To all of you who won a new Apple device for Christmas, congratulations! But you may have some difficulty setting up and signing in to iCloud with other Apple users. First reported by Apple Insider, on Saturday morning, Apple’s system status page showed “some users affected” by a problem that started around 4:45 am ET on December 25th. “Users may be having problems with this service,” says the status update.
The problem appears to be affecting multiple devices. The system status page shows no problems with any other part of iCloud or other Apple services. Apple Support tweeted Friday afternoon he was aware of the problem and said he was “experiencing high capacity at this point, which is affecting his ability to set up iCloud, try again in a few hours”. The message was aimed at a user trying to set up his mother’s new iPad and HomePod mini.
We know that your mom is looking forward to everything working and we appreciate your help in setting them up. We are currently experiencing high capacity, which is affecting your ability to set up iCloud. Try again in a few hours. https://t.co/waNYZdXpJm
– Apple Support (@AppleSupport) December 25, 2020
It is not yet clear to what extent the problem is widespread, but there have been no further updates from Apple for several hours. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge in the Saturday morning. We will update this article with any new information if we receive a response from them.