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haynesey1970 Author

Level 1

20 points

I cannot change my icloud ID

Hi - don't even ask me how it happened, but my icloud account seems to have been set up with a long defunct email address. I have no access to the email account and I don't know what password was originally used to set up icloud. I have a new iPhone 6 and I can't dissable 'Find my Phone' in order reset my account settings and set icloud up with my current email address (the same one that is my current Apple ID and the one I use for iTunes. It's a bit of nightmare - any ideas?

iPhone 6, iOS 8

Posted on Oct 10, 2014 8:10 AM

Best reply

randers4

Level 9

63,519 points

Posted on Oct 10, 2014 8:19 AM

Make sure you are signed into iMessage and FaceTime with your current ID. If they are signed into the old ID, go to Settings>Messages>Send & Receive and Settings>FaceTime, tap the ID, sign out, then sign back in with your current ID.

Then temporarily recreate the old ID by going to https://appleid.apple.com, click Manage my Apple ID and sign in with your current iCloud ID. Click edit next to the primary email account, change it back to your old email address and save the change. (You should not have to verify the old email account so it doesn’t matter if you no longer have access to it.) Now go to Settings>iCloud, turn off Find My iDevice and enter your current password when prompted (even though it prompts you for the password for your old ID). Then go to Settings>iCloud, tap Sign Out (or Delete Account if you are not running iOS 8) and choose Delete from My iDevice when prompted (your iCloud data will still be in iCloud). Next, go back to https://appleid.apple.com and change your primary email address back to the way it was. Now you can go to Settings>iCloud and sign back in with your current iCloud ID and password (your data will download back to your device).

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46 replies

Noppy93

Level 1

0 points

Apr 4, 2015 4:38 PM in response to randers4

In response to rander4 on October 10, 2014 @ 8:19 a.m.

I followed your steps and it worked!!! Thank you very much 🙂 Noppy

mruibal

Level 1

0 points

Apr 7, 2015 7:47 PM in response to randers4

@randers4

Thank you so much! This worked on my iPhone 4s 😀

My wife and I were going nuts!

Apr 11, 2015 9:23 AM in response to randers4

I don't know the password or any security information from the old account that my iCloud is logged into. I am stuck and losing my mind.

Noppy93

Level 1

0 points

Apr 11, 2015 1:50 PM in response to oregonkat

In response to oregonkat

Thank you for emphasizing that when temporarily changing your email address back to old one, don't verify it. The key is: Do not verify. I tried that before I read randers4's post. If you verify it, you won't go nowhere because your old email address doesn't exist. Thanks! Noppy

May 5, 2015 1:11 PM in response to randers4

Thank you so much! This helped me with my iPhone...but I can't figure out how to fix the problem on my icloud drive on my PC. It wants my password from my old email account and when I put in the old password I get this error message: You can't sign in because your account was disabled for security reasons. Earlier today (before I did the steps on my phone) I tried to access my icloud drive on the PC and it said if I signed out everything would be removed from my computer...so, I didn't do that, but there isn't a way to change my user id on the icloud drive...I don't want to lose what I have on the cloud, so don't know what to do...

Spenczar

Level 1

0 points

May 16, 2015 2:29 AM in response to randers4

I'm having the same issue, however I can't recreate my old ID because it was @apple.com and when I'm trying to recreate it, it says that I can't use a domain owned by apple. But I'm not choosing to, that's what my original iTunes account was set up as when I first got an iPod. But I can't change it back now. This is really frustrating.

May 16, 2015 2:43 AM in response to Spenczar

Are you sure your ID is something@apple.com? It's more likely to something@icloud.com (or.me.com or .mac.com, all the same thing but those will apply only if your ID is old enough). @apple.com addresses are not issued to civilians.

Spenczar

Level 1

0 points

May 16, 2015 9:13 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

I'm not sure why I was issued it then. When I created it years ago it asked for me to choose an email surname and put me as @apple.com. Now that's the email it wants, and I can't recreate it.

May 16, 2015 9:45 AM in response to Spenczar

You'll have to contact Support. I should present as a security issue. This Apple Help page provides contact information for various countries for security problems with an Apple ID:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT5699

Jun 2, 2015 9:07 AM in response to randers4

Here's my issue. I have done all your steps, until I get to changing my email address back to my old one. I can't put it in because it's an @apple.com address and they don't accept that as your primary.... what now?

Thank you!!!