Is it possible to re-use / recover an old iCloud email address?

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Level 1

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Is it possible to re-use / recover an old iCloud email address?

Background: New work phone, replacing an Android w/an iPhone. Office prefers I use an iCloud account tied to my work email address rather than my personal iCloud account.

I believe I previously created an iCloud account using my work email, but I may have deleted it. The forgot password flow throws the following error when I enter my work email address:

"This Apple ID is either not valid or not supported."

Trying to register a new iCloud account with my work email address gets:

This email is not available. Choose a different address.

So I'm guessing I did delete the old account and the same email address cannot be used to create a new one.

iPhone 11

Posted on May 10, 2023 12:34 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Michael Black

Level 10

80,647 points

May 10, 2023 7:28 PM in response to SamuraiMark

As explained in -> How to delete your Apple ID account – Apple Support (UK) the answer is no, you cannot use that address again:

“Can I use the primary email address for my deleted Apple ID account to create a new Apple ID or with another existing Apple ID account?

No – after your Apple ID has been deleted, you can't use the email address that you used with it to create a new Apple ID. In addition, you can't use that email address with another existing Apple ID except as a rescue email address. Also, if your primary Apple ID email address is with a Custom Email Domain, it can never be reused to create an Apple ID after your Apple ID has been deleted, even if the domain ownership changes.”

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Answer 2

Raicya

Level 10

210,099 points

May 10, 2023 1:22 PM in response to SamuraiMark

Trying to register a new iCloud account with my work email address

A company email address is always -> your name@company.xxx

If you no longer work for that company, that company has already deleted your work email address. This is done as soon as you have left the company so that you can no longer log in. You no longer have any rights there.

An deleted email address, it is no longer valid, it simply no longer exists and it no longer works.

You may not be able to change that email work address because it is no longer exists.

To understand about a deleted Apple ID, see the Apple articles below:

How to delete your Apple ID account

How to delete your Apple ID account – Apple Support (UK)

Understand and control the personal information that you store with Apple

Understand and control the personal information that you store with Apple - Apple Support

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Answer 3

SamuraiMark Author

Level 1

25 points

May 10, 2023 7:19 PM in response to Raicya

Perhaps my post was not clear. This is not an old work email address, or a work email address tied to a former employer. I am talking about my current work email address. My question is this:

IF you create an iCloud account with a given email address, for example "foo@company.bar",

AND THEN you subsequently delete that iCloud account,

Can you then create a new iCloud account using the same email address "foo@company.bar"?

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Is it possible to re-use / recover an old iCloud email address?

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