Can't Remove Old ICloud Account

I've tried this but when I go to delete the icloud account with the old email, it asks for that password, which I don't have. This is driving me insane.

A number of people are having a similar problem today. If you still have access to your old email account you might want to try the workaround posted by Brackers28 here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5320981?answerId=23020591022#23020591022.

If you don't have access to your old email account. Same process, go to https://appleid.apple.com and sign in your current iCloud/Apple ID then edit it to your old email address then Save the changes. Don't sign out yet. Go back to your iOS device then delete your iCloud account. Once deleted, go back to the Apple ID website and rename it back to your current email address. You have to verify it this time and you will be able to since you have access to that email address.

http://support.apple.com/kb/he68:

How to verify an email address that was unverified from an Apple ID

An email address can become unverified from your Apple ID if it is verified with another Apple ID. This is possible only when the other Apple ID matches the email address exactly. You cannot reverify that email address unless you own both Apple IDs.

If your email address does become unverified from your Apple ID, you must add and verify a new primary email address before you can use that Apple ID with certain services. The easiest solution is to add and verify a new email address, as described in the section of this article entitled “How to verify the primary email address for your Apple ID”.

If you want to reverify the same email address (the one that does not match your Apple ID), you must first change the name of your other Apple ID so that the email address becomes available again. See the section of this article entitled “How to edit your Apple ID and primary email address.”

You might want to consider starting a new discussion. Since this one is marked solved and is a couple of years old, less people are likely to look at it. A new post would be much more visible. You can link to this one.

Apple ID Name Change

Ok, so after re-reading this thread, I went to manage my Apple ID. I changed my primary to the old email and saved changes. I then deleted the id on my iPad and iPhone. I went back to Apple ID and changed to current email and logged in on other devices with current email. It worked perfectly! Thanks!

Like everyone else, I'm having this problem since updating the ios. I can't enter the old password because it won't recognize it. I can't delete the account because you have to turn off Find My iPad and you can't do that without signing into iCloud with the password that it won't recognize. I've tried to sign into the old ID on iCloud.com, but it won't recognize the password and I can't reset the password because the e-mail doesn't get sent. It's very frustrating. My new apple id is recognized everywhere else, just not on my iPad.

Have you tried my suggestion?

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If you don't have access to your old email account. Same process, go tohttps://appleid.apple.com and sign in your current iCloud/Apple ID then edit it to your old email address then Save the changes. Don't sign out yet. Go back to your iOS device then delete your iCloud account. Once deleted, go back to the Apple ID website and rename it back to your current email address. You have to verify it this time and you will be able to since you have access to that email address.

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If it still won't work, contact Apple Support.

I just followed iOS *08*'s driections. It worked perfectly. I just got a new 5s and I was almost completly locked out of it becasue I backed it up from my old 4s which had my old icould id which is attached to an email account that is now closed.

All, I am having the same exact issue although I have yet another road block to get passed. When I try to update my primary email address to my old address, I get the following:

"This email address is designated as your rescue email address and cannot be used as your Apple ID or Primary email address. Please choose another."

I can't recall where I set this at. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

iOS *08*'s instructions worked for me too! And once I'd fixed the problem with my apple id on my iPad, I no longer had the same problem with my iPhone. This is my first foray into the support community -- I've always been a lurker, not a poster. Thanks so much, and good luck to everyone else dealing with this silly issue.

While you're signed in at "Manage your Apple ID" page. Go to "Password and Security" section (You need to answer your security questions to view and edit information.) If you can see your email address in the rescue email, remove it so you can rename your Apple ID to that email address. You can add another email address as a rescue email later. Save the changes when done.

The problem is that is that I'm also encountering the endless email verification loop. I'm able to verify but when I go in to manage my account in order to update the email info, I keep getting prompted to verify my email address. It never ends! =(

Hello, of course I'm having the same issue. But my error is not that the "old" email is my rescue email. It is that it has already been verified in another appleID, which of course is the old one. ugh!! Any suggestions on this??

thanks!!!

Hi. You need to know which Apple ID is that old email address used as a rescue email and removed it from there. You can check that by logging in to https://appleid.apple.com > Manage your Apple ID > Password and Security all of your possible Apple IDs. If you need further assistance, contact Apple Support. Cheers!