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Need an @icloud.com account to sync Notes on iPhone?

Syncing Contacts, Calendars, Reminders etc.is working just fine with a standard @hotmail.com iCloud account.

However, when you try to turn on Notes backup, you get:

"Create a free @icloud.com email address to turn on Notes."

I have two question:


  1. Would you need to switch the entire backup to the @icloud.com iCloud account in order to backup Notes? Will it affect purchased apps etc. if this is done?
  2. If it's not needed to switch my entire backup to the @icloud.com iCloud account, how would you go about keeping Contacts, Calendars, Reminders etc. synced with the @hotmail.com iCloud account and Notes with the @icloud.com iCloud account?

Posted on Sep 17, 2013 12:18 PM

Reply
23 replies

Sep 17, 2013 1:02 PM in response to Elliot Bridgewater

Adding a @icloud.com email address does not change your iCloud account, ID, or any of your synced data. You won't need to change anything. The only thing you might want to do after adding the account is to go to Settings>Mail,Contacts,Calendars>Default Account (in the Mail section) to be sure it's set to the email account you want to use as your default.


(Adding this email account is necessary because syncing notes with iCloud uses the IMAP service that is added when you add an iCloud email account.)


Also, just so you know, any notes that are already on your phone wiill not be added to iCloud when you turn on notes syncing; only new notes are added to iCloud. If you want to get your existing notes in iCloud, you'll have to open the Notes app, tap Accounts on the top left, tap On My iPhone, then open each of your notes one at a time and copy and paste the text into new notes that you create in the iCloud account.

Sep 17, 2013 2:28 PM in response to Elliot Bridgewater

You don't have to log out. Sign into icloud.com using the iCloud ID you have in Settings>iCloud on your phone, then click on Notes. Turn Notes to On in Settings>iCloud, create your @icloud.com email account when prompted, then create a new note in the Notes app and see if it appears on icloud.com after a brief delay.


You won't have an Accounts button in Notes unless you have notes on your phone that were created before turn Notes to On in Settings>iCloud.

Sep 17, 2013 3:23 PM in response to randers4

I still do not understand.


In Settings > iCloud, it shows it's signed into the @hotmail.com iCloud account.


Contacts, Calendars, Reminders etc. are enabled, therefore if I'm correct, if the phone is stolen, signing back in to the @hotmail.com iCloud account will restore those things.


I want to do the same for Notes. A synced backup, if you will.


When I try to enable Notes, it asks to create an @icloud.com e-mail address.


Why?


All I want to do is sync the Notes in case my phone is stolen or something along those lines. Then I want to sign back into an account and get it all back. Do I need to do as it says and create an @icloud.com e-mail address?

Sep 17, 2013 3:32 PM in response to Elliot Bridgewater

I'll try to explain it. You have a single iCloud account and this account has an iCloud ID, which in your case, is your Hotmail address. This ID happens to have the same form as an email address (which I think is what's causing the confusion here). Although your iCloud ID looks like an email address, it isn't; it's an iCloud ID.


You are syncing all your iCloud data to this account (calendars, contacts, reminders, notes, and anything else you have set to On in Settings>iCloud). You can view some of this data on icloud.com when you sign in with your iCloud ID (your Hotmail address). Your iCloud backup is also stored in this account.


An iCloud account may or may not have an iCloud email account included with it. The email account is created when you turn Mail to On in Settings>iCloud. And, as you have discovered, you are required to do this in order to sync Notes with your iCloud account.


The iCloud email account (your @icloud.com address) is just like any other email account (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.). You use it in the Mail app on your phone to send and receive email to your @icloud.com address. Any email stored in this email account is stored in your iCloud account, and can be viewed on icloud.com by signing in with your iCloud ID (your Hotmail address). You don't have to use this email account if you don't want to, but it must be enabled in order to sync notes with your iCloud account.

Sep 17, 2013 3:38 PM in response to randers4

No, I'm fully aware the Hotmail e-mail address is the iCloud account name.


I just want to sync EVERYTHING to that account in case my phone is lost or stolen.


I am signed into the @hotmail.com iCloud account.


This is NOT letting me sync Notes, however. It's frustrating.


When I try to enable Notes, I only get the option to create a new @icloud.com only.


How do I log in, rather than create?

Sep 17, 2013 3:47 PM in response to Elliot Bridgewater

If you want to sync notes with your current account, go to Settings>iCloud on your iPhone, turn Notes to On, and create your @icloud.com email address when you are prompted. If you don't, you can't sync notes with your Hotmail iCloud account.


All your iCloud data will stay in your Hotmail iCloud account just as it is now. Everything will stay in your Hotmail iCloud account if your phone is lost or stolen (because it's the only iCloud account you have, and your phone is signed into it). Nothing will change except you will have an @icloud.com email address that you can either use for email or not as you wish.

Need an @icloud.com account to sync Notes on iPhone?

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