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apple id is valid but not an iCloud account?

I tried to sign in to iCloud on my mac, using my apple id, which is the same for quite some time. Everything regarding iCloud, iMessages and face time was working fine between my mac iPhone and iPad using the same account before last couple of updates on yosemite. iCloud is still working fine on iPhone and iPad and i can sign in on iCloud.com, but in system preferences of my mac i get this message.


Cannot Sign In

This Apple ID is valid but is not an iCloud account.


Any solutions? Thank you for your reply.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2), iphone 6, ipad air

Posted on Feb 18, 2015 4:51 AM

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4 replies

Feb 18, 2015 4:55 AM in response to mr.cuck

Is the ID one of the old ones which isn't an email address? You have to use an email address as an ID to use iCloud. You would need to change the ID, and this involves signing out on all your devices and signing back in with the new ID. This is the procedure you should follow if this is the case:


Firstly, if you have 'Find My iPhone/iPad/iMac' enabled on any of your devices, turn it off.


Create a new email address, for example at Yahoo or Gmail, or anywhere convenient (or you can use an existing address as long as it has never been associated with an Apple ID).


Go to http://appleid.apple.com and click 'Manage your Apple ID'. Sign in with the current ID.


Where it says 'Apple ID and primary email address' and gives your current ID email address, click 'edit'.


Enter your new address and click 'Save changes'.


Now you will need to go to each of your devices and sign out in System Preferences (or Settings)>iCloud - 'Sign out' on a Mac, 'Delete this account' on an iOS device (this will not delete the account from the server).


Then sign back in with your new ID. Your iCloud data will disappear from your devices when you sign out, but reappear when you sign back in.


I re-iterate: before you start, turn off 'Find My Mac' (or whatever) or you will need the services of Support.


If your ID actually is an email address then there is a less obvious problem and you may need to contact Support.

Mar 3, 2015 8:51 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

I have the same issue, and my apple log is is an e-mail address

I have OS Yosemite on a 7 year old machine which as had a hard drive replaced.

iCloud on every other device in the house is still working and syncing fine (2 iPhones, a second hand macbook of unknown vintage, an iPad and an iPad mini


it has started in the last 2 weeks and in my efforts to sort it I have logged out of iCloud and now lost my entire calendar which is very frustrating as this machine (desktop mac mini) is my main machine.


my cloud account is an e-mail address (which is working fine for e-mail purposes)

apple id is valid but not an iCloud account?

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