Cannot change primary email address for kid's Apple account

Hi,

I would be thankful for help with the following problem:


I want to change the primary email adress of my kid’s apple accounts. While I can register a new email adress, I can‘t change its settings to primary.


The system will demand that a parent logs in, but will not provide an opportunity to enter the login date (as ChatGPT says it should).

It is also not possible to change the email adress via account.apple.com as it will not allow the change to be made.


How do I get past this?


Thank you for any input!


Sebastian

Posted on Sep 26, 2026 12:48 AM

Reply
1 reply

Sep 26, 2026 4:04 AM in response to SeHi

Welcome and thank you for reaching out. 🤗


According to Apple:


Change your Apple Account primary email address on your iPhone, iPad or Mac:

  1. Go to Settings or System Settings, then choose [your name].
  2. Tap or click Sign-In & Security.
  3. Tap or click your primary email address to make changes.
  4. To remove this email address from your account, select Remove from Account. If you want to keep the current email address associated with your Apple Account but change to a different primary email address, turn off Primary Email.
  5. You’re prompted to choose another primary email address. You can either choose one of your other email addresses associated with your account as the new primary or add a new primary email address.
  6. Follow the onscreen steps to enter and verify your new primary email address.


If you remove an email address that isn’t an iCloud email address from your Apple Account, it can’t be associated with another Apple Account for 30 days for security reasons. After removing an email address from your account, notify anyone who might contact you on Messages, FaceTime or other Apple apps using that Apple Account email address. After 30 days, another user might be able to associate that email address with an Apple Account for Messages, FaceTime and more.


Change your Apple Account primary email address on the web:

The easiest and most secure way to change the primary email address associated with your Apple Account is by using your iPhone or other trusted device. A trusted device is an Apple device that’s already signed in to your Apple Account using two-factor authentication, so that we know it’s yours.


The Apple Account website redirects you to a trusted device to manage your Apple Account, when possible. But if you don't have a trusted device, you might be able to change your primary email address on the web.


To manage your primary email address on the web, go to account.apple.com and sign in to your Apple Account. Then go to Sign-In and Security and choose Email & Phone Numbers.


If you can’t change your Apple Account primary email address:

If you didn’t receive the verification email, Learn what to do if you didn’t get the verification email.


If you only have an iCloud email address associated with your Apple Account:

You can change your iCloud email address using a device with iOS 18.1 or later, iPadOS 18.1 or later or macOS 26.4 or later.


If your only email address associated with your account is an iCloud email address, you won’t see an option to Remove from Account. Instead, you’ll see an option to Change Email Address.


Choosing this option changes only your existing iCloud email address. You’ll continue to be able to use your iCloud Mail and the messages sent to it. Your new iCloud email address replaces the old email address.


If the new email address is already in use:

If you see a message that the email address you want to use isn’t available or is already in use, check that you or a family member aren’t already using that email address with a different Apple Account. If a family member is using that email address, ask them to remove it from their account, you might have to wait 30 days, then try to use it for your account.


If your Apple Account uses a primary phone number:

You can change your Apple Account to a different mobile phone number. You can also change your Apple Account from a mobile phone number to an email address to make sign in and recovery easier.


Learn how to change your Apple Account primary phone number.


If you need more help, contact Apple Support directly.


Thanks again for reaching out. 👍🏼


Good Luck! 👋🏼😉

Smiliñ 😎 Brian | Community Volunteer

Cannot change primary email address for kid's Apple account

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