this email address is not available, choose a different email address. What does that mean

I'm having the same problem! But im trying to verify my email and I receive the email with the confirmation code but when I enter the verification code it says "email is not available please use a different address"

I have the same problem. Need to use my FORMER Rescue email (a gmail address) as my primary Apple ID, but I keep getting the same message as on this thread. Does anyone know if it takes a certain amount of time before my account "recognizes" that the rescue email has changed? I hope that will work.

An alternative I am thinking is to create a new gmail address and use that. It's cumbersome but should work. Any thoughts?

same problem. I want to add an email address, which is my rescue email address for this same account, as an email address that can be used for imessage and facetime, and I get this error message. Apple has made such a mess of their IDs. Turned off 2 factor identification because it asks for confirmation everytime one of my devices is restarted or a program using apple id is started. They need to spend some of their billions on quality control for their buggy software.

I'm having the same problem. I switched to a new rescue address so that shouldn't be an issue, signed out of all devices and still can't change my primary id email. This is a problem since the current apple id is an email I no longer use at all.

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For anyone that finds this thread and has the same problem -

There IS a solution, but it's virtually impossible to do yourself. I just spent over an hour on the phone with Apple Support working through it -

What it means is that either

1) Your other Apple ID has the "problem" email address listed somewhere on that acccount - as a rescue email, payment email or *something*, -AND/or-

2) You have a *third* Apple ID you never use (or have completely forgotten about - as I did)..probably from years ago...that has the "problem" email address used either as the primary email, rescue, payment or whatever.

From what I understand the "this email address..." error message has been used for this and other problems, but the issue with an email address being listed *anywhere* at all on more than one account somehow didn't always automatically kick out as an error - which is how so many have been set up. Apple tightened up the email address use and these errors are now more common.

But finding exactly *where* the problem is can take a dozen or so test logins, security question groups, having a Support rep look up everything from your name to old street addresses and such to find the problem(s).

In my case the "problem" address was the rescue email for my ".me" address *and* was a payment address for a "name only" Apple ID from about 20 years ago that I'd never used. It was found only by the Rep punching in my various street addresses in reverse date order until she found the account - and I told her repeatedly I didn't HAVE a third Apple ID. Oops.

So - set up a Support call. It'll save time and aggravation.

I've never been able to use iCloud email address or the .me email addresses associated with my account. Since i do not know what iCloud may have backed up from my multiple Apple products over the years I hesitate to abandon my Apple ID associated with it. Each time a software update happens it bricks my 2 iPad's. now I keep all Apple devices 6 in my home on same Apple ID but must use a different email address for each new update. Last update said my email address is already taken. For now I just backup all data with Google as it lets me. My son left for college and now has had to start fresh with a new AppleID. My MACs backups quite working on time machine so again i must use Google.

thinking about getting a third larger IPad but do not want to start over since I've spent on Apps and Media with my older devices. For now have 3 older Macs an iPad 1 that I keep offline to use to read and no software updates will brick it. An IPad 3 that's on its last leg since last update today. A Apple TV that is too old to update with a Hard drive so will use this with new 3 tb hard drive and make a media server for home Non Apple software now must be used. I know i need to buy new but now need at least a TB to keep all my old work. Will IPads use any USB storage. Internet is very intermittent here in Southern California with outages at least twice a week so need to keep all data on a USB backup device. Your Watch was interesting but not of much use since it seems to work with iCloud. I would get a Watch id it worked without iCloud. Medical type wearables should not require internet or people die.

I'm having the same problem. I switched to a new rescue address so that shouldn't be an issue, signed out of all devices and still can't change my primary id email. This is a problem since the current apple id is an email I no longer use at all.

I would like to change my primary email address to my personal email address but it doesn't allow me. That email address used to be my rescue address. When I tried to change it at first, it said that it is not allowed as it is my rescue address thus I changed my rescue address to an old email account. But now when I tried to change the primary address, it says "this email address is not available, please choose another address". Why is it like this?

The very same email address could be used for rescue but not for primary. Doesn't make sense.

Is there any way around this?

"It means the email you are choosing for your apple ID already exsists as an apple id, or is linked to an appleID

Is the domain name of this email an iCloud,mac, or me email?"

That makes no sense. It's an existing iCloud account and the email address (a gmail address) has been tied to it for years. I've had two iCloud accounts for as long as I can remember (the second"me" account only set up because I had to for some reason - and [which somehow has to be used here...and nowhere else) and it's been no problem until I just tried to sign into the second one on a new MacBook Pro!

How could both work just fine for well over 10 years and not work now? I can't change the email address - I can't even sign in to change *anything* or view my iCloud calendar - which has appointments added from my iPad and iPhone - both without a single problem.

There has to be a way to sign in without changing anything on the account.

Mine is an *existing* apple ID! It has calendar items tied to it, purchases etc etc. I set up two over 15 years ago - I never used the ".mac" address as the email didn't work on all my devices at the time - so I set up a gmail address and iCloud account.

Both it and the ".me" address (which Apple changed from .mac long ago) address have worked fine and have been used for various things - it never mattered that I had two addresses until trying to set up a new Mac or do a fresh install of OSX Sierra. It also happened on my old MBP, but I ignored it as it was dying - so I bought a new one and sure enough, same thing!

Just about everything - including the purchase of the new MBP - is tied to the gmail iCloud account. Which I can't sign into.

I get the same "this email address." message on my MBP when trying to sign in and at iCloud.com - each time I was sent a verifications code, and each time I got the same message. So I can't CHANGE the address.

And apparently Apple still won't let us combine addresses, despite years of complaints.

Does anybody know what I can do to sign in? Is there an undocumented workaround? There has to be SOME way - if Apple just shut off other accounts I'm screwed.

It means the email you are choosing for your apple ID already exsists as an apple id, or is linked to an appleID

Is the domain name of this email an iCloud,mac, or me email?

No, the email address is not an Apple ID it is a privately owned domain. It would only be linked to my AppleID, which it is not. (Not that i could find in any of my settings)

I wish to use previous email address