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Can't log out of nonexistent icloud

To try and make a long question short: My iPhone is connected to a nonexistent iCloud account that is attached to a nonexistent email account. Once, both of those things did exist, but since they no longer do and I no longer have the password for said nonexistent account, I cannot sign my phone out from it to delete it and replace it with the working information. How do I fix this situation?


To explain further, my father attempted to help by contacting our internet provider whom the nonexistent email originated and they've never gotten back in touch with us. I cannot log into the old icloud account even with trying to reset the password without using the email, which leads me to believe that account no longer exists as well. I recently upgraded my iPhone 5, which had been set up using both accounts when they both existed, to an iPhone 6 and cannot get that information to change. This has created a problem with my phone constantly asking me to sign in to iCloud to the point of freezing my phone and my phone no longer being able to send iMessages and all texts being delayed (whether its send or receive) by two hours in addition to killing my battery quickly.


If there is anyone who knows how to fix this, I would greatly appreciate it!

iPhone 6, iOS 8.1.2

Posted on Jan 12, 2015 8:24 AM

Reply
24 replies

Jun 5, 2017 6:21 PM in response to acfulton

Hello.

I am facing this same problem at the moment as well. And the thing is the solution mentioned here is not working for me. When I try to change the apple ID to my previous apple ID which doesn't exist anymore, it says "The email address is not available. Choose a different address."


Anyone else facing the same problem?

Jan 12, 2015 10:59 AM in response to TJBUSMC1973

I am only speculating that it does not exist.


I honestly do not know what happened to the ID and the primary email address it is connected to no longer exists. So when I try to reset the password, I have to do the security questions and my answers say they're wrong when I wouldn't use any other kind of answer. It tells me that my birthdate is incorrect. I never deleted the account, I never changed the primary email. The primary email no longer exists and for some reason I have been locked out of this account or Apple deleted it. That's all I can think of.

Jan 12, 2015 11:09 AM in response to acfulton

How to reset your Apple ID password.

Go to iforgot.apple.com and type in your Apple ID, then click 'Next'.

Verify your date of birth, then click 'Next'.

You'll be able to choose one of two methods to reset your password, either E-Mail Authentication or Answer Security Questions.

If neither method works, then go to https://getsupport.apple.com

(If you see a message that says 'There are no products registered to this Apple ID, simply click on 'See all products and services')

Choose 'More Products & Services', then 'Apple ID'.

A new page will open.

Choose 'Other Apple ID Topics', then 'Lost or forgotten Apple ID password'.

Click the blue 'Continue' button.

Select the contact option that suits your needs best.

Mar 5, 2015 10:21 AM in response to acfulton

I just spent 3 calls with Apple Support dealing with this issue. I had changed my apple ID email address but did not first log out of the account on my iPhone. This caused me to not be able to log out of iCloud on my phone because I was required to enter a password to do so. But because it was trying to connect to an email address that not longer existed, it was not possible.


HERE IS THE SOLUTION (as of 3/6/2015):

1. Login to your current Apple ID account at appleid.apple.com

2. Click the blue "Manage my Apple ID" in the top right.

3. Under the "Name, ID and Email Addresses" section, change your PRIMARY Apple ID email address to the OLD or out of date email address that your phone or other apple device is attempting to connect to. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THIS EMAIL ADDRESS CURRENTLY EXISTS. You will not be required to verify if to be able to make the change happen.***

4. Go to your phone or other device and you should now be able to log out of iCloud using the password for your current Apple ID.

5. Once you log out, go back to your Apple ID and change your email back to the current email address you'd like to use and save and verify the email address.


***I did this while on the phone with Apple Support so was not required to verify the non-existent email address that I was trying to unlink from. This may work without being on the phone with support.


Good luck!

May 31, 2015 12:23 PM in response to albertfromjakarta

if your password is incorrect im not sure how to help but maybe you should try changing your password several times or delete the find my iphone/ipad app? the app is connected to an apple id, so if it is still connected to your old apple id, you may have to delete it and reinstall. THEN try and turn it off?


hope this helps

(not sure it will, worked for me though)

Jul 15, 2015 2:55 PM in response to TJBUSMC1973

I also have the same problem, I have never created any iCloud email but there is in my iPhone. When I tried to reset my iCloud password assuming that I had created one, by sending into my email (I only used two emails address) nothing is come to my email inbox. I do have apple ID but most of the purchased I got it from my partner apple ID. Now since I can't get rid of iCloud account that keeps popping into my iPhone screen new problem arise. My partner needs to reset his phone after updating his iPhone software. He actually have his own iCloud but for some reason his iCloud account replaced and my "iCloud" account appeared on his phone. He can't get rid of it of course. Especially now his phone appeared used so much of space when it's actually not. so his phone consider defunct he can't add any files anymore.


We went to apple store in Berlin, they can't help if we didn't haver any recipe on purchased, which yes we don't have those since we are traveling in Germany we are not resident. So they can't help us at all just to get rid of that nasty iCloud that we or in this case I didn't even created at the first place


PS. We managed to do the "RESET" and don't know how and why returning into my initial apple ID. So we reset with new password that actually only work with apple ID where iCloud still not working when we enter the new password we've created

Jan 14, 2016 5:27 AM in response to jbunny06

Hi,

This solution used to work fine but They changed the process and you can only change the email if you have access to the email you want to change it to. Since I dont have access to the one i would want to change from, THAT IS THE REASON I WANT TO CHANGE IT, then how the **** do you go back to that being the apple ID??

Jan 20, 2016 4:04 AM in response to acfulton

Sorry, what cSound1 says above won't work.


When this problem occurs you can't log out of your iCloud account on you're device unless you can first log in with the non-existent apple id (emailaddress / password) it is asking for. You can't simply create any other email address as your apple ID, it has to match this original one being requested by iCloud on the device you are trying to access.

czsolt is correct in saying you can't change the email used for your apple id without being able to verify it. So when this problem happens:

a) You can't get into your iCloud to modify find my iPad or turn it off, unless you have an appleId/password that matches the email address it was set with.

b) You can't set your appleId to use the non-existent email address it is set with, unless you have access to the non-existent email address to receive the verification email.

Which means the fix mentioned above didn't work for me, as czsolt also mentioned.


This issue happened to me because I changed my apple id (an email address) from an old email address I no longer have access to, to a new one. You can logout of the normal device account and enter your new id easy enough, but not the iCloud because it requires validation first as it had the find-my-phone security feature turned on.


The only way to prevent this problem from happening is to logout of your devices iCloud before you change your apple id. Would be nice if they had of mentioned that at the time i clicked the modify apple id button. (Hint Apple!!!) I stupidly thought if apple let me change my apple id, they would be managing the technical issues associated with that change across my various devices.


For those who follow, I was able to get it to work by:


1. plugging the iPad into a computer with iTunes and selecting the "reset as a new iPad" option.

2. While it was still plugged in I went to settings / iCloud

3. Selected to turn off find my iPad / which again prompted for the password to the OLD apple email account.

4. Entered my current password for my current apple account (which was still the same from before i changed my email)


And hey presto! for some mysterious reason it accepted the password this time and switched off find my password.. Hoorrrayyyy!!!!!

I then quickly logged out of iCloud! No password requested. Job done. Now I just need to forget the hours of my life I have wasted on this problem and all will be well again in my world.


Hope that works for someone else. Good luck.

Can't log out of nonexistent icloud

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