iCloud Custom email domain: "Email is already in use with another Apple ID" issue

[samwa3]

Found many topics on custom email domains, but not one with this specific issue, so let me try to explain. This is what I did shortly after the custom email domain feature launched:

1. Own a custom domain (example.org) since many years. I added it as Custom Email Domain to my iCloud account.
2. I assigned a custom domain email address to myself (samwa3@example.org) and also another one (samwife3@example.org) to myself.
3. Then I realized I meant to assign the latter address to my wife instead. She is part of my iCloud Family Sharing, so should be easy, right?
4. I removed the address samwife3@example.org completely from my own iCloud / Apple ID.
5. Now when I try adding it to my wife's iCloud / Apple ID, it will always fail with the error message: ”This email is already in use with another Apple ID.”

Calling the Apple Support doesn't really help. I'm having a hard time for them to understand the specific issue, or at least it doesn't seem to be common enough for them to have a solution. The above steps are now also many months in the past, and there is zero association anywhere in my Apple ID with the "samwife3@example.org" address. I even disabled the custom email domain feature completely and use another mailbox provider again, but still when I try to add the domain anew, it will not allow her to use her address. What apparently works is adding her address to my own Apple ID again, but that's unhelpful...

Anybody have experienced something like this? Is there just an invisible tie between my Apple ID and her email address now, never to be unwoven?

 

[KrisLord]

I can't help with your exact issue but I had problems as my domain name is also the email I use on a secondary appleID.

I would keep going with Apple support but ask how long after an email is removed from yours can you add it to your wife's - forget the backstory and keep it as simple as possible.

 

[tom2023]

I have the same problem. I can't add the email name that was used with another Apple ID that was deleted from it. Have you found a solution?

I tried asking here and I wish Apple would fix this bug as soon as possible.

 

[samwa3]

I have the same problem. I can't add the email name that was used with another Apple ID that was deleted from it. Have you found a solution?

I tried asking here and I wish Apple would fix this bug as soon as possible.

No solution at all. I use https://www.migadu.com/ now for email, which is great so in the end I think I got lucky. Not sure if I want to deal with Apple anymore when it comes to these things.

 

[tom2023]

The problem is that they do not delete the email address completely and it remains tied to the Apple ID.
It's very frustrating to be treated this way. I can't understand what right they have not to allow you to fully unlink a domain from their service and not let you know about it before you start using it.