Changing @icloud email address without new Apple ID

Question

Changing @icloud email address without new Apple ID

Has anyone else been told by support it’s not possible to get a new @icloud.com email address on an existing Apple ID? I had a situation where my @icloud.com address was being spammed so heavily it was nearly unusable and support was completely unhelpful in chat or by phone. I just wanted a new address that isn’t being spammed; it should be a simple request.

I’ve found a workaround by creating an @icloud.com “alias” in iCloud mail settings, then in “iCloud mail rules” add a rule that directs all mail sent to the old @icloud address directly to trash, then change default mail to the new one… viola! You’ve cobbled together a new @icloud.com address without having to change your entire Apple ID account and lose past purchases/iCloud backups!

It’s a super easy workaround that Apple support seems to be completely unaware of, but does anyone know if there’s a better easier way?

Posted on Sep 28, 2023 11:36 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

QuantumEraser Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 28, 2023 12:53 PM in response to QuantumEraser

Ok I see what you mean about the alias just masking the old address because emails sent to the alias follow the rule for the original and go to trash too, workaround doesn’t work the way it appears it should… so I made a new folder in mail with the name of the alias and made a second email rule to move emails sent to the new @icloud alias to the new folder. Now emails sent to my old @icloud.com go directly to trash and emails sent to the new @icloud.com alias go to the new folder I’ve created.

Reply

Answer 2

Limnos

Level 10

418,927 points

Sep 28, 2023 12:14 PM in response to QuantumEraser

That is the way documented by Apple:

Add and manage email aliases for iCloud Mail on iCloud.com - Apple Support

"Note: You can’t delete or turn off a primary iCloud Mail address. You can’t use an alias to create a separate Apple ID, and an email alias can’t be converted to a primary iCloud Mail address."

"An email alias is an email address that conceals your actual email address from a recipient. An alias can help you manage the email you receive, and monitor the sources of unwanted messages. You can both send and receive email from an email alias using Mail on iCloud.com.

Reply

Answer 3

Limnos

Level 10

418,927 points

Sep 28, 2023 12:54 PM in response to QuantumEraser

Again from Apple:

Report and reduce spam in iCloud Mail - Apple Support

Filter emails in Mail on iPhone

In the Mail app , you can use filters to temporarily show only certain messages—the ones that meet all the criteria you select in the filter list. For example, if you select Unread and Only Mail with Attachments, you see only unread emails that have attachments.

You can also specify which email accounts are visible in Mail when a particular Focus is on.

Reply

Answer 4

Sep 28, 2023 12:35 PM in response to Limnos

But just creating the alias doesn’t stop spam going to the old email, hence my multistep “work around”… which is probably a more complete answer than the official one at this point.

Sure you can’t “delete or turn off” the old email but an email rule sending emails to that address directly to the trash is essentially and effectively the same thing, they’re playing semantics by pretending it can’t be done the way I have.

Reply

Answer 5

Sep 28, 2023 1:17 PM in response to Limnos

Apple’s email spam filters are infamously a complete joke and everyone knows it. They constantly put legit emails into junk and actual spam in the inbox 🤦‍♀️ no Apple, the 2 factor authentication code from my actual bank isn’t spam, but thanks for trying. My favorite is when they put 2 factor ID codes from @ssa.gov into the junk folder and keep doing it no matter how many times I mark it not junk. No apple, my emails from the government are extremely important, wrong again!

Reply

Answer 6

Sep 28, 2023 12:16 PM in response to QuantumEraser

This is definitely a question and not an answer 😉

Reply

Changing @icloud email address without new Apple ID

Similar questions