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

This is ridiculous. its obviously a problem for the consumers or this thread would not be 4 YEARS OLD with regular updates!!!

Apple is making it really easy to jump ship by telling customers that their problems are not valid.

Thanks for trying to help.

I'm fairly certain I set up my current account with an @icloud.com email but can't remember with absolute certainty how I filled out that form since it has been several years. The Apple systems are not sure either. My iCloud system settings state that my @icloud.com email is my "Apple ID" but in the Apple Support Profile it lists my other email as my "Apple ID". So, something is not quite right there.

Also, this is not necessarily true that the user "created [their] own mess". I had to create a different Apple ID when I moved between different countries. There was not much of a choice for me to make as a user since it was a requirement from Apple.

Anyhow, I'll ask Apple to delete my old accounts, which they can do, and will continue not using their web services.

I tried to change my log in as well but can't change to my .icloud one either, I actually don't care if I keep my log in but the email address that is used for that had been closed by my provider so I started using my iCloud one for emails. Problem is I am no longer getting emails from Apple because they are still sending it to my old address. I just want to make my iCloud email the primary one they send emails to. Is that possible?

So in order to use my Apple account I have to sign-up for a competitor's email service? This is ridiculous, I should be able to remove my @gmail address from my Apple ID and use the associated @icloud or @me address as the primary email / Apple ID.

This is the only reason I still have my Google account ... to use an Apple service. >.>

Yep, and that's why I'm sure Apple doesn't view this situation as desirable. Actually, I think Apple hates this situation. If you know anything about Apple, it's that they're all about getting people into their ecosystem. I don't think it's a stretch to say that all of their products are in service of that objective. So if anything (of their own making!) is preventing people from going all-in, Apple must be outraged by it. Oh, and most of these people who want to switch to iCloud are probably using Gmail. Needless to say, if there's one company and one service that Apple doesn't want people to use, it's Google and Gmail.

So if this situation tells us anything, is that these backend issues are pretty darn hard to solve. Else Apple would have done so a long time ago.

Again, the need for a non-Apple domain email is required for existing (read older) Apple IDs that were originally set up with a non-Apple domain ID.

If you are setting up a brand new Apple ID, you can set it up as an iCloud.com account.

Cheers,

GB

@Gailfrommaine, I think everyone knows that on this thread so your reply is not needed. It's those of us that have had apple id's a long time like have (8 years) and don't want to lose the hundreds of dollars spent on apps across platforms that are screwed by this issue.

You are not a moderator, so your opinion as to whether my responses are needed or not is irrelevant.

Apparently you concluded that I was recommending something. I was not. I was explaining that one can have an iCloud ID if they wish. Doing that does not mean that you will be losing "hundreds of dollars spent on apps"....

You can use the iCloud address for email and iCloud and your existing Apple ID for iTunes.

Get a grip.

GB

This is very annoying! I stopped using my original email address (that was used to create my Apple ID) and started using my iCloud address as my main email a long time ago. I did this because I plan to leave my ISP/cable company, which means I would lose that original email address. I'm sick and tired of having to monitor 8 different email addresses and want to consolidate them all to one or two. I want my iCloud address to be the only one and want to use it as my Apple ID, too. Apple continues to send all my receipts to my old address. Even if I have to keep my old email address as the Apple ID, at least let me change the email address to which they send all my billing notifications to my iCloud address!

Same issue. I've just started to deprecate my Gmail email address, and want to move my Apple ID/iCloud logins to my iCloud email address that I'm now using, but unable to. I find it hard to believe that Apple are unable to link an iCloud.com email address (which has never been used to sign in to any Apple service) to an existing Apple account/ID. Maybe one day .....

i have (xxx@icloud.com) as my icloud email. and in my apple id page its shows that (xxx@icloud.com) as YOUR PRIMARY EMAIL. and another (xxx@gmail) showing as YOUR APPLE ID.

now we are on age of IOS 10.2

so, is your suluation still work it out. or what you suggest me!

What do you mean you "used to have an iCloud.com email address"? Unless you are using a different Apple ID, then it is still linked to the one you are using. What makes you think you no longer have it?

GB

Your Apple ID is a gmail address. If you don't want it to be a gmail address, then set up another free email, and change your Apple ID to that email address. You can continue to use your iCloud.com address for your email, but your Apple ID will never be able to be an Apple domain address.

GB

What makes you think it is going to be "addressed"? This is how it works. If your Apple ID is not an Apple domain email address, it cannot be changed to an Apple domain address. If it is an Apple domain email address, it cannot be changed to anything else at all. What is the issue you are experiencing exactly?

GB

gail from maine wrote:

What makes you think it is going to be "addressed"? This is how it works. If your Apple ID is not an Apple domain email address, it cannot be changed to an Apple domain address. If it is an Apple domain email address, it cannot be changed to anything else at all. What is the issue you are experiencing exactly?

GB

I'm not sure if you are not understanding the issue or purposefully acting obtuse.

He wants to migrate away from gmail and to iCloud mail. He does not want to have to maintain multiple email accounts (he just wants to migrate into a single iCloud email and get rid of all other email addresses). Being able to change your Apple ID from xyz@gmail.com to xyz@icloud.com is technically simple to implement.

There are a lot of people who buy Apple products because Apple safeguards their users' privacy. So it's frustrating that Apple would insist that you continue to maintain an outside email address if you originally signed up with an outside email address. I'm not sure if you will get what I'm trying to say, but at least I gave it a shot.