Can't set up second icloud email account on iphone 13 pro max running ios 15

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Level 1

6 points

Can't set up second icloud email account on iphone 13 pro max running ios 15

I have my primary email icloud me.com account on iPhone 13. I have tried to add three of my secondary me.com accounts but password verification fails on the phone account setup screen.

I can sign in to iCloud on my imac with my secondary me.com accounts but using the same passwords to setup these secondary cloud email accounts fails. I have even changed the password for the secondary icloud accounts and can still login via iCloud on my iMac with the new passwords

The secondary accounts worked fine on my old 6s plus. But I wanted to do a clean install on the new iphone.

I have been able to add my gmail account and some virginmedia accounts to the new iphone it is just the icloud secondary accounts that will not work.

Any thoughts on how I can get the second account on the iPhone.

iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 15

Posted on Sep 25, 2021 1:13 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

amsquared21 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 27, 2021 4:55 AM in response to amsquared21

Ok after an hour on the phone to Apple support here is the solution that worked for me. For the three secondary me.com accounts I had to create app specific passwords and then use the Add Account - Other option not the iCloud option.

When entering the information I had to use the actual email account password on the first screen and then on the next screen for the imap and smtp server info - use the app specific password I had created for each account

Frustrating but got there in the end

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Answer 2

judysings

Community Specialist

Sep 26, 2021 5:55 PM in response to amsquared21

Hi there amsquared21,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We're happy to get you going in the right direction for help with adding these accounts to your iPhone. First, you can check the email account settings using the guidance here:

Mail Settings Lookup

Should this issue persist, you will need to get in touch with Apple Support for further assistance:

Get Support

Have a great day!

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Answer 3

iW00

Level 6

8,518 points

Sep 28, 2021 1:52 PM in response to amsquared21

amsquared21 wrote:

Ok after an hour on the phone to Apple support here is the solution that worked for me. For the three secondary me.com accounts I had to create app specific passwords and then use the Add Account - Other option not the iCloud option.

As long you only need access to Mail, then that is good workaround. Although if you need access to Contacts and Calendars from that account, then that won't work.

Don't know what steps you have tried already but you could:

Turn off and on your iPhone (don't ignore it; there are certain background tasks performed during shutdown and boot up that can help)
If you use VPN, turn it off.
If you use some sort of additional security software - remove it; iPhone does not need it
If you use Private Relay (Beta) on your primary iCloud account; try it with this feature turned off
test on other Wi-Fi Network
try on Mobile Data connection
ensure device is reporting correct date and time; go to Settings > General > Data & Time; toggle off and on 'Set Automatically'.

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Answer 4

amsquared21 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 28, 2021 1:41 PM in response to Curt Stratton

I have the secondary email addresses on my iMac, I don't use Mail I use Edison and that works fine with App Specific passwords for my primary and secondary email addresses. So I knew my way around using them - I didn't expect to have to add the secondary email addresses to my iPhone using app specific passwords and having to unravel all the imap and smtp settings as well in the add account other section.

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Answer 5

amsquared21 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 28, 2021 2:55 PM in response to iW00

Thanks tried all of that and even Apple support struggled for an hour to get the secondary accounts added to my new iphone 13. I don't need access to calendars or contacts from the secondary accounts.

Not convinced the solution is the best one but it worked and I have access to all 4 of my me.com accounts again on an iPhone.

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Answer 6

Sep 28, 2021 1:01 PM in response to judysings

This is not helpful. When is Apple going to fix this issue? My secondary iCloud email works just fine on both of my MacBook Pros.

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