Change Primary Apple ID to an Existing Alias

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Level 1

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Change Primary Apple ID to an Existing Alias

I have an old gmail email account as my primary Apple ID. I have an additional iCloud email account set as an alias. If I have reason to believe the old gmail account is no longer secure or I simply don't use it anymore, is there not a way to make the iCloud email my Apple ID? When I go to change my Apple ID and enter the iCloud address and click continue, the loading icon displays and the screen just hangs indefinitely. Nothing changes. It seems like there should be a way to change this if I no longer use the Apple ID email address. Do I have to delete my iCloud email address (is that even possible?) or create another new iCloud email?

iPhone 7, iOS 10.2

Posted on Dec 31, 2016 1:50 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Roger Wilmut1

Level 10

131,320 points

Jan 1, 2017 12:24 AM in response to Wabaynes

I'm sorry, but you can't do this. Once an email alias has been created it remains tied to the account forever, even if you delete it: it can't be moved to another account or used to create an Apple ID. You can change the address which forms your Apple ID but only to a non-Apple address which isn't associated with another Apple ID.

Firstly, sign out of iCloud on all your devices: 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). If you have 'Find My iPhone' etc enabled you will need to disable it first. Your synced data will disappear from your devices but will reappear when you sign back in.
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 is not 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'
Sign back into iCloud on all your devices with the new ID and password. Your synced data will reappear (give it time).

I reiterate - before you start, sign out of iCloud on all your devices. Failure to do this will lead you into difficulties.

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