Hi all, Apple asked me to start a new (apple id) post.
I have 2 addresses, A@icloud.com and B@icloud.com, and A is primary.
I want to make B primary. Support instructions fail with this message in Safari 18.0 on MacOS Sequoia 15.0,
Both A and B have existed for years.
Help?
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 15.0
If address B is an alias then: 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."
I guess now I am not clear if you have two accounts (formerly called Apple ID but recently changed because it was easy to confuse Apple ID meaning just the email address used as a username for an account with the entire account being called that), or if your second address is an alias. If these are two accounts then your second account also has the identifier B@icloud.com permanently assigned to it and it cannot be changed or transferred. If B@icloud.com is an alias then it also can't be transferred, as in my previous paragraph.
In addition to trying to formally change the entire Apple ID to an iCloud address there's also: Change your Apple Account primary email address - Apple Support
- "If you try to change your Apple ID to an @icloud.com email address that was created within the last 30 days, you will be asked to try again later."
It can be tricky to switch email addresses between different accounts even under the best of circumstances. In fact, until recently you couldn't do it at all. On top of that, the addresses you are trying to switch are iCloud addresses which have their own set of issues. I don't have an iCloud address but I have seen recent posts where people say they can log in with their regular email address (fred@gmail or whatever) or their iCloud address. They claim Apple accepts either. In that case, as I said in my previous reply, the iCloud address is permanently linked to the account under which it was created. If you were trying to switch A@gmail with B@gmail that would be possible but tricky, but you can't do A@iCloud with B@iCloud.
If address B is an alias then: 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."
I guess now I am not clear if you have two accounts (formerly called Apple ID but recently changed because it was easy to confuse Apple ID meaning just the email address used as a username for an account with the entire account being called that), or if your second address is an alias. If these are two accounts then your second account also has the identifier B@icloud.com permanently assigned to it and it cannot be changed or transferred. If B@icloud.com is an alias then it also can't be transferred, as in my previous paragraph.
In addition to trying to formally change the entire Apple ID to an iCloud address there's also: Change your Apple Account primary email address - Apple Support
- "If you try to change your Apple ID to an @icloud.com email address that was created within the last 30 days, you will be asked to try again later."
It can be tricky to switch email addresses between different accounts even under the best of circumstances. In fact, until recently you couldn't do it at all. On top of that, the addresses you are trying to switch are iCloud addresses which have their own set of issues. I don't have an iCloud address but I have seen recent posts where people say they can log in with their regular email address (fred@gmail or whatever) or their iCloud address. They claim Apple accepts either. In that case, as I said in my previous reply, the iCloud address is permanently linked to the account under which it was created. If you were trying to switch A@gmail with B@gmail that would be possible but tricky, but you can't do A@iCloud with B@iCloud.
Let's say you set up an account with an address jim@xyz.com. You then created an iCloud address jim@icloud.com in Mail in that account. You can actually log in with either the Apple ID address, or the iCloud address. You therefore cannot use an iCloud mail address as the Apple ID for another account. It's already being used by the first account. If you were able to use it, if you logged in with jim@icloud.com, Apple wouldn't know into which of your two Apple accounts you were trying to sign in.
Personally I would not use an iCloud address as your primary address for any Apple Account. I see people here who have done that, but then when they have problems they can't read the rescue information Apple is trying to send them because it is all going to the account they can't get into.
B@icloud is an alias so your reference solves the case: "An email alias can’t be converted to a primary iCloud Mail address." Your other suggestions and anecdotes are also helpful as I stumble toward simplifying things. I leave the UI design in your hands. ;)
I remember I never liked Apple's overloading of Account ID (aka username) and email address. I imagined iCloud as a super-secure safe where I could backup all of my secrets. I did not want half of my safe's credentials (username + password) exposed publicly or passed around casually during email chit chat. But alas, we need good authentication too, and these questions appear long-ago-answered so we work with what is.
I'll switch back to passkeys after processing these results.
Merci encore,
-d
Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Limnos.
I think you are saying that Apple cannot swap roles for my two names A@icloud and B@icloud, even though they identify the same user, same data, same auth'n and auth'z. Even though you have me Delete A@icloud before selecting B@icloud. So complex...
I will try A -> offsite address -> B before giving up.
If all fails, I will go back to an offsite "Apple Account" as you suggest. I only wanted to mirror my google setup where B@gmail.com identifies my google user / context. Oh well.
-d
Can't change Apple Account
