Can't sign out from iCloud. The OS X is quoting an obsolete Apple ID.

Question

Can't sign out from iCloud. The OS X is quoting an obsolete Apple ID.

System Preferences>iCloud Box Message:

Your iCloud account couldn’t be removed at this time. Mail was unable to delete [obsolete Apple ID]. Relaunch Mail then sign out of iCloud again.

System Preferences>Internet Accounts shows iCloud as Inactive and is greyed out. Clicking on it the right-hand pane states:

This is not your primary iCloud account.

iCloud ??? [Details box]

[obsolete Apple ID]

Clicking on the Details box reveals another box with an iCloud icon and a iCloud heading followed by:

Apple ID: [CORRECT Apple ID]

Description [I can insert anything and it is accepted]

Any ideas how to get rid of my iMac's obsession with the [obsolete Apple ID] and allow me to interact with System Preferences/Internet Accounts & iCloud?

iMac, iOS 4

Posted on Jun 22, 2015 8:09 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 22, 2015 12:41 PM in response to Dave Barfield

If you mean that Find My Phone is asking for a password to a different Apple ID to your current Apple ID and that ID is a previous version of your current ID, not an entirely different one.

This feature has been introduced to make stolen phones useless to those that have stolen them.

However it can also arise when the user has changed their Apple ID details with Apple and not made the same changes to their iCloud account/Find My Phone on their device before upgrading to iOS 7, or if you restore from a previous back up made before you changed your details and some other circumstances.

The only solution is to change your Apple ID back to its previous state with Apple at My Apple ID using your current password, you don’t need access to this address if it’s previously been used with your Apple ID, once you have saved these details enter the password as requested on your device and then turn off "find my phone" and delete the account from your device. It may take a short while to remove the account.

You should then change your Apple ID back to its current state, save it once again and then log back in using your current Apple ID. Finally, turn "find my phone" back on once again.

This article provides more information about Activation Lock.

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Answer 2

Jun 23, 2015 5:51 AM in response to Winston Churchill

I've been a bit scared at changing my Apple ID to match the one it is prompting in case I get myself in deeper trouble.

The problem only arose when I upgraded to OS X Yosemite and only seems to affect Mail, no iPhone or iPad affected. Do you still suggest I change toe ID back?

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Answer 3

Jun 23, 2015 6:57 AM in response to Dave Barfield

As things stand at the moment, if I understand you correctly the address entered on your Mac is one that is no longer used for an ID. As such the only way it can be removed is to log back into it, which means you would need to make it active again.

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Answer 4

Jun 23, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Winston Churchill

I seem to have fallen at the first fence. I went to change the Apple ID back to the errant prompted email address (myname@virgin.net) and it says it must be a valid email address and I no longer have Virgin as my ISP so it's not valid.

Any other suggestions?

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Answer 5

Jun 23, 2015 9:19 AM in response to Dave Barfield

It only has to be a valid address if it's not been used with that account before. What you are seeing suggests it hasn't been used with that account before, could you have a second account.

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Answer 6

Jun 23, 2015 12:54 PM in response to Winston Churchill

I'm sure I don't have a second account. This is as far as I can get...

So... to put in the old (prompted by Mail & other places in OS X Yosemite) email address I would have to put in the *.virgin.net address; that I no longer have. It was used as my Apple ID for a couple of years and was fine for various updates until Yosemite.

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Answer 7

Jun 24, 2015 5:16 AM in response to Dave Barfield

Maybe things have changed but this is not what I would expect (My original advice starting "If you mean that Find My Phone is asking for a password to a different Apple ID..." is copy and pasted into many replies I make to other people and recent exchanges with other users here in these communities imply that this still works). Your only option may be to contact Apple ID Support, upon speaking to an operator you should explain that your problem is related to your Apple ID, this way you will not be charged for assistance, even if you don’t have an AppleCare plan.

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Answer 8

Jun 27, 2015 7:19 AM in response to Winston Churchill

It's been a while since your last missive but progress has been made. I contacted Apple ID Support as suggested. They phoned me back, so no cost to me, I explained the problem and we went on to screen sharing with telephone prompts. The first session was 1hr 20 mins, the second 25mins and the third 45 minutes. From this you will gather that the problem couldn't be solved via forum suggestions, far too complex.

The solution was to set change the Apple ID back to the original one, set up a new account and delete the old one. That sounds simplistic but involved transferring thousands of files from places I didn't know existed. The patience and expertise of the Apple ID Support chap (Brian Flynn) was exemplary.

Whether he'll be able to maintain his stoicism on Monday when I ring him with the 8 major migration problems that I have yet to solve, we'll see.

Finally, the cause of the problem, upgrading to Yosemite and a blip that affected me and seemingly, not many others.

Many thanks again for your assistance and pointing me towards salvation.

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