Q: Why can't I use my iCloud email address as my Apple ID

We really need this.

It's another chance for Apple do disconnect me from Google services (what I love to do), so why do I have to keep my Gmail account?

Please make this an option Apple.

Interesting. I did not realize that you cannot set your primary email address to an @icloud.com domain.

Have you tried making your primary email youremailname@me.com and seeing if that sends emails to your @icloud email account? It might. If not, and you use the Mail app on iPhone, iPad, and iMac, you can easily set it up to receive @icloud emails.

Matthew Palm wrote:

 

Interesting. I did not realize that you cannot set your primary email address to an @icloud.com domain.

Have you tried making your primary email youremailname@me.com and seeing if that sends emails to your @icloud email account? It might. If not, and you use the Mail app on iPhone, iPad, and iMac, you can easily set it up to receive @icloud emails.

It will not let you set up a '@me.com' email address either.  When you attempt to change the email address, it says "Apple ID must not use a domain owned by Apple".  I can understand not setting up a icloud email address tied to another Apple ID, but it won't let you set up a icloud or ".me" email address tied to your own Apple ID account.  Forcing you to use a 3rd party email address.  It appears the only time it will let use a Apple domain as the primary email address is when you initially setup a Apple ID.  But if you initially setup the Apple ID with a 3rd party email address, you cannot go back and use the icloud or .me email address associated with the account, as your primary email address for your Apple ID and Apple specific correspondence.

I know for a fact that this is simply not true. I'm not saying you are making stuff up, I'm just suggesting that perhaps you are going about it the wrong way.

The primary email address I use for my Apple ID is an @me.com email address, and this is different from my Apple ID.

My Apple ID is an old, now defunct @sbcglobal.net address, and when I switched my life over to an @me.com email, I was unable to change my Apple ID to my @me.com email (for reasons we all know and hate). However, a work-around was to simply keep my Apple ID as the @sbcglobal.net login, but change my primary email address to @me.com

That is what I did and it works fine.

Not sure what to tell you. Perhaps give Apple a call?

I don't doubt in the past Apple might have let you change the primary email address to a @me.com or @icloud.com,  but Apple does not currently allow you.  The only way to currently change the Apple primary email address now is to change it at https://appleid.apple.com/ . But on this site, the link to manage/change your primary email address is also directly tied to also changing your Apple ID.  Apple will not let you change them separately.  This might have been different in the past, but now they are tied together.  And it will not currently allow you to change it to an Apple domain....such as @me.com or @icloud.com. 

Strange. I just logged in to my Apple ID, and I see options to change my Apple ID and, separately, an option to change my primary email address.

One thing that might be a problem for you is if your current Apple ID is already an email that ends in an Apple-owned domain (iCloud, me, etc.). From the support FAQ it sounds like those Apple ID's might not be able to change their primary email addresses to an Apple domain.

I just got off the phone with Apple support and a senior adviser.  They confirmed that Apple has changed their policy and will not allow you to change your primary email address to a Apple owned domain. Just plan stupid!!!!!

Well, there you have it. Still, very strange.

Matthew Palm wrote:

 

One thing that might be a problem for you is if your current Apple ID is already an email that ends in an Apple-owned domain (iCloud, me, etc.). From the support FAQ it sounds like those Apple ID's might not be able to change their primary email addresses to an Apple domain.

My current Apple ID is my gmail account.

Wow, that makes no sense. Frustrating, I'm sure. What did the Apple Support guy recommend you do? I don't see how someone could manage an iTunes account with those restrictions in place.

Matthew Palm wrote:

 

Well, there you have it. Still, very strange.

The adviser explained to me it was because in the past, when people got locked out of their account, Apple had no way to send an email to help you recover your account.

But that is just silly, because why not just force people to use an alternate 3rd party email address if you want to use your Apple address as a primary.  Plus if you have your account setup for two-factor authentication, they won't send you an email anyway to recover.

Just plain stupid!!!!

Matthew Palm wrote:

 

Wow, that makes no sense. Frustrating, I'm sure. What did the Apple Support guy recommend you do? I don't see how someone could manage an iTunes account with those restrictions in place.

You can still manage your primary email address (which is also your Apple ID), you just can't use your own icloud.com email address.  You have to use a 3rd party email address.  Stupid!

So in your case, since your gmail address is your Apple ID, you still have to use that gmail address to manage your Apple ID account, even though you want to kill that old gmail address?

This is exactly the problem.

We have to maintain a Googlemail account just to manage our Apple businesses, quite ironic.

Can you add a secondary email address? And if so, can that address receive emails?

Probably the easiest solution for folks in your position would be to set up your gmail account to forward any Apple emails to your iCloud email account (or whatever email you're using). Not ideal, but at least you would get emails without having to check the gmail account.