Ultimate Icloud Guide

How to change the device name of your iPhone or iPad over-the-air (OTA)

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Jun 26, 2012 a 11:19 am

With iOS 5 going PC-free, you can now change the name of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad right on the device itself. That's right, no more connecting via USB to iTunes on the desktop or fighting sync to get it done. With just a few taps in one app, you can now make sure your device has a memorable name for everything from iCloud backup and restore to Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot tethering.

How to set up and use Find my Friends

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Apr 23, 2012 a 1:31 am

Everything you need to know about setting up and using iCloud's location-basded meet-up service, Find my Friends

Find My Friends lets you easily locate your friends and family from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Whether you're on a family trip to a theme park or just want to meet up with some acquaintances for a drink, Find my Friends can make sure everyone knows where everyone else is.

How to set up and use Find my iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Apr 22, 2012 a 1:26 am

Everything you need to know about setting up, tracking, messaging, locking, and wiping a lost or stolen iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with Find my iPhone

Find my iPhone -- or Find my iPod or Find my iPad -- keeps track of your iCloud enabled devices so you can track them down if they're lost or stolen, and even remotely message, lock, and erase it to keep your data secure.

How to set up and use Photo Stream

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Apr 20, 2012 a 1:06 am

Everything you need to know about setting up and using Apple's picture backup and distribution service, Photo Stream

Photo Stream is iCloud image backup and distribution component. Take a picture (or screen shot) on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, and -- when you're on Wi-Fi -- iCloud will store a copy of that picture on Apple's servers and push copies down to all your other iOS devices, as well as your Mac and/or Windows PC. On iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, iCloud will store up to 1000 photos, or 30 days of photos. On your Mac and/or Windows PC, iCloud will store all your photos. Photo Stream will also let you view your photos on the Apple TV.

How to set up and use iTunes Match

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Apr 19, 2012 a 1:00 am

Everything you need to know about subscribing to, setting up, and using Apple's digital music locker service, iTunes Match

iTunes Match is Apple's "music locker" service that allows you to store copies of all your music on Apple's servers and re-download it from any of your devices, at any time.

How to set up and use iTunes in the Cloud

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 a 12:53 am

h3>Everything you need to know about re-downloading apps, games, iBooks, music, TV shows, and movies from the iTunes Store and iCloud

iTunes in the Cloud lets you access content you've bought from Apple's iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore, re-download it to your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and to iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, and stream your music, movies, and TV shows to your Apple TV.

How to set up and use iCloud mail, contacts, and calendars

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Apr 17, 2012 a 12:46 am

Everything you need to know to get your mail, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, notes, and reminders syncing with iCloud

iCloud includes push email, calendaring, and contact services. That means whenever you get an email, it's immediately made available on all your devices. Whenever you make or change an appointment it shows up in your calendar on all your devices. Whenever you add or change contact information, its reflected in the contacts on all of your devices. You can access these services via the Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, via the iCloud.com website from any desktop browser, or through popular mail, calendar, and contacts apps on your Mac or Windows PC.

How to set up, back up, restore, and update using iCloud

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Apr 16, 2012 a 12:37 am

Everything you need to know about setting up, backing up, restoring, and updating your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with iCloud

With iCloud, you no longer need to plug your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC to set it up for the first time, to keep it backed up, or to upgrade the software. Now you can do all of that, and more, faster and more easily, over-the-air (OTA) on your local Wi-Fi network. Because routine tasks, like backups, happen automatically, you don't have to worry about forgetting them and then finding out you don't have one when you need it most.