If you’re excitedly upgrading to iOS 8, there are a couple things you should know if you sync Chronicle between iOS and Mac using iCloud. The important takeaway is that you may want to wait before enabling iCloud Drive if you are syncing with Mac.
iOS 8 offers a new option for iCloud: when you first run iOS 8 after installing, iOS will ask you if you want to upgrade to iCloud Drive. It will also warn you that upgrading to iCloud Drive will impact Documents and Data Sync.
Here’s exactly what will happen: if you upgrade to iCloud drive, Chronicle (and other apps using iCloud sync) will only be able to sync with other iOS 8 devices, and Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Since Yosemite has not been released yet, upgrading to iCloud Drive will stop Chronicle for iOS from syncing with your Mac.
To be clear, Chronicle works fine with iCloud Drive. It’s just that iCloud Drive is not available on Macs prior to Yosemite, so if you switch to iCloud Drive, the Mac won’t be able to access the data.
If you choose not to upgrade to iCloud Drive, you can always do so later, once Yosemite is released. So, our official recommendation is:
If you are syncing with iCloud between iOS and a Mac running Mavericks or below, do not upgrade to iCloud Drive until you have upgraded to Yosemite when it is released.
Once Yosemite is released, you can safely upgrade to iCloud drive and your Mac and iOS devices will sync.
So, what to do if you have already upgraded to iCloud Drive on iOS 8, but don’t have Yosemite? You have three options:
Option 1: Switch to Dropbox Sync
Dropbox sync is more manual, but will still work. To get this to work, turn iCloud sync OFF on all devices. Then, go to your Dropbox > Apps folder on your Mac, and delete the “ChronicleSync” folder if it exists. This will make sure there is no old Dropbox data that might get mingled with your existing data.
Finally, enable Dropbox sync. See here for details.
You can switch back to iCloud sync when Yosemite is released. Just make sure to turn Dropbox back OFF first.
Option 2: Install the Yosemite Beta
Betas have bugs, and it may not be a good idea if you aren’t computer savvy, but you can go here to sign up for the Yosemite beta. Once you download the Yosemite beta, you can enable iCloud Drive and all devices will sync.
Option 3: Wait
All indications are that Yosemite will be released in October, probably a month or less away. If you’ve upgraded to iCloud Drive already, your iOS 8 devices will all sync with each other fine (so, your iPad and iPhone will still sync no problem). You can continue logging payments and so forth on iOS. Once you upgrade to Yosemite when it is released, the Mac version will be able to sync
Obviously, if your Mac is your main bill paying device, this may not be ideal, but it is an option.
So there you have it. I hope that helps you navigate the iCloud Drive situation. Keep in mind that any apps that sync via iCloud will be impacted by this, so you really may want to wait on upgrading to iCloud Drive, especially since you can do it later.
If you have questions or problems, use the help tab to the left to contact me.
Also, check out RealMac’s blog post on the issue.