how do I change my alternative apple-ID

Do you mean the alternative email address associated with your AppleID?

If so, login at http://appleid.apple.com/ and change it there.

Is your alternative email address an @me.com, @mac.com or @icloud.com address that matches your primary AppleID?

That's why you can't change it. Your @me.com and @icloud.com addresses are the same account and can be used interchangeably. They are also your AppleID which cannot be changed.

So, in fact, there is no need to change your alternative address from @me.com to @icloud.com as they are the same account anyway.

What you should do though is add another non-Apple alternative email address, because if your iCloud email account is inaccessible for some reason, Apple will have no way of contacting you at an alternative address.

As long as the bit before the @ is the same, they are the same account, and sending email to either address will result in it arriving in the same mailbox.

My problem is that what comes before the @ in the alternate apple id is NOT what comes before the @ in the apple id. In fact, what comes before the @ in the alternate apple id is a name that is not me (and my apple id is a gmail address that is still valid). I really need to change the alternate apple id because anyone seeing that id/address will think it's someone else!

Is that understandable without me giving you the actual apple id and the alternate apple id?

Thank you

I have the same problem and I couldn't find any solution yet. Please, if anyone knows, help us.

Thanks

The alternate IDs are presumably the variants on the main one - something@icloud.com, something@me.com and something@mac.com are all the same thing when 'something' is the same in all cases - they all deliver into the same inbox. You can't change one of them because that would involve changing the main one and you can't do that if it's an Apple address.

My ex boyfriend broke into my account and added his iCloud address as the alternative. So is there any way possible I can change that. PLEASE HELP

1. Go to System Preferences>iCloud and sign out.

2. Go to http://appleid.apple.com and sign in.

3. Change your password to something unguessable

4. Change the rescue address

5. Go to System Preferences>iCloud and sign back in.

Hello all,

I have almost a smililar problem. What happened is that whenever I try to install any app from the app store it requires answering two security questions, the problem is that my rescue Email (yahoo) requires me creating a new email because my email has been deactivated by them and I can't sign in to my yahoo email. There is no other option where I can change my alternate email. I don't know how to change it? any help please?

Where do I see the system preferences? Is it in the phone or where?

On an iPhone it's 'Settings'.