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iCloud Mail IMAP email address

xetmarcr

xetmarcr

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 9, 2014
61
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ID
In my iCloud Mail 'Accounts' tab, the iCloud IMAP email address that's listed is an old address that is not used anymore and I'd like to change it to a current address. Also, it is not my Apple ID which is OK with me.

However, the iCloud IMAP email address displayed in the MacMail app (under Preferences>Accounts) shows the correct address, which is an iCloud alias that's properly listed under 'alternate' in iCloud Mail 'Accounts'.

My question: Can I update the IMAP email address in iCloud Mail and how could that be done, or would I have to delete the entire account and start over?

Thanks in advance!
 
You have the main account address, then the alias addresses. It sounds like you want to keep the alias and use that as the main and ditch the main? If that is the case, then no... there is no way to do that. There is nothing really stopping you from using the alias full time as your primary email though.

The only way to get a new main address is with a new iCloud account.
 
Thanks for the info. I just discovered the email address that I want to remove is an alias of my Apple ID, as well. It's listed as such under 'Reachable at' on the 'Manage your Apple ID' website.

How does one delete an address that was set up as an alias?
 
Login to iCloud.com and in the Mail section there to can manage alias addresses. There is a little cog for settings.
 
The problem is this address is listed as the iCloud IMAP address under the 'iCloud' tab, and not as an iCloud mail alias in the 'Alternate' tab. There isn't an option to change or delete it. This is very confusing for me, listing that address as an alias on the website to Manage the Apple ID, but not as an alias on the iCloud website.

Is there any other way to delete or change an alias?
[doublepost=1484003881][/doublepost]More information - on the website to manage Apple ID, under 'Reachable At', my preferred alias address is listed there but has an 'X' next to it (can be deleted?). The address I want to remove is listed there as well, but instead of an 'X' it has a '?' with a popup that just says it's an alias.
Also confusing is that in the IMAP section for this account in the Mail app, the preferred alias is being used. I don't know why iCloud shows the other address for IMAP??
 
You manage alias addresses from the iCloud.com web site. Login there and open Mail on the web page. Then in the lower left click this little gear. Then in the pane that comes up go to accounts and you can manage your alias addresses from there. Whatever changes you make there will appear in the Mail application after you restart it.

Screen Shot 2017-01-10 at 8.29.28 AM.png
 
Yes, that's where I was looking. On the iCloud.com website, there's only one address listed as an alias there, and it's the one I want to keep. The one I want to remove isn't on that alias list.
 
xetmarcr said:
Yes, that's where I was looking. On the iCloud.com website, there's only one address listed as an alias there, and it's the one I want to keep. The one I want to remove isn't on that alias list.
Click to expand...
Okay... I think I am with you now.

You talking about under manage your AppleID? Those ones with the ? ARE the AppleID and cannot be changed. The one with an X is an additional contact that can be removed and changed.

Screen_Shot_2017-01-10_at_11_46_39_AM.png
 
By George, I think he's got it! :)
I was even working on the same screen capture that you posted!

Which brings up a couple of related questions - how can an alias become an Apple ID and unchangeable? I can understand creating several aliases, but how do some become unchangeable and some not?

And of course my original question - in order to remove that old alias address and replace it with the new one, would I have to delete my entire account and create a new one from scratch?
 
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xetmarcr said:
By George, I think he's got it! :)
I was even working on the same screen capture that you posted!

Which brings up a couple of related questions - how can an alias become an Apple ID and unchangeable? I can understand creating several aliases, but how do some become unchangeable and some not?

And of course my original question - in order to remove that old alias address and replace it with the new one, would I have to delete my entire account and create a new one from scratch?
Click to expand...

You can always add and remove alias email addressed at icloud.com. But the main icloud.com address for the account is also an AppleID and THE AppleID for that account.

So you can take the main iCloud address and login to the AppleID web site to manage it, and add/remove alternate contacts, but that main address IS the AppleID and can never be changed.

The only way to do that would be with a new account like you mentioned.

Apple has made all this needlessly confusing
 
I don't understand when you say that the main iCloud.com address is also an AppleID...Is there another AppleID for the same account?
Is it that the AppleID for iCloud.com be different than the original AppleID used to create my account? (In my case, the AppleID is the same for both)

Confusing is an understatement!
 
xetmarcr said:
I don't understand when you say that the main iCloud.com address is also an AppleID...Is there another AppleID for the same account?
Click to expand...

No... for that account it is the same thing. (see below)

xetmarcr said:
I don't understand when you say that the main iCloud.com address is also an AppleID...Is there another AppleID for the same account?
Click to expand...

No... but you can have a separate AppleID account that is not an iCloud account and is only used for iTunes or the App Store for example.

So you can have an iCloud account, lets say bob@icloud.com. So bob@icloud.com is also an AppleID that can be used in iTunes and the App Store.

Then you could also have an AppleID account, say bob@gmail.com. That is not an iCloud account, but can be used in iTunes and the App Store.

So an iCloud account is always also an AppleID, but not the reverse.

Make sense?
 
I get it, in that example. Thanks.

But I still don't get why an email address, that's not being used as an AppleID, cannot be deleted or replaced. If it's an alias, shouldn't it be temporary and/or changeable?

I'm also really confused about why that address is not listed as an alias in iCloud.com but is an alias in Manage Your AppleID. Is there a list somewhere that shows what AppleID's are associated with my account, in case there's something I'm not aware of?
 
But it's not shown as an iCloud alias, at least not at iCloud.com, and I don't remember how it could have been set up as an AppleID either. Anyway, it looks like we're going in circles here without a solution, and since it's not causing any malfunctions I'll just have to leave it be.
But I thank you for your assistance with this confusing issue!
 
No workaround...the address I was inquiring about hasn't been in use for several years and doesn't cause any issues, so I decided to just 'forget about it'.
Funny thing is that I upgraded my iPhone yesterday and during the Restore from iCloud procedure it asked if I wanted to include downloads from that OLD Apple ID, so it must have been an AppleID at some time in the past. Needless to say I chose to skip that part.
 
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