to 8TB built-in, and that doesn’t even count the memory you add via Thunderbolt.

Apple users want to create content. The standout feature that distinguishes new iPhone models from one another, year after year, is the improvement of the camera system. That’s the hope iPhone 14 will support 8K . video.

Videos consume a lot of storage space. My last few YouTube videos each video takes up about seven or eight gigabytes, and I’ve had videos that consume more than 50GB. Individual clips can easily be one or more gigabytes, especially when shot in 4K quality.

iCloud storage is an integral part of Apple’s ecosystem. Apple uses it to make sure you don’t run out of storage space on your phone or laptop, sending proxies of videos and photos down to your device when space is short by using a feature called Optimize iPhone memory. It does the same for the Documents and Desktop folders, using a feature called Optimize desktop memory.

iCloud is supposed to be the storage hub for all your Apple-related activities. Apple has extended that to the entire family with Family Sharing, so that the whole family has enough storage to store all those photos, videos, and files.

Also: Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro and Mac mini: Apple delivers superior power

Every Apple device owner gets 5GB of storage. For some, that is more than enough. But if you need more storage, you can upgrade through the tiers by paying for the iCloud+ service:

iCloud+ adds some extra features beyond storage. Including:

• iCloud Private Relayan unfinished IP proxy service (still in beta) that runs only in Safari,
• Hide My Email: an email address scrambling service,
• HomeKit Safe Videossecurely connect the camera and store video (though why this is an upgrade and not available to everyone, I don’t know) and
• Custom email domainallows you to associate a custom domain name with your iCloud mail accounts.

Honestly, I’m not overly impressed with what seems like a bunch of random services thrown in to add weight to the package. Since you’re preserved, what’s left is a relatively thin and flavorless gravy.

I personally pay for the top level of iCloud + and so far, it is enough. But that’s because I moved three years of video files out of iCloud last year to free up some space. That process didn’t go smoothly and I ended up losing some videos because it was too late for me to realize that the clips pulled out of Photos didn’t get to my hard drive before I deleted them from Photos. Luckily, most of it was raw video that was used for my YouTube projects, so it wasn’t a huge loss.

But now, my wife has started shooting more videos. She just occasionally filmed our dog’s charming antics, and that’s it. But she’s launching a working YouTube channel, and so she’s made hundreds of recordings. At the end of the year, we will run out of 2TB allocations at the speed she is planning.

And there is nowhere to go (or so it seems unless you read to the end of this article). Apple does not advertise additional levels. This does not compete with other cloud storage providers at all. Mine ZDNet close friend Steven Vaughan-Nichols offers a piece top nine cloud storage providers. Each has larger storage tiers than Apple’s.

Also: 9 best cloud storage services in 2022

Because iCloud is integral to Apple’s ecosystem, and an important part of Apple’s value proposition is its ability to take photos and videos, this hard 2TB limit is proving problematic. Just ask Apple user @hairclubpresident (you can’t create this), who posted in the Apple support forums:

How to get extra 2TB for not too cheap

Luckily, there’s a little-known way to add an extra 2TB of storage. You will need:

1. There are iCloud + plans up to and
2. Sign up for the Apple One Premier plan

First, we need to talk about Apple One. Apple One is different from iCloud +. Apple One bundles all of these services together into one package:

Also: Free Apple One with every iPhone? A service strategy to destroy Android

If you already use all of Apple’s services, the Apple One is a pretty good choice. But if you don’t, it’s a bit expensive – especially if all you want to do is get more memory.

So let’s say you signed up for iCloud+ and are going over that 2TB hard limit. It turns out that if you sign up for Apple One’s most expensive plan, with 2TB of iCloud+ storage, that 2TB will add to the existing 2TB you already have. This, combined with your existing iCloud+ plan, gives you a total of 4TB of storage.

How do we know that? Apple says so. If you dig through the Apple Support notes, What happens to your iCloud storage when you sign up for Apple Oneyou will see the following at the bottom of the page.

You’ll have to spend an extra $30 per month to double the storage you’re paying $10 per month for now. But if you’ve maxed out and need more memory, then you’ve maxed out and you need more memory.

Apple doesn’t say much about this and all their published information leads people to believe that the 2TB limit is a hard limit. But for those with more cash and a little more desperation, there is an option. Now you know.

How much space are you using on your iCloud plan? Do you think you’ll go over the 2TB limit? Do you think Apple doesn’t have reasonably priced 5TB and 10TB plans like all its competitors? If so, let us know in the comments section below.

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