iOS 5 insists on "Update Apple ID", but won't accept my e-mail address

I am having this same issue as well. However, I have loged into the "manage apple ide" and when I hit the button that says " Make your Apple ID and primary email address one and the same." - Nothing happens

Has anyone experienced this?

DB

Daniel,

Yes I had the same problem as well before I 'fixed' the 'new' account that was created.

(see my post above)

After changing the email on the 'new' account, logging out, then logging back in on my old account, I was able to click the button and it worked.

Now for all things apple, I have to log in using my email (my old userid doesn't work).

hope this helps.

THATS IT!!!

Roocell, thanks a ton. That worked for me.

FYI - It does mean I now have some extra Apple ID's that I don't need or want. In fact, the last one will be completely thrown away because I don't use it at all...I just used a VERY, VERY old email address. I couldn't even use my ".me" address, becasue apple turned that one into it's own Apple ID als

::SIGH:: Hopefully they get the merge ids function up one of these years.

Thanks again!

One more thing to add to my previous post to help others out. Roocell's solution works...but...

You need to DELETE the existing setup on each iOS device and then re-set up / login on each device... even though you are using the same Apple ID.

DB

Had the same issues as everyone else.

1. Receive the error that says ID us already in use.

2. Go to manage my account and merge Apple ID and primary email address and submit.

3. Save Changes

4. Go back to your iphone, ipad and go to iCloud settings.

3. Enter the Apple ID (email address) and password and hit sign in.

I hit a snag and it asked for me to verify my email address again.

jrcarrabe wrote:

I also just went to the Apple ID page http://www.apple.com/support/appleid/manage/

there's a button there that allows you to merge your primary email address and your non-email Apple ID

fixed the problem right away

Can you be a little more specific on this? I don't see any button. People have been trying in vain to merge Apple IDs for years!

Thanks much roocell & griff311, this worked for me!

griff311 wrote:

Roocell you are the man! I now understand why I wasn't getting an e-mail verification with my Apple ID that used my email address with my name. I had two log-ins for itunes. One was just my ID with out my email (which had the email address verified that was associated with it) and the other was with an email address, the same email was associated with that account so it was not verifying because it was already verified with the email-less ID.

I signed into the email ID and changed the e-mail address to my work e-mail account. After doing so, I logged back into the email-less ID and did the 'make your e-mail your user ID' just like Roocell did. I had tried that before but nothing had happened. It worked this time because the email ID was not associated with me old email address.

I got onto my iPad and was finally able to set up iClould! Thanks Roocell!

you can ONLY merge your non-email apple id with your primary email address. it's a one-time one-way thing you can NOT combine two apple id's.

you can NOT move a secondary email EVER used with ANY apple id into a primary apple id = email, not EVEN the same apple id account (e.g. you can MOVE an secondary email from one apple id to another (multiple times or back and forth) but you can NEVER convert a secondary email into a PRIMARY email because the primary email is an apple id by convention and you can NOT ever re-assign an apple id from one account to another.

I am fully aware of all that.

My comment was a little tongue-in-cheek, just trying to find our more from jrcarrade about his magical 'merge' button, as per his

'there's a button there that allows you to merge your primary email address and your non-email Apple ID fixed the problem right away' part of his post!

Funnily enough, he didn't reply. Oh well.......

Guys Ive followed th ethread and still cant get this bloody thing to work!

So like most people here I had an Apple id (martynjw3006) associated with this (for comms) I had my email address.

On iPhone upgrade I was originally getting the use email address message follwed by 'email already in use'

so I bypassed iCloud set up. iPhone therefore ok and working except iCloud of course.

On iPad upgrade I did the same but wanted iMessage to work so eneterd an alternate email address and verified this address iPad works (no iCloud tho).

Having read this thread I followed the steps people have identified and I see on my Apple id my prefered email address is registered as Primary but not verified(when I try to verify I get ---address already in use ----, my alternate (dummy) email address is there and verified.

I do not see any option to merge Primary email address to Apple id.

Im stuck and my head hurts!! Help please

Martyn

infuriating isn't it?

normally if you have a non-apple email, you will get an alert every time you log in to appleid.apple.com suggesting to change your appleid to your primary email.

the error you're getting sounds like either

1) you used your preferred email associated with some other apple id at some point

2) it already *is* an apple id, ironicaly just not your main apple id.

since the email doesn't work (to verify) you have nothing to lose by

1) set a DIFFERENT email (use the verieid one) as your primary email

2) delete the prefered emaill from the 3006 apple id.

3) attempt to assign your primary email AS your apple id (don't add first as email).

it will likely error out with the same 'already used by apple id' error.

try to use the iforgot.apple.com page to discover if you have an apple id you aren't aware of using the primary email as your search criteria.

my problem was simlar yet different. there was *no way* i was going to ruin my non-email apple id by combining but since i already had used my primary email.

i suspect the non-verify issue is related to the used once somewhere else problem. makes no sense becasue you said it's your primary email, however maybe it lets you SET a primary email even though not verified.

if you can't track down the apple-id tied to your primary email, your best bet may be making a new iCloud account with a new mobileme address. (email is optional; you can have a mobileme username sans email).

-awr

Just had the same problem here...im a little late to the post cuz i procrastinated about updating.

So I only have ONE email address...if i had another one it would be strictly for junk purposes and that's it. THERE IS NO WAY i would create a crap email for my iphone and apple ID etc. (that seems like i good way to screw something up with my account that has a credit card on file and an email that ill need access to regarding serious apple issues like passwords...support etc)

reading all these posts made me very nervous that i would have to do something like that since everyone seems to be totally lost...but then i got past it like WAYY easier than i thought.

so ya obviously "skip this step" but it doesnt tell you what you're skipping and if youre like me and meticulous and want everything done right the first time, especially with expensive apple products then that is kinda a last resort.

the easy way (this may be what togdon is talking about but its confusing because i didnt have to "merge" anything): go to....(support/appleid/manage) like togdon's post says. sign in with your normal ID/password, you might have to change your password...i had to for some reason but no bigie cuz that can be changed back without screwing up your whole account, and then when you get to managing your account theres something there that tells you to make your new ID or something like that (if i can find it im garantee its easy to find), change it to the email you have been using, go back to your phone to the first sign in screen and sign in with your email (instead of the old user name) and the new password. DONE.

The problem is in many cases the user is NOT ALLOWED to change the user id at all or to an active email address. when you only have one email address and if it is NOT a mobile me address, it is logical to change your appleID to your email but if you have purchases in iTunes than suddenly you have TWO sepaeate accounts username and email@domain.com I just eliminated a bunch of accounts mess from my iTunes and had no interest in adding another back in!

-awr

I did not have to create a new Apple ID or a dummy email account to fix this issue. I went into "manage my Apple ID" on our web browser and immediately had the option to set my Apple ID to be the same as my primary email address. Once I did this, I was able to log in on my iphone and finally get over this maddening barrier.

...which now I see someone has already explained earlier in the thread. 🙂

If you guys are having issues merging your ID and email address (e.g. nothing happens when you hit 'submit' or Apple tells you the email address is already in use), just "edit" primary email address and clear the text boxes entirely. You won't be allowed to save without a valid email address, of course, but you can hit the 'submit' button to merge ID and email address.

What a dumb loophole...I've spent way too long figuring out how to get into my own iPad after upgrading to iOS 5.