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Apple’s iCloud services hit a breaking point on June 24, plunging users into digital chaos for nearly five hours. The disruption began around 2:36 PM Eastern Time (ET), which is 11:36 PM Pakistan Standard Time (PKT).
Mail, Photos, Calendar, Contacts, Find My, Web Apps, and iWork all dropped offline. Millions of users couldn’t check emails, sync data, or even locate their devices. Outage trackers logged nearly 1,000 spike reports as the system collapsed.
iCloud Implodes in Broad Daylight
It started quietly, with some users spotting odd glitches in Mail and Find My. But within minutes, the problem exploded. Calendar syncs failed. Contacts disappeared. Even iCloud’s homepage refused to load. By mid-afternoon in the US (or midnight in Pakistan) the outage had morphed into a full-blown blackout.
Partial recovery began around 6:45 PM ET (3:45 AM PST). By 7 PM ET (4:00 AM PST), Apple’s system status page showed all services as restored. But the damage was already done.
Panic and Sarcasm Flood the Internet
As iCloud unraveled, frustrated users flooded Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and Apple forums. One person vented about being completely locked out of their Apple ID. Another joked that iCloud had “a full-on tantrum.”
While some offered advices like:
“This is why I started keeping original photos on my computer again… had to go for double the storage I previously had but the peace of mind is worth it!”
Others questioned how a trillion-dollar company could allow such a meltdown, especially during a weekday work cycle.
This Isn’t Just an iCloud Glitch
In today’s world, people rely on iCloud for work, school, medical records, passwords, and more. A five-hour blackout at the heart of that ecosystem is more than annoying; it’s dangerous.
Apple keeps pushing deeper into services and AI. But what happens when the cloud holding it all together collapses?
Apple’s Reaction: Silence Wrapped in Politeness
After quietly flipping the status lights back to green, Apple offered a typical vague response: “some users were affected.” There was no apology. No explanation. No clear path forward. Just corporate calm after hours of digital chaos.
For millions depending on these services every hour of every day, that felt not enough. Users now view cloud reliability the same way they view electricity and internet access: non-negotiable.
