To accommodate new iCloud features brought by iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, Apple introduced new iCloud storage plans in September. Users with an existing paid plan had the choice of upgrading to one of the new tiers, or keeping a grandfathered 25GB plan. The company required that users update their billing information in order to keep the new or grandfathered plans, but gave customers only a few days to identify and correct their information. This led to many iCloud users losing their paid plans when Apple switched to the new tiers in mid-September.
iCloud customers who didn’t comply in time were downgraded to the free 5GB plan, which affected important tasks like iOS backups, data syncing, and photo sharing. Apple has now responded to customer concern over the change, and admitted that the company did not provide enough time for users to update their information. Affected customers have begun receiving emails from the iCloud Support Team, informing them that Apple will extend their previous plan without charge for six months.
In September, we converted you to a new annual iCloud storage plan, which was recently downgraded to 5 GB because of a problem with your payment information. We understand that you may not have had enough time to update your payment information before your plan was downgraded.
To make up for any inconvenience, you will not be charged for your current 20 GB monthly storage plan until April 30, 2015. On April 30, 2015 your plan will automatically renew and you will be charged $0.99 per month until you change or cancel your plan.
This concession by Apple is a one-time offer only. Customers who are offered the complimentary extension must maintain their former iCloud storage tier; if they change plans, they will be charged in full for the new plan without consideration for the value of the free extension.
iCloud users interested in their storage plan details can check their current status on their iDevices (Settings > iCloud > Storage > Change Storage Plan) or Macs (System Preferences > iCloud > Manage > Change Storage Plan).
