Convert existing Alias to be primary AppleID

I'm sorry: you cannot convert an alias to an account. Aliases remain permanently tied to the account which created them.

1) After approximately seven days.

2) That should be possible, unless somebody will be faster than you to register the address.

3) Merging is not possible at the moment. There are some rumors though, that Apple would be working on such a system.

sqlDude wrote:

1) If I delete/remove the alias from an account, how soon would that address become available again.

2) Perhaps if I remove the alias from my current AppleID, then I could use that address to create a new AppleID?

3) Then somehow merge my current AppleID with the new one?

Sorry: aliases cannot be reused even after deletion. You can't do any of this.

What sqlDude said.

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

I'm sorry: you cannot convert an alias to an account. Aliases remain permanently tied to the account which created them.

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

sqlDude wrote:

1) If I delete/remove the alias from an account, how soon would that address become available again.

2) Perhaps if I remove the alias from my current AppleID, then I could use that address to create a new AppleID?

3) Then somehow merge my current AppleID with the new one?

Sorry: aliases cannot be reused even after deletion. You can't do any of this.

Hello Roger Wilmut1, are you able to reference any official Apple statement on this point please?

I'm in the same boat as sqlDude

Thank you, Andrew

This FAQ explains it:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5622?viewlocale=en_US

Rogfer is correct. Once created as a user name (which is all an Apple ID is) it cannot be deleted or merged. It is permanent.

The iCloud (or previous MobileMe or iTools or .Mac variants) associated withe that Apple ID are also irrevocably permanent.

Any alias added to that Apple ID are also irrevocably permanent.

Permanent = they cannot be removed or altered.

I am not sure this is good policy for Apple but it is the way they do it right now barring a Court order.

Thank you Ari5tophanes

I cannot find specific mention in that FAQ of an alternate Apple ID being permanent. I'm happy to believe that it is, but have yet to read it on any Apple authored article.

I refer you to http://help.apple.com/icloud/#/mm6b1a490a which says, in part:

You can have up to three active email aliases, and you can delete or deactivate (turn off) an email alias at any time. You might want to deactivate an alias if, for example, you use an alias to make a purchase. After you receive the item, you can turn off the alias to avoid follow-up advertisements, then turn it on again when you make another purchase.

Deleting an alias is permanent, so if you think you might want to use the alias again, you should simply turn it off. When an alias is turned off, all email sent to that alias is returned to the sender.

Aliases are not transferable. Only the iCloud account that created the alias can use it.

Once you create an alias it cannot be made into its own account.

(My emphases). However the second paragraph is partially contracticted by http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2623 , which says:

If you created one or more email aliases for your account, be aware of the following:

You can change or delete an email alias, but if you delete an @mac.com or @me.com email alias, you can't add it back to your iCloud account.

You can't sign in to iCloud.com with an email alias. Sign in with your @icloud.com email address or the Apple ID that you use with your iCloud account.

Again, my emphasis. As @mac.com and @me.com addresses can't now be created, they can't be reinstated; the implication is that an @icloud.com alias can be reinstated - I'm not about to experiment on this but someone may care to. In any event, there is no doubt that any alias - or indeed any email address - once associated with an Apple ID or iCloud account, cannot be moved to another.

Thank you very much for a thorough response Roger.

When iCloud arrived I greedily grabbed the <myname>@me.com address as an email alias for my Apple ID account: apple@g.co.uk

I have set this to be my Alternate Apple ID.

At some point I was allocated the equivalent <myname>@icloud.com address which is also configured as an email alias to my Apple ID.

Now that I have a much clearer picture of the distinction between Store purchases and iCloud data, I wish that I had retained my original Apple ID for the Stores, and had created the <myname>@me.com address as a distinct Apple ID for iCloud.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4895 'Using one Apple ID for iCloud and a different Apple ID for Store Purchases'.

I did recently create a second Apple ID: apple@kp.com

I deleted the <myname>@icloud.com email address from my original Apple ID (apple@g.co.uk). I didn't dare delete the <myname>@me.com (as it is the Alternate Apple ID for that account, I don't think I would have been able to delete it).

I attempted and not surprisingly was unable to add the <myname>@icloud.com email address to my second Apple ID (apple@kp.com). I didn't make a note of the error message but I didn't expect to be able to achieve success becuase andrew.parker@me was still associated with my original Apple ID (apple@g.co.uk).

For the record, I was subsequetly able to reinstate that <myname>@icloud.com email address to my original Apple ID (apple@g.co.uk).

I think it is best for me to limp along until the day Apple does allow us to split accounts ... which may never happen.

EXCELLENT!