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

I think we all got confused with this statement:

LACAllen wrote:

So, one can switch the email address associated with their Apple ID from a valid @gmail.com, @hotmail.com email address and so on, to an @icloud.com one time.

Not sure what you meant? But you cannot switch to or from an Apple domain email address.

GB

Once again, You absolutely cannot change an Apple ID to use an icloud email at all.

Which is what I have said as well. Just not as concisely as this.

I believed that to be clear already and was obviously wrong.

But you said you could change it once several times. That is what we are correcting.

LACAllen wrote:

So, one can switch the email address associated with their Apple ID from a valid @gmail.com, @hotmail.com email address and so on, to an @icloud.com one time.

LACAllen wrote:

Once you've changed from @gmail to @icloud, you can't change again. One time.

The point is you cannot do it. not even one time. You cannot change it to a @icloud at all. Not even once.

gail from maine wrote:

Israel Brewster wrote:

I'm now stuck with no way to get the e-mail I want. Great 😝

See my reply above 🙂

GB

Yeah, the difficulty I now have is with the second half of your post: "go to any iOS device and sign it out of iCloud, then set up a new iCloud email address". The problem is that the iCloud e-mail address I want is already taken - by the AppleID I already have set up with the non-@icloud email as primary. So unless I can free-up the @icloud email I created in conjunction with that account before I knew it wouldn't work properly, which LCAllen says I can't, then I'd have to come up with a unique, less desirable, e-mail address to set up directly. Sigh.

Israel Brewster wrote:

gail from maine wrote:

Israel Brewster wrote:

I'm now stuck with no way to get the e-mail I want. Great 😝

See my reply above 🙂

GB

Yeah, the difficulty I now have is with the second half of your post: "go to any iOS device and sign it out of iCloud, then set up a new iCloud email address". The problem is that the iCloud e-mail address I want is already taken - by the AppleID I already have set up with the non-@icloud email as primary. So unless I can free-up the @icloud email I created in conjunction with that account before I knew it wouldn't work properly, which LCAllen says I can't, then I'd have to come up with a unique, less desirable, e-mail address to set up directly. Sigh.

Well, you are going to have to have a little flexibility here. The iCloud email you have for your current Apple ID can't be the only one that would work for you. Be a little creative. Use your initials, or put your middle initial in between your first and last name. There are a myriad of ways to make it almost like the one you have now if you are that attached to it. Add some memorable numbers to the end of it. If it is that important for you to use an iCloud email address, then it seems like you would be willing to figure out something that would work....

Best of luck,

GB

gail from maine wrote:

Well, you are going to have to have a little flexibility here. The iCloud email you have for your current Apple ID can't be the only one that would work for you. Be a little creative. Use your initials, or put your middle initial in between your first and last name. There are a myriad of ways to make it almost like the one you have now if you are that attached to it. Add some memorable numbers to the end of it. If it is that important for you to use an iCloud email address, then it seems like you would be willing to figure out something that would work....

Best of luck,

GB

Yes, of course. It's just frustrating, especially since I already used a little flexibility to come up with my initial @icloud address. And just because Apple's system has issues. That's all I'm saying: frustrating. 🙂

Its so annoying that I have choice from FIOS, which discontinued my verizon.net email that WAS my appleid to migrate to a FREE service like gmail, or yahoo or AOL (VZ owns AOL and YAHOO--both of which have been hacked and phished so I am not keen on using any free email service-not that verizon.net was very great since it put all your family members into the master account and used antiquated POP servers). I am really flummoxed as Apple Mail uses fairly better IMAP Servers and is way ahead of Verizon Pop servers which are from 1970s and 80s I think..but I guess I should have kept my account as verizon.net (using AOL spoofing of FIOS emails available). Now my applid is gmail and Id think Apple would far prefer folks to want to use an APPLE mail service that one can receive and send emails on the native Apple mail and use the smart mailboxes etc. Else if I am gonna use email I have almost no reason to use APPLE Email and should just figure I am a web mail user and go into gmail on the web-never tried or thought you could use gmail mapped into Apple mail and if I can let me know--not that its likely worth it...It did work with Verizon Pop over Apple email as it was both web based and could be pulled individually. Anyway-a company as sophisticated as Apple could fix this with a tiny bit of energy--its kind of thing Jobs would be merciless if he was alive in skewering folks not fixing.

Add int he deprecated iPhoto and iLife stuff and there seems to hardly be much benefit to using apple products other than contacts syncing if you opt to do it-but nobody in my family does that as they cannot be bothered to learn icloud etc. ARGHH...fix this Apple and fix all your SW as you dont want to morph into the company follks flocked to you to avoid do you? lol

For your information, the exclusive use of Apple-domain email addresses have been locked down from the beginning of time. So, you can stop blaming this particular annoyance on the death of Steve. Alive or not, it wouldn't be any different now....

GB

I think from a technical perspective we want Apple to allow us to MERGE IDs. Apple, this would make SO MANY people happy, including me. It's like us early adopters are being punished. Yes, if we could go back in time and have never owned an Apple device and never created an Apple ID that required a third party email, we would not have this problem today if we created one from scratch for the first time.

I am having the exact same issue and I find it incredibly annoying! Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Does anyone have any further information about this?

I simply want to retire my current email address and use my @icloud.com address as my apple id, primary email, etc etc...

Anyone?!

Oh, yes, Windows would have been a lot simpler

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

Apple specifically recommends against using an abandoned email address.

Source: Security and your Apple ID

Looks like we have a solution finally - Change your Apple ID - Apple Support