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You are here: Home / Apple Services / My iCloud is Greyed Out in Settings, how do I fix it?

My iCloud is Greyed Out in Settings, how do I fix it?

By SK 42 comments Last updated January 2, 2023

Recently, did you update your iOS or change your Apple ID and password only to discover that iOS greyed out your iCloud Settings? Visiting your Settings App on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch and when you tap your Apple ID, iCloud, or iTunes & App Store settings, they show up as greyed out, so you can not change them. If so, you are not alone!

Several users have reported that iCloud option in Settings on iPhone/iPad/iPod is greyed out or otherwise inaccessible and does not work.

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  • How To Disable iCloud Photo Link When Sending Photos on your iPhone
  • Why you should always update using iTunes and not iCloud

Contents

  • Check Apple System Status 
  • Why is my iCloud greyed out? Troubleshooting guide
    • Update your iOS
    • Check for any installed security certificates or profiles
    • Turn Cellular Data on
    • Try Airplane Mode
    • Look at iCloud Backup settings
    • Check for restrictions
    • Reset your network’s settings
    • Reset All Settings
    • Log Out of Your Apple ID (if possible)

Check Apple System Status Apple System Status on an iPhone with lots of problems

A possible cause is Apple’s own servers.  So before troubleshooting, check whether iCloud is working normally (or experiencing issues) on the Apple System Support page.

To see specific issues, tap the Plus Sign (+) and scan those issues for anything listing iCloud as experiencing problems. Apple System Status iCloud Issues

Why is my iCloud greyed out? Troubleshooting guide

Update your iOS

Make sure that you are currently running the latest version of iOS on your device.

  • Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check How to Update iOS
  • Or plug your device into a computer with iTunes and select Check for Update

Check for any installed security certificates or profiles

If you use a VPN or your employer or school manages your device, it’s likely there is a device management profile or security certificate stored on your device. Apple calls this a supervised device.

When your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is supervised, the organization which owns your device can choose to install a configuration profile that controls what features your device has access to.

Configuration profiles files contain settings that allow an employer to restrict or limit and manage employees’ devices, including things like network settings, email and exchange accounts, passcode options, restrict access to device features, and other things.

How to check if your iPhone, iPad, or iPod is supervised

  1. Open Settings
  2. Look for a message at the top of your screen, letting you know this device is supervised and managed
  3. For iOS 9 and below, find the supervision message in Settings > General > About
  4. Tap Settings > General > Profiles (may also be called Device Management, Profile Management, or Profile & Device Management)Profiles and Device Management on iPhone
  5. If a profile is installed, tap on it to see its details and what restrictions are set

Even some apps install configuration profiles to monitor data–Apple removed most of these apps from the App Store but they might still be on your device.

Delete apps that install configuration profiles

  • Press and hold on the app until it jiggles
  • Then tap the X in the upper-left corner to delete it
  • If you see the message, “deleting this app will also delete its data,” tap Delete Delete Stock Apps iOS 10 to speed performance

Delete configuration profiles

  • Go to Settings > General > Profiles (may also be called Device Management, Profile Management, or Profile & Device Management)
  • Tap the profile name
  • Chooose Remove Profile or Delete Profile How To remove a profile from an iPhone or iPad
  • If asked, enter your device passcode, then tap Delete
  • Restart your device

Turn Cellular Data on

  • Go to Settings > Cellular (or Mobile) > Cellular Data
  • Verify that Cellular Data is enabled iPhone turn cellular data on
  • Next, scroll down the list of apps
  • Check that the Settings app is also toggled on toggle on cellular data for the Settings app on iPhone

Try Airplane Mode

  • Toggle Airplane Mode on, wait a few moments and toggle it back off
  • The easiest way to toggle Airplane Mode is via Control Center 

Look at iCloud Backup settings

  • Go to Settings > Apple ID Profile > iCloud > iCloud BackupHow to Downgrade iOS10 to iOS9 on iPhone
  • If the status says, “Restoring apps from Backup” try to cancel or wait for all your apps to restore (this may take some time.)
  • Once it completes, your iCloud should work normally and no longer show up as greyed out

Check for restrictions

  • It may be that Restrictions were turned on during an iOS update. To fix this, turn off Restrictions
  • For iOS 12 and above, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. Temporarily toggle all restrictions off and then check if iCloud is available Where are Restrictions in iOS 12? We Found It and More!
  • For iOS 11 and below go to Settings > General > Restrictions, temporarily turn off all restrictions, and then check to see if iCloud is now working Cannot connect to iTunes store / App Store
  • Also, check Settings > General > Restrictions > Accounts (near the bottom) and set this to Allow Changes Can't Delete Safari History on iPhone, Fix

If turning off Restrictions didn’t work, try turning Screen Time (for iOS 12 and above) off temporarily

  • Go to Settings > Screen Time and scroll all the way down to locate Turn Off Screen Time turn off screen time
  • Tap that an enter your screen time passcode to disable this feature
  • If you can’t remember your screen time passcode, check out this article for tips on resetting Screen Time’s passcode

Reset your network’s settings

  • Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings How To Fix Messages and iMessage Problems in iOS 11
  • This action also resets WiFi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN and APN settings that you used before

Reset All Settings

  • Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings

    %%AppleID%% Error on App Store, Fix
    Use Reset All Settings to bypass this error
  • This resets to default everything in Settings, including notifications, alerts, brightness, and clock settings like wake up alarms. Resetting all settings also reverts all your personalized and customized features like wallpapers and accessibility features back to factory defaults. So you need to reconfigure these settings once your iPhone or iDevice restarts.

Log Out of Your Apple ID (if possible)

  • Sometimes, you need to kick start your device by logging out of your Apple ID and then logging back in. Go to Settings > Apple ID Profile and scroll all the way down to Sign Out iMessage Displays The Wrong Phone Number, fix
  • You need to temporarily turn off Find My iPhone (iPad or iPod) to sign out of your Apple ID

We hope that these tips helped you get iCloud working again. Let us know in the comments if you found something else that worked!

sudz - apple
SK

Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the original editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.

Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.

In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.

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Reader Interactions

Write a Comment Cancel reply

Show 42 Comments

  1. adam says

    August 13, 2022 at 11:10 AM

    I can access my account. my cell phone number is 720-779-9780 I am overseas. Please assist me I need to access my acount

    Reply
  2. Gofaone Kgosimore says

    May 17, 2022 at 9:23 PM

    My back up can’t turn on and I’m not able to delete the device manager .how can I switch my back up on . Model of the iPhone is an iPhone XS

    Reply
  3. sk says

    April 18, 2022 at 6:48 PM

    Thanks Daan! – I accepted the new iCloud Conditions in the Settings – and it resolved my issue (grey iCloud) also.

    Reply
  4. Diyar Mamand says

    December 17, 2021 at 6:54 AM

    Reset network settings did the job and it surprised me.

    Reply
  5. Daan says

    November 18, 2021 at 4:07 PM

    I had to accept the new iCloud conditions in the settings that’s what helped me finally to resolve the Issue… Settings and than the second Option was it i can’t remember how its called and its gone after finishing the process so i cant reread ✌️ Good luck guys

    Reply
  6. Mariah Thomas says

    October 2, 2021 at 7:49 AM

    The iCloud button on settings is grey and I tried everything you guys told me to and it’s still grey.

    Reply
  7. Chuck Page says

    June 15, 2021 at 8:23 PM

    Nothing works. Tried it all. It all sends me to 4 digit number WHICH I DONT KNOW
    So thanks for nothing

    Reply
    • ben says

      June 18, 2021 at 5:16 PM

      Got the same result.
      Apple can be a pain in the butt sometimes.

      Reply
  8. Paul P says

    December 6, 2020 at 3:16 PM

    Legends – i was getting pretty hacked off with this since the last update, I couldnt get in to the icloud settings – it was that hidden restrictions in screen time. Thank you again

    Reply
  9. Taiwo says

    April 12, 2020 at 4:26 PM

    I just got this iPhone 11 pro max and I can’t sign in to icloud ,it is still greyed iur,I have tried everything its not working

    Reply
  10. Rubia says

    February 28, 2020 at 9:43 PM

    I cant find profile and device management .. altho i deleted the vpn app but still it is greyed out and not working .. my phone is updated.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      February 29, 2020 at 9:30 AM

      Hi Rubia,

      Is your iPhone a workplace device–if so, it’s possible it is managed and supervised by your company and they have restricted you from making these types of changes. If you device is indeed supervised, you should see a message at the top of the Settings app–just above the Apple ID information that indicates the iPhone is supervised and managed.

      If the iPhone is your personal device, you only see profiles when they are installed. If you don’t see any, then there are none installed.

      Reply
  11. Mohammad says

    November 28, 2019 at 1:23 PM

    I had the exact same problem and i fixed it after a really long time!
    Solution: cellular data was turned off for “setting” section while I was using cellular data to check my icloud setting.
    So i turned it on and problem solved!

    Reply
  12. P. Morris says

    October 10, 2019 at 7:29 PM

    Turning off privacy restrictions in screen time restored my iCloud, Apple ID, and iTunes info. Thanks so much for the help, this was driving me nuts!!

    P. Morris

    Reply
    • dave says

      December 19, 2019 at 7:30 AM

      Thanks that worked a treat had been doing my nut for ages and thanks to your help it was as simple as that

      Reply
  13. Jane Luffman says

    April 29, 2019 at 9:25 AM

    I keep removing Profiles and it returns quickly. Resetting/ wiping the phone to new dies not keep it off for long. I am so jacked. What to do?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      May 3, 2019 at 8:37 AM

      Hi Jane,

      Are you restoring from a backup? If so, it’s likely the profile is in that backup and returns when you restore the device.

      It’s also possible that one of your apps has a profile installed on your device, so when you restore (or re-install) that app, the profile is added again.

      The first step to figuring out what’s going on is looking at the details of the installed profile. G

      Go to Settings > General > Profile and tap each profile to see its issuing authority.

      If you notice that a profile is related to an app, delete that app first and then delete the profile. After deleting those, backup your device so that your latest backup does not include the profile and app, then erase the phone and restore from backup (if desired.)

      Reply
  14. Abraham says

    March 23, 2019 at 11:03 PM

    Recently my backup was grayed out as well.

    Remembered that my email is linked to my employer and that recently they had me download security certificate in order to access my corporate email.

    I went to settings and under profiles I saw the certificate that I downloaded from my employer and just clicked on the delete button and whaa la!

    Back up was no longer grayed out and started working.

    You can also see certificates under setting and at top click about and you shuould be able to see certificates downloaded but doesn’t allow you to delete here so you have to go to profiles instead as mentioned above.

    Also I checked with apples geek squad and they said that normally this gets grayed out when someone downloads anything with some type of security that controls or limits what gets downloaded into the system.

    So if this happened to you don’t freak up just check your certificates and try to think back to anything that you downloaded and more than likely this is the culprit.

    Thanks again.

    Reply
  15. Mazza says

    March 9, 2019 at 1:03 AM

    I have just bought a new iphone XR.

    My old iphone 7 had this greyed out ID problem but resolved when I toggled off restrictions.

    However, the new on which I restored from a back up of the iphone 7 on my computer has the greyed out Apple ID,icloud, itunes etc in setting.

    I tried all the suggestions above, except for signing out of my apple ID because I couldn’t.

    I did a second restore from backup, forced restart, reset all settings, off restrictions, off screen time. Still greyed out. Any thing else I can do?

    Reply
    • SK says

      March 10, 2019 at 12:15 PM

      Hi Mazza,

      Sorry about all these problems with setting up your iPhone XR!

      Check if you have any profiles installed–go to Settings > General > Profiles and delete any there. Then restart and try signing into iCloud again.

      If you still have the old iPhone 7 and you haven’t deleted anything yet, try backing it up again–making sure Restrictions is off. Then restore from that recent backup. If possible use, iTunes over iCloud to back up and restore your iPhone 7’s data to the new iPhone.

      If nothing helps, contact Apple Support or set-up an appointment with an Apple Genius at your local Apple Store.

      Reply
  16. Riley says

    February 17, 2019 at 4:59 PM

    iMessage is greyed out in settings and in the app it says sign 2 ur Apple ID and it won’t let me tap on it!!!

    Reply
  17. Lynn says

    February 11, 2019 at 11:11 PM

    Is this Screen Time iCloud bug going to be fixed? My iPad 2018 works fine but not my older iPhone

    Reply
  18. Linda says

    February 11, 2019 at 11:08 PM

    After For iOS 12 and above, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. Temporarily toggle all restrictions off and then check if iCloud is available. iCloud is available.

    However, it is only available when the restrictions are off.

    Is this bug going to be fixed? This situation only applies on my iPhone 6s

    Reply
    • SK says

      February 12, 2019 at 9:53 AM

      Hi Linda,

      After turning off restrictions, close all open apps by double pressing the Home Button and then swiping up the app previews off the top of your screen–do this until all you see is your Home Screen and no more app previews.

      Once you close all open apps, restart your iPhone by powering off, waiting 30 seconds, and powering back up.

      Check that iCloud is available and if so, turn restrictions back on and see if iCloud remains available.

      Finally, if these steps did not work for you, the next time an iOS update becomes available, update your iPhone using iTunes instead of Settings > General > Software Update (called Over-The-Air.)

      iTunes installs a full version of iOS on your device, while Over-The-Air installs just the bits of code that changed (called a Delta Update.)

      If the problem persists even after an iTunes update, let us know.

      Reply
  19. Lisa says

    February 2, 2019 at 11:02 PM

    All great suggestions I’ll try.

    However, I would remove log out of your Apple ID.

    If the iCloud setting or profile is grayed out, you can’t access it, and that is where you log out.

    Reply
  20. Mike says

    November 17, 2018 at 5:51 AM

    I read that the iCloud backup and drive can be hacked to send your info to an alternate computer? Is this true?

    Reply
  21. Leo says

    November 13, 2018 at 8:35 PM

    Hi,

    I tried all the fixes mentioned here, but my Ipad Air still has the Icloud Backup button greyed out,
    any other sugestions

    Reply
  22. Inita says

    October 25, 2018 at 3:58 PM

    I tried all above written to try to access iCloud on my phone but it remains grey.

    Please help

    Reply
    • SK says

      October 25, 2018 at 5:44 PM

      Hi Inita,

      Let’s try a forced restart:

        On an iPhone 6S or below plus all iPads & iPod Touches, press Home and Power at the same time until you see the Apple logo

        For iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the Side and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo

        On an iPhone X Series model or iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo

      If that didn’t help, check again that you do not have any restrictions enabled. If you do, temporarily turn off ALL restrictions.

      Then completely sign out of your apple id on every service, including iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, App Store, iTunes, Apple Books, iCloud Photo Library. Once signed out, power off your device, wait 2 minutes or so, and power back on. Then sign back into everything with your Apple ID. See if iCloud now is working and no longer greyed out.

      Reply
  23. Wilson says

    June 17, 2018 at 8:56 PM

    I just got a new iphone and new number and wanted to turn on my icloud in my new phone but i am facing the same issue where icloud is greyed out. Restriction already try on and off.

    Reply
  24. Jafsal Jamal says

    August 12, 2017 at 8:36 AM

    Not yet solve
    Tried many times turning restructions off and on.
    No changes yet
    Still icloud signi out remains the same greyed

    Reply
  25. mark says

    January 14, 2017 at 12:24 AM

    turning OFF restriction worked for me, thanks

    Reply
  26. Marena says

    July 14, 2016 at 2:22 PM

    Thank you so much!! You really saved my life! I was panicking and everything! I was searching on Apple’s Website, Yahoo, you name it! Thank you so much!

    Reply
  27. Win says

    November 25, 2015 at 10:32 AM

    Same problem: restrictions off, can’t sign in; “Sign In” is greyed out.

    Reply
  28. john says

    October 22, 2015 at 12:50 PM

    right answer turn off restrictions

    Reply
  29. Phyllis says

    April 20, 2015 at 3:28 PM

    Sign in box under iCloud is greyed out. How do I sign back in. I do not have restriction on and never have. I followed direction of Apple to sign out of iCloud and then sign back in when I asked how to get rid of the pop up to sign in to iCloud. I followed direction and now can’t sign back in.

    Reply
    • Pat says

      August 26, 2015 at 5:04 PM

      I have the same problem what did you do to resolve it?

      Reply
      • Kirsty says

        August 29, 2015 at 3:11 PM

        I have exactly the same problem…..and as yet haven’t found a solution….

        Reply
        • Rob McAndrew says

          September 10, 2015 at 8:17 AM

          Do you have a passcode set??

          If not, You MUST have a passcode enabled to access icloud!!

          Reply
    • Steve says

      September 13, 2015 at 1:15 PM

      Me too. Did you get this resolved??

      Reply
    • Ashok Rawat says

      October 25, 2018 at 12:23 AM

      Have the same issue . any solution please ?

      Reply
      • MR says

        December 20, 2019 at 7:40 AM

        I finally figured this out… I couldn’t sign out of iCloud, it was grayed out and saying restrictions were turned on, but I’d toggled them on and off multiple times. Finally… I figured it out.

        Turn off screen time altogether – that worked for me & I could sign out of iCloud.

        Reply

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