Hi, I am set to retire my daughters old MBPro (mid-2012, Catalina
10.5.7) for reasons documented on other threads on here.
I plan to donate my old MBAir 2015 - on a clean install. However the HD
is too small to accommodate all her HD space (~600 GB). Rather than
lugging around an external HD we want to use the iCloud family share
feature. I currently have a 50GB iCloud plan (M1, MBAir) but no one
else is using any of it. So I plan to go to a 2TB plan but need some
pointers on how to sort her transfer and set it up - so I would
appreciate any help and pointers.

Q1 Should I set it all up from my iPhone 14 or my Air?

Q2 There are 5 potential "sharers" - so can each sharer have multiple
devices or are they limited to 1 each ?

Q3 My main issue! - I am assuming that we should set up her shared
account first by transferring her data (mainly photos, music, documents)
to the shared iCloud account. But then how does she get that back to be
accessible on the Air via the cloud? I am envisaging all sorts of
Apple's Stazi like application of security access to different/changed
devices

Q4 What happens to her (and others) individual (5GB) iCloud accounts -
do those just run in parallel?

Thanks for any thoughts and input. JohnB

jbrennand <brennand@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Hi, I am set to retire my daughters old MBPro (mid-2012, Catalina
> 10.5.7) for reasons documented on other threads on here.
> I plan to donate my old MBAir 2015 - on a clean install. However the HD
> is too small to accommodate all her HD space (~600 GB).

FYI those are upgradeable with an NVMe stick and a cheap adapter. One of
many:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Macbook-Convert-Adapter-Upgraded-2013-2017/dp/B08HPGZL8S/

You just have to upgrade the OS first to the most recent available so the
firmware is upgraded, but you can install an older OS later if you prefer.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/how-to-use-an-nvme-drive-to-upgrade-your-macs-ssd
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2015+SSD+Upgrade+to+NVMe/119755

Note that certain models of drive are recommended and others don't work, so
pay attention to the model of SSD you buy. The various guides have more
details.

(not that this answers your iCloud question, but just giving more options)

Theo

On 28/03/2024 20:11, Theo wrote:
> jbrennand <brennand@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> Hi, I am set to retire my daughters old MBPro (mid-2012, Catalina
>> 10.5.7) for reasons documented on other threads on here.
>> I plan to donate my old MBAir 2015 - on a clean install. However the HD
>> is too small to accommodate all her HD space (~600 GB).
>
> FYI those are upgradeable with an NVMe stick and a cheap adapter. One of
> many:
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Macbook-Convert-Adapter-Upgraded-2013-2017/dp/B08HPGZL8S/
>
> You just have to upgrade the OS first to the most recent available so the
> firmware is upgraded, but you can install an older OS later if you prefer.
>
> https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/how-to-use-an-nvme-drive-to-upgrade-your-macs-ssd
> https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2015+SSD+Upgrade+to+NVMe/119755
>
> Note that certain models of drive are recommended and others don't work, so
> pay attention to the model of SSD you buy. The various guides have more
> details.
>
> (not that this answers your iCloud question, but just giving more options)
>
> Theo
Thanks - but I dont believe this is an option for a mid-2012 MBPro.

HTBC - JohnB

jbrennand <brennand@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Hi, I am set to retire my daughters old MBPro (mid-2012, Catalina
> 10.5.7) for reasons documented on other threads on here.
> I plan to donate my old MBAir 2015 - on a clean install. However the HD
> is too small to accommodate all her HD space (~600 GB). Rather than
> lugging around an external HD we want to use the iCloud family share
> feature. I currently have a 50GB iCloud plan (M1, MBAir) but no one
> else is using any of it. So I plan to go to a 2TB plan but need some
> pointers on how to sort her transfer and set it up - so I would
> appreciate any help and pointers.

Whatever you decide, it’s probably worth considering an external drive as a
local backup anyway.

But, it should do what you need. I have the Apple One Premium (2TB) account
here, with me using multiple devices, and a couple of sharers. Works great
for us. They can also share most of the apps you buy, as well as Music, TV,
News, and if you wish, a shared Photos Library now too.

> Q1 Should I set it all up from my iPhone 14 or my Air?

Doesn’t matter. Whatever you find easiest to use.

> Q2 There are 5 potential "sharers" - so can each sharer have multiple
> devices or are they limited to 1 each ?

No, each gets a share of a Family account and can use it as though it were
their own. My wife shares my account, and has an iPhone and an iPad linked
to it, as well as the iCloud data on a Windows 10 laptop.

The storage is just allocated to each user as they need, until it’s full of
course. You can now buy more, or each user can also buy their own storage,
and still share the rest of the stuff with your Family.

> Q3 My main issue! - I am assuming that we should set up her shared
> account first by transferring her data (mainly photos, music, documents)
> to the shared iCloud account. But then how does she get that back to be
> accessible on the Air via the cloud? I am envisaging all sorts of
> Apple's Stazi like application of security access to different/changed
> devices

Yes, you’ll need to setup the Family share first (so they have enough space
to upload everything), and then allow all the data to sync. Once done, you
can setup the new machine, and migrate whatever you need from the old one,
or in your case, it might be easier to just setup a new user account on the
Air, and Log into the iCloud account, then let it sync. You might need to
reinstall apps.

Note that any apps the Account holder has purchased in the Store, might
also be available to others (most offer Family Share purchasing). It might
be beneficial to start afresh, and install only the stuff you need.

You can selectively choose items to sync, or not sync, and some to
‘Optimise’ to save local storage space (Documents, Photos, Music, TV etc.).
You could also do that on the old machine, and if it leaves enough space,
simply migrate it.

> Q4 What happens to her (and others) individual (5GB) iCloud accounts -
> do those just run in parallel?

Yes, they just sit idle in the background. They can choose to use their own
storage plan if they wish, and it’ll migrate the iCloud data across if they
switch (IIRC there is a ‘Manage Storage’ button somewhere). Obviously they
need to ensure they have enough storage for that to work.

If 2TB isn’t enough, Apple have now made it possible to upgrade the storage
plan (it’s not cheap though).

Also remember to deactivate things like ‘Find My’ on the old machine, and
log out of iCloud before you retire it (it also makes sure that all files
are fully synced before you wipe it).

> Thanks for any thoughts and input. JohnB

Hopefully helpful :-)

--
Andy H

jbrennand <brennand@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> On 28/03/2024 20:11, Theo wrote:
> > jbrennand <brennand@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> >> Hi, I am set to retire my daughters old MBPro (mid-2012, Catalina
> >> 10.5.7) for reasons documented on other threads on here.
> >> I plan to donate my old MBAir 2015 - on a clean install. However the HD
> >> is too small to accommodate all her HD space (~600 GB).
> >
> > FYI those are upgradeable with an NVMe stick and a cheap adapter. One of
> > many:
> > https://www.amazon.co.uk/Macbook-Convert-Adapter-Upgraded-2013-2017/dp/B08HPGZL8S/
> >
> > You just have to upgrade the OS first to the most recent available so the
> > firmware is upgraded, but you can install an older OS later if you prefer.
> >
> > https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/how-to-use-an-nvme-drive-to-upgrade-your-macs-ssd
> > https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2015+SSD+Upgrade+to+NVMe/119755
> >
> > Note that certain models of drive are recommended and others don't work, so
> > pay attention to the model of SSD you buy. The various guides have more
> > details.
> >
> > (not that this answers your iCloud question, but just giving more options)
> >
> > Theo
> Thanks - but I dont believe this is an option for a mid-2012 MBPro.

This applies to the 2015 MB Air you mentioned.

The non-Retina 2012 MBPro (with DVD drive) takes regular 2.5" SATA SSDs, so
that's easy. The Retina 2012 (without DVD) can use SATA M.2 (not NVMe)
drives via a different adapter:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Upgrade-24Pin-MacBook-Retina/dp/B0879FL44R/

There are also adapters for mSATA drives:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Futheda-Adapter-Compatible-Replacement-Converter/dp/B07WNN4HHV/

(no experience with these myself)

Theo

On 28/03/2024 21:48, Andy H wrote:
> jbrennand <brennand@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> Hi, I am set to retire my daughters old MBPro (mid-2012, Catalina
>> 10.5.7) for reasons documented on other threads on here.
>> I plan to donate my old MBAir 2015 - on a clean install. However the HD
>> is too small to accommodate all her HD space (~600 GB). Rather than
>> lugging around an external HD we want to use the iCloud family share
>> feature. I currently have a 50GB iCloud plan (M1, MBAir) but no one
>> else is using any of it. So I plan to go to a 2TB plan but need some
>> pointers on how to sort her transfer and set it up - so I would
>> appreciate any help and pointers.
>
> Whatever you decide, it’s probably worth considering an external drive as a
> local backup anyway.
>
> But, it should do what you need. I have the Apple One Premium (2TB) account
> here, with me using multiple devices, and a couple of sharers. Works great
> for us. They can also share most of the apps you buy, as well as Music, TV,
> News, and if you wish, a shared Photos Library now too.
>
>> Q1 Should I set it all up from my iPhone 14 or my Air?
>
> Doesn’t matter. Whatever you find easiest to use.
>
>> Q2 There are 5 potential "sharers" - so can each sharer have multiple
>> devices or are they limited to 1 each ?
>
> No, each gets a share of a Family account and can use it as though it were
> their own. My wife shares my account, and has an iPhone and an iPad linked
> to it, as well as the iCloud data on a Windows 10 laptop.
>
> The storage is just allocated to each user as they need, until it’s full of
> course. You can now buy more, or each user can also buy their own storage,
> and still share the rest of the stuff with your Family.
>
>> Q3 My main issue! - I am assuming that we should set up her shared
>> account first by transferring her data (mainly photos, music, documents)
>> to the shared iCloud account. But then how does she get that back to be
>> accessible on the Air via the cloud? I am envisaging all sorts of
>> Apple's Stazi like application of security access to different/changed
>> devices
>
> Yes, you’ll need to setup the Family share first (so they have enough space
> to upload everything), and then allow all the data to sync. Once done, you
> can setup the new machine, and migrate whatever you need from the old one,
> or in your case, it might be easier to just setup a new user account on the
> Air, and Log into the iCloud account, then let it sync. You might need to
> reinstall apps.
>
> Note that any apps the Account holder has purchased in the Store, might
> also be available to others (most offer Family Share purchasing). It might
> be beneficial to start afresh, and install only the stuff you need.
>
> You can selectively choose items to sync, or not sync, and some to
> ‘Optimise’ to save local storage space (Documents, Photos, Music, TV etc.).
> You could also do that on the old machine, and if it leaves enough space,
> simply migrate it.
>
>> Q4 What happens to her (and others) individual (5GB) iCloud accounts -
>> do those just run in parallel?
>
> Yes, they just sit idle in the background. They can choose to use their own
> storage plan if they wish, and it’ll migrate the iCloud data across if they
> switch (IIRC there is a ‘Manage Storage’ button somewhere). Obviously they
> need to ensure they have enough storage for that to work.
>
> If 2TB isn’t enough, Apple have now made it possible to upgrade the storage
> plan (it’s not cheap though).
>
> Also remember to deactivate things like ‘Find My’ on the old machine, and
> log out of iCloud before you retire it (it also makes sure that all files
> are fully synced before you wipe it).
>
>> Thanks for any thoughts and input. JohnB
>
> Hopefully helpful :-)
>
Thanks Andy - good info in there :-)
JohnB