iCloud for Windows 5 Adds iCloud Photo Library and Two-Factor Authentication

Friday October 23, 2015 11:09 AM PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has released iCloud for Windows 5 with support for iCloud Photo Library and two-factor authentication for Apple ID accounts. Windows users were previously limited to accessing iCloud Photo Library through the web interface.

windows-icloud-hero-pc-iphone
Apple recommends that iCloud for Windows users have Windows 7, 8 or 10 installed. For email, the software currently supports Outlook 2007 through Outlook 2013, while Outlook 2016 users can access iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendars on iCloud.com.
Use iCloud Photo Library on your Windows PC to download all of the photos and videos from your Apple devices to your computer, or upload your Windows Pictures library to iCloud. And when you turn on iCloud Photo Sharing, you can share your captured memories with just the people you choose.
Apple has published a support document for setting up and using iCloud Photo Library on Windows.

Tags: iCloud Photo Library Guide, Windows, Two-Factor Authentication, iCloud for Windows
73 comments


Top Rated Comments

(View all)
Avatar
Klae17
45 months ago
What the hell is Windows 5? .... Is what I thought right away.
Rating: 26 Votes
Avatar
Tucom
45 months ago
At fist read it as iCloud, for Windows 5.
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
aloshka
45 months ago
This is stupid. The photo sync is not automatic. You have to click download in icloud app or in explorer which will download to a downloads folder. Changes here are not reflected on icloud. So if you need to delete a photo you have to go to icloud.com and delete it there. Then delete from your downloads folder too. To upload you have to copy and image to upload folder and click upload.

Very smooth . When downloading there is no progress bar and there are delays. So if it stops downloading that doesn't necessarily mean it's done. It could start up later again and download now photos
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
Tucom
45 months ago

Windows 10 you mean?


5 is my favorite version.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
ourdoc
45 months ago
If you use Office 2016, you will not get it to install properly as Apple forgot all about making it compatible again (even though they had all code well before the launch of Office 2016 and the release of iCloud 5).

It seems to many of us who use both products this was intentionally done by Apple. You can now go back and revert to Office 2013 so it will work. Apple kept refusing to fix or say anything about it, so MS stood up for end users allowing them to revert until Apple does its job. If they don't, there is no doubt they will lose millions of customers. Many like me who love IOS, yet hate OSX, just as I love Windows for PC but hate their mobile phones and apps. There is zero reason with today's tech ability for them not to work, it's just THAT stupid!
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
bolix
45 months ago

Is it just me that wishes that Apple would fix things for us mac users before trying to woo windows users. It does not seem that important compared to the fact that iCould sucks.


Hard to believe but there are iPhone/iPad users who use Windows too.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
Crosscreek
45 months ago
The case is getting stronger for a Windows desktop that fills in the gaps of a headless Mac between the underpowered Mac Mini and the over priced Mac Pro. I can now access all my iCloud files and photos in my Windows 10 Bootcamp and do everything I used my Mac Mini for. My calendars, e-mail and contacts sync with my iPhone and iPad.

Apple better get their desktop act together beside those AIO iMacs or I'll be headed to a Windows machine for my next desktop.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
ignatius345
45 months ago

What the hell is Windows 5? .... Is what I thought right away.


Whoever wrote the headline wasn't thinking -- "iCloud 5 for Windows" makes much more sense
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
thekeyring
45 months ago

This is stupid. The photo sync is not automatic. You have to click download in icloud app or in explorer which will download to a downloads folder. Changes here are not reflected on icloud. So if you need to delete a photo you have to go to icloud.com and delete it there. Then delete from your downloads folder too. To upload you have to copy and image to upload folder and click upload.

Very smooth . When downloading there is no progress bar and there are delays. So if it stops downloading that doesn't necessarily mean it's done. It could start up later again and download now photos


Sounds like Apple should just do a Photos app for Windows. Or encourage Windows users to use the web app.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
cameronjpu
45 months ago

Windows CE 5.0

I think Windows 98 is Windows 5.0 ?


Oh, the ignorance of youth :-)

Windows 2000 was windows 5.0.
Rating: 2 Votes
[ Read All Comments ]