Why can't I use my iCloud email address as my Apple ID

There is not a current way to change Apple correspondence to a @icloud/@me address, nor can you change your primary email address to a @icloud/@me address. We know you can login using your @.me/@icloud address, but Apple correspondence goes to your primary email address, which cannot be a @icloud/@me address.

Bit of semantic confusion here. The 'primary address' is the address which forms your Apple ID, which may be different from the @icloud.com etc. address set up when an iCloud account is opened.

When the primary address is the same as the @icloud.com address (which is the case for migrants from MobileMe, or for people who created an iCloud account and an Apple ID at the same time in System Preferences>iCloud as detailed above) it cannot be changed.

When the primary address is a non-Apple address (as is the case for people who created an Apple ID and only subsequently used it to create an iCloud account) it can be changed to any address not associated with an Apple ID (including any @mac.com. @me.com or @icloud.com address).

The primary address, whatever it is, is the one used by Apple to contact you in the event of problems, so if it is the @icloud.com etc. address it's important to have an alternative non-Apple address associated with the account so that you can still be contacted if the account is inaccessible for any reason.

More than a decade ago, I created a one-name Apple ID (remember those?), and then a few years later changed it to my then email address, let's just say @matt. When Apple introduced the @me email domain, I changed my personal email to @me, but discovered that I could not change my Apple ID to @me, so I kept it as my legacy @matt address. However, I was able to change my primary email address to @me, even though I had to keep my @matt email as my Apple ID. Today, I can log in to Apple services using @me or @matt, and all my Apple correspondence gets sent to my @me emaIl. It's not ideal, but it works.

The issue is that if your primary email address is not currently a @icloud account, you cannot change it to a @icloud account. Even if that @icloud account is associated with your Apple-ID. Apple always sends correspondence (purchases, etc) to your primary email address. Which means it will always go to your old email address. I understand the importance of having alternate (non-apple) email address. The issue is that Apple correspondence always go to the primary email address, which cannot be changed to a @icloud/@me address.

Matthew Palm wrote:

However, I was able to change my primary email address to @me, even though I had to keep my @matt email as my Apple ID.

Apple at one time allowed you to change your primary email address to @me or @icloud. But that is no longer the case!! Apple no longer allows this change.

Ski22 wrote:

Matthew Palm wrote:

However, I was able to change my primary email address to @me, even though I had to keep my @matt email as my Apple ID.

Apple at one time allowed you to change your primary email address to @me or @icloud. But that is no longer the case!! Apple no longer allows this change.

I did not know this has been a possibility, but as far as I can tell there is simply no way to have Apple correspondence send to any other address than your primary AppleID. When you login to 'Manage Apple ID', you will notice it says: 'Apple ID and Primary Email address'. In other words your Apple ID is always your Primary Email address.

While there may be some exceptions, there is a serious problem for most Apple ID users here. If you do not wish to/have a secondary email account that you check regularly you might miss important emails from Apple regarding purchases, security and other Apple ID related issues.

This is beyond silly, it's actually quite dangerous. If your Apple ID is a non-Apple address, it seems that Apple 'forces' you to sign up to a service like Gmail. Not only that, Apple also 'forces' you to actually check that account regularly as they send vital information to that account. How this ever managed to slip by Apple leadership...

ARB-82 wrote:

If you do not wish to/have a secondary email account that you check regularly you might miss important emails from Apple regarding purchases, security and other Apple ID related issues.

And as said above, if your primary address is also your iCloud address and something goes wrong with your account (like forgetting your password) then Apple cannot contact you. You could always set up forwarding from the other address to your usual address (set it to leave messages on the server as well when you do this, for obvious reasons).

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

And as said above, if your primary address is also your iCloud address and something goes wrong with your account (like forgetting your password) then Apple cannot contact you. You could always set up forwarding from the other address to your usual address (set it to leave messages on the server as well when you do this, for obvious reasons).

Apple can use your ALTERNATIVE email address if something goes wrong with your account. But Apple always sends correspondence to your primary email address!! That is the issue.

Also having to setup a forwarding from the other address as a work-around is silly and dangerous!! Last month, Apple had an issue where emails from gmail would be rejected...as detailed below...

http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/17/icloud-gmail-delivery-issues/

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

ARB-82 wrote:

If you do not wish to/have a secondary email account that you check regularly you might miss important emails from Apple regarding purchases, security and other Apple ID related issues.

And as said above, if your primary address is also your iCloud address and something goes wrong with your account (like forgetting your password) then Apple cannot contact you. You could always set up forwarding from the other address to your usual address (set it to leave messages on the server as well when you do this, for obvious reasons).

But this is quite silly. One should never be forced to use their 'recovery' email address as the primary address. Your reasoning doesn't make sense:

a) A user should not be required to set up forwarding from one email account to another. Most users cannot perform this task and above all it is a very poor user experience with mixed results (spam filters, rules settings etc etc might block some mails).

b) You can always enter an alternate email address that you can access only when needed, but not the other way around. A recovery email is something you only enter when needed, a primary email address is something you need to check very regularly.

c) There is a special recovery option that a user can enable to reset the account in case something goes wrong and a user forgets his/her answers to the verification questions.

d) There is always the Recovery Key via 2-step verification to solve this problem as well.

Ski22 wrote:

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

And as said above, if your primary address is also your iCloud address and something goes wrong with your account (like forgetting your password) then Apple cannot contact you. You could always set up forwarding from the other address to your usual address (set it to leave messages on the server as well when you do this, for obvious reasons).

Apple can use your ALTERNATIVE email address if something goes wrong with your account. But Apple always sends correspondence to your primary email address!! That is the issue.

Also having to setup a forwarding from the other address as a work-around is silly and dangerous!! Last month, Apple had an issue where emails from gmail would be rejected...as detailed below...

http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/17/icloud-gmail-delivery-issues/

I think we sort of agree on this 😉

Case in point:

- Click your username in the top-left of this message board

- Note the email address it shows in your profile: this is your primary Apple ID, even if you signed in with your Alternate Apple ID

- All notifications from this message board go to the Primary email address (same as primay Apple ID).

Some Apple services like Messages and iCloud do actually show your Alternate Apple ID when you log in to those services, but the App Store and iTunes Store for example still show your Primary Apple ID even if you logged in using your Alternate Apple ID.

You actually need a Gmail (insert any mail provider here) account to use an Apple ID...

Yes, Apple 'fixed' it by giving you the option to use an icloud.com address as both your Apple ID and Primary email address. But this is only for new users and a 'once in a lifetime' option. Choose the wrong option on sign-up and you're basically screwed forever.

I would laugh about it, if it wasn't so ridicoulously backward and brain-dead.

Unfortunately this no longer works. When you attempt to change the email address, you get the below error:

For security reasons, you cannot perform this operation. You must go to appleid.apple.com to update your Apple ID information.

Are you sure it worked on the UK site ? If it's like the US site, it might act like it worked while you are still logged in, but it didn't really accept it. Try logging off the site and re-logging back in and check to see if it really took your email change.

I Just checked from another device from home (my iPad) and it looks as if it went through.... Still reads my hotmail appleid but the email address is icloud, as per the change i did earlier. So it looks as if it worked and stuck. sorry, i dont really have an explanation for it to work or not to work. I just followed what they said in the other thread and it worked it seems.

CHeers

Just so you know, you can create an iCloud account that is, in and of itself, an Apple ID. To do this you would go to Settings>iCloud on an iOS device, sign out of iCloud, and once you are signed out, you will see the option to set up a new Apple ID. This ID will have the domain @iCloud.com. The only downside to this is that you would probably want to still use your existing Apple ID for your iTunes & App Store logon, since all of your past purchases would be tied to that ID.

Cheers,

GB