Apple Now Letting Apple IDs With Third-Party Email Addresses Be Updated to Apple Email Addresses

[brushlee]

I’m a little surprised at how confusing this change seems to be for some. Here’s what the deal is in simple:

You created an Apple ID using a third party email address. At some point later you joined iCloud. This happened for many who may have only used an Apple ID before iCloud was rolled out and who also didn’t use iTools/MobileMe. So when iCloud was rolled out and you joined in, you created an iCloud email address that was tied to your Apple ID. So basically this change is to let you change your Apple ID from the third party email to the iCloud email address you created already. It may allow for a couple other scenarios but I think the intention is that if you have, for example, and Apple ID of myaddr@gmail.com and an iCloud email of otheraddr@icloud.com then you can change your AppleID from myaddr@gmail.com to otheraddr@icloud.com. If you’re wanting to change otheraddr@icloud.com you probably would need to do it as a later step.

OK, that is exactly what appleid site "agrees" to do for me (I didn't confirm the change though)
I spent like an hour, trying to be creative , attempting to get new .me.com email address without any luck.
After reading some guesses here, I tried one of my aliases I have created during playing initially with iCloud services long time ago. .... drum roll.... all of my existing aliases on my apple id account are welcome to be my primary id (by switching from my original 3rd party email address)

So, I guess it is working.... Will try again and complete the process from home.
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Has anyone successfully changed their accounts using an @icloud alias? It seems I can change my Apple ID to my base @icloud account, but if I attempt to change it using my alias, then it gives me the red error message "Your Apple ID cannot end in @icloud.com. Choose a different email address."

yup - looks like change to alias at .icloud, .me, .mac works fine.

 

[Avenged110]

Holy ****, FINALLY!! It only took them 6 years to figure out how to let me use my Apple email for my Apple ID. What a welcome change.

 

[brushlee]

Guys I need some help. How can I get a new iCloud email adress? Only mail adress without apple id. i want to use a new @icloud.com adress as my new apple id

Try:
Log in to icloud web interface, go to mail, and play around (I do not have it in front of me now) to add an alias.
This alias will be .me or .icloud

After that - try to send email there and then go change your apple id login to this new alias.

Hope this helps....

 

[whsbuss]

Has anyone changed their 3rd party email to iCloud.com who is on family sharing? I am the admin for my family and afraid to even try this.

 

[Da-Aaron]

Off topic somewhat, but one thing I don't understand about Apple authentication is that with two factor authentication, I frequently get the numeric code required as the second factor ON the device I'm logging in from. This seems like it defeats the purpose entirely.

Anybody else seeing this? It started after iOS 11.

That’s by design. Apple’s implementation isn’t true 2FA

 

[Primejimbo]

Your former Apple ID that ends with a third-party email, becomes an additional email address for your Apple ID account.

So does this mean if I change my email address from my outook email addrsss to my me email, my outlook email is still connected?

 

[Civic Minded]

yup - looks like change to alias at .icloud, .me, .mac works fine.

I must be doing something wrong then. No matter what I do, it keeps giving me the same "you can't do this" error message. Quite frustrating...
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So does this mean if I change my email address from my outook email addrsss to my me email, my outlook email is still connected?

It just means that it will add it to the list of emails that you can be reached at for things like iMessage etc... https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201356

 

[ignatius345]

I always assumed that was exactly why they had the restriction, they wanted a separate way to contact you if there was a problem with your account.

Same here. I'm inclined to keep mine tied to Gmail for now, until I hear of a really good reason to put all my authentication eggs (as it were) in the same basket.

 

[Richdmoore]

Set up Family Sharing. That's the best way to handle it for now. Works like a charm.

In app purchases are not shared with family sharing. It might be an issue for some people.

 

[QandnotU]

Spoke to a senior account specialists at Apple to get some clarity, and my apologies if any of this has already been discovered:

It's confirmed the feature is rolled out to everyone, so if you're having issues assigning an Apple email (mac, me, iCloud), it's because you're attempting to use an email that is already associated with another Apple ID.

If you're looking to switch to an Apple email, you'll either need to update the account with an Apple email that isn't already associated with another Apple ID or create an alias. This squashes any hopes of being able to merge multiple Apple IDs into a single account.

My third-party email associated with my iTunes purchases is still active, so I'm not interested in converting it to an Apple email alias, so feedback is welcomed if any of what I was told holds up.

 

[Dizzy714]

Such BS. Of course iCloud accounts have long been created as secondary ‘Apple ID’s’ for those that have invested way too much with their primary Apple ID and thus cannot move to iCloud as primary but still wanted to use an iCloud email & cloud storage system, so why they can’t be merged into one is such BS. I’ve got everything tied to my secondary iCloud Apple ID account, the only thing tying my ‘primary’ Apple ID is all of my purchases - so I’m forced to have a clunky doubled up ID system. I got excited for a second..

 

[FatherJack1980]

It's confirmed the feature is rolled out to everyone, so if you're having issues assigning an Apple email (mac, me, iCloud), it's because you're attempting to use an email that is already associated with another Apple ID.

Thanks for that info.

And darn it - but is there any reason as to why the text just doesn't simply say it's being used by someone else?

 

[scott523]

Omg I finally got my iCloud AppleID to stick! For those worried about lost purchases, they didn’t go anywhere!

This is what I did. Hopefully this explanation makes sense.

1. I started with a Gmail AppleID that was tied with my iCloud primary email address.
2. I changed my primary email to match the Gmail AppleID. This effectively removed the primary email in the “Reachable at” list as it’s now combined with the AppleID.
3. My iPhone 7 (running latest software if that matters) was stubborn to accept my iCloud address when attempting to change the AppleID, so I decided to try changing the AppleID via Safari on my iPhone.
4. Once logged in, I went to enter the iCloud address that was originally my primary email. Without resistance, it asks me to confirm that I want to do this, and I said Yes. Success!

Currently my iMessage and FaceTime are having a hard time dealing with the change but I’m sure with some patience, they’ll pull through eventually.

 

[GermanSuplex]

I and others have mentioned this before, but there's so much confusion for some its worth repeating.

If you're trying to change your Apple ID (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @aol.com, etc.) to an @me.com or @iCloud.com address, it must be tied to that account. If its not, it's a separate Apple ID.

If the above is true but you still can't change your Apple ID to your @me.com or @iCloud.com address, from an iOS device, go to Settings > Click on your account at the top of the screen. I'm not sure in what submenu it appears, but there should be an option to change your Primary Email (this is the email that Apple sends iTunes receipts and such to, regardless of what your Apple ID is). If this Primary Email is what you want to be your Apple ID, that is the issue. Change your primary email to something else, then try changing your Apple ID. If successful, your old Apple ID will now be a recovery email, and the primary email option should disappear. It appears Apple has gotten rid of the Primary option upon launching this new feature.

Things to note;

-If you have two different Apple ID's - not aliases, but actually two separate accounts - you cannot use one for the other. i.e. you had yourname@gmail.com as an Apple ID, then later set up a brand new Apple ID account with yourname@me.com or yourname@iCloud.com, you can't use the @me or @iCloud.com to replace your @gmail.com as your Apple ID, because they are two separate accounts.

 

[BSben]

I need Apple to
1) Let me merge Apple IDs
2) Let me change my primary Apple ID username

My primary Apple ID account is still the silly "company" I made in 1994 called Wigwam Multimedia when I was a young teenager. It has followed me through iTools, .Mac, MobileMe and iCloud and while I have aliases it defaults to the stupid wigwammultimedia@mac.com more often than I want to.

That's fine. Not every feature needs to cater for your personal needs.

 

[Civic Minded]

I and others have mentioned this before, but there's so much confusion for some its worth repeating.

If you're trying to change your Apple ID (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @aol.com, etc.) to an @me.com or @iCloud.com address, it must be tied to that account. If its not, it's a separate Apple ID.

Can you explain this a bit more? My Apple ID is currently an @att address. I already have an iCloud email address that I use for email and would also like to start using for my Apple ID, however it will not let me switch it. Would this have something to do with why?

 

[lozion]

Alrite simple question: Can you use your primary @icloud.com email address as your new Apple ID?

 

[Civic Minded]

Alrite simple question: Can you use your primary @icloud.com email address as your new Apple ID?

If that’s directed at me, then the answer is yes. It seems be willing to let me set it to the primary iCloud email address. It will not however allow me to set it to the alias iCloud address that’s attached to it. And that’s the one I want to use.

 

[Mattzatt]

"You can change your Apple ID to any other email address* you control, as long as it's not already in use as an Apple ID." i.e. you can't merge existing Apple IDs for those of you wishing to do so and who might be confusing matters.

Called Apple today, and sadly they confirmed this. If you want to transfer from a third-party to a @ icloud - That can't already be an Apple-ID. There was a but of a confusion when I called about it, since they had not even heart about this yet.

BUT
Still dosen't think that make sense, since you can transfer it over to a @ me or @ mac e-mail, and those are Apple-ID by default - Aren't they?

 

[jacquesrk]

Called Apple today, and sadly they confirmed this. If you want to transfer from a third-party to a @ icloud - That can't already be an Apple-ID. There was a but of a confusion when I called about it, since they had not even heart about this yet.

BUT
Still dosen't think that make sense, since you can transfer it over to a @ me or @ mac e-mail, and those are Apple-ID by default - Aren't they?

I guess what you could do is transfer it over to an @ me or @ icloud email which is an alias. Not to an @ me or @ icloud email which is being used as an Apple ID. And like you said, any existing @ me or @ icloud would be an Apple ID by default.

I'm one of those people with one account on the Apple store and another one I use for iCloud, I would love to be able to combine them. The best I can do is create an alias and use that for the Apple store. That would still be better becuase my current account ID for the Apple store is an old myname @ oldisp.com address that is no longer a valid email address.

 

[lozion]

Alrite simple question: Can you use your primary @icloud.com email address as your new Apple ID?

Precision: My primary @icloud.com email has never been used as a Apple ID before but still I cannot select it as my new ID. I give up..

 

[Civic Minded]

Precision: My primary @icloud.com email has never been used as a Apple ID before but still I cannot select it as my new ID. I give up..

That’s because it by itself IS an Apple ID. You can’t have two separate accounts with the same login email is the issue you’re running into.

 

[CamiMR]

Alrite simple question: Can you use your primary @icloud.com email address as your new Apple ID?

I can confirm this has worked very easily for me. After following this thread, decided to give it a try.
Like many others, 2-3 years ago decided to completely stop using my @gmail account, that I had originally used to set up my Apple ID, and was unpleasantly surprised to realise that I couldn't dissociate it from my Apple ID.
So, for that purpose (and not merging Apple IDs like others would have wanted), this is a welcome change on my end.
Was expecting some hiccups along the way (wanted to change to my iCloud address I have been using since giving up on gmail, that was one of the primary addresses on my account), but got no errors of any type (followed the instructions here https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202667 , and used my Apple ID account page via Safari on my Mac).
Can't remember the last time I said this about something Apple related, but it just worked!!
Didn't even have to sign out of my Apple ID on any device. iPhone, iPad and Mac just started showing my Apple ID with @icloud. On the Apple TV had to sign out and back in on a couple of services (I believe Game Centre and something else), but apart from that, it was smooth sailing.
Bye bye, Gmail...

 

[lozion]

That’s because it by itself IS an Apple ID. You can’t have two separate accounts with the same login email is the issue you’re running into.

I can confirm this has worked very easily for me. After following this thread, decided to give it a try.
Like many others, 2-3 years ago decided to completely stop using my @gmail account, that I had originally used to set up my Apple ID, and was unpleasantly surprised to realise that I couldn't dissociate it from my Apple ID.
So, for that purpose (and not merging Apple IDs like others would have wanted), this is a welcome change on my end.
Was expecting some hiccups along the way (wanted to change to my iCloud address I have been using since giving up on gmail, that was one of the primary addresses on my account), but got no errors of any type (followed the instructions here https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202667 , and used my Apple ID account page via Safari on my Mac).
Can't remember the last time I said this about something Apple related, but it just worked!!
Didn't even have to sign out of my Apple ID on any device. iPhone, iPad and Mac just started showing my Apple ID with @icloud. On the Apple TV had to sign out and back in on a couple of services (I believe Game Centre and something else), but apart from that, it was smooth sailing.
Bye bye, Gmail...

Right, so on which device did you do the change?

 

[ke-iron]

I do not like this idea at all. They're letting people be able to select an @Mac.com address? I want this to be for us long time Apple users who actually used the .Mac service back in the day. Damn Apple for this!