Can't change Apple ID

My current Apple ID is a Gmail address. However, I'd like to migrate away from Gmail to use iCloud email. When I go into my Apple ID settings via a web browser, there is a button to edit my Apple ID's primary email. When I click it, I can enter in my iCloud email address, but when I hit submit, there is a spinning wheel that never goes away and never changes to the new primary address. Why is this? Is there something else I need to do? The new email address is not associated with any other Apple ID account.

macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on Sep 21, 2017 1:52 PM

Top-ranking reply

g_a

Level 1

30 points

Posted on Sep 22, 2017 3:19 AM

When you create an Apple ID you can either (1) sign up by using a third party email address or (2) choose to create an iCloud email address and sign up by using that iCloud email address.

If you choose option (1), your Apple ID/iCloud account will initially not have an iCloud email address associated with it at all. The third party email address you use to sign up will be your Apple ID's name (and also the primary way Apple will contact you; for example to confirm App Store purchases). You will be able to use other iCloud services such as Find My iPhone, Notes and Reminders. Just no iCloud email. It is still possible to create an iCloud email address for that Apple ID at any time after you initially signed up by using your third party email. This can be done in the Settings app on iOS or MacOS or by clicking on the email icon on iCloud.com. You will however not be able to change your Apple ID's name from the third party email address you used upon signup to your newly created iCloud email address. Your Apple ID's name can only be changed to another third party email that is not already in use by another Apple ID.

As such, unfortunately currently it is not possible to change an Apple ID's name/primary email from a third party email address to an iCloud email address (i.e. to the same iCloud email address that is already associated with/an alias for that Apple ID).

This is a known issue and it has been known for a very long time. From a user perspective, its completely insane.

The topic is extensively discussed in this thread https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4434456.

I strongly encourage you to provide feedback to Apple as indicated in this post https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4434456?answerId=32026857022#32026857022.

If you choose option (2) upon sign up however, your newly created iCloud email address will be your Apple ID's name and your Apple ID's name cannot be changed at all. This option is only available when an Apple ID is created on iOS or MacOS through the Settings app or through the device setup menu.

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17 replies

Sep 22, 2017 1:46 AM in response to camd

You seem to be contradicting yourself. You first said you can't use an Apple email for an Apple ID,

For the second time that isn't what I said at all, I said...

You can only change your non-Apple address to another non-Apple address

Which means the non-Apple address you currently have associated with your ID can be changed but only for another non-Apple ID, I didn't even mention an Apple address in my first post.

then you say that you can use an Apple email address, and then in the next sentance say you can't.

You need to re-read what I've written. I'm not sure which sentence you are referring to in my post, but the first sentence in my second post merely points out what I've just said above...

I didn't say you can’t use an Apple address for your ID.

After that I said...

An ID has both an Apple address and a non-Apple address associated with it, you can change the non-Apple address for another non-Apple address, but you can’t change the Apple address at all.

Which is exactly how it is. For example, my Apple ID has the two addresses (not real for example only) winnie @ iCloud.com and winnie @ hotmail.com

I can change the non-Apple address I use for my ID, for example, I can change it from winnie @ hotmail.com to winnie.c @ yahoo.com but I can't change the Apple address I use which will always be winnie @ iCloud.com

g_a

Level 1

30 points

Sep 22, 2017 4:15 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill wrote:

This is a known issue and it has been known for a very long time. From a user perspective, its completely insane.

No, it's not. An issue would be where it doesn't behave as expected, this does, it's exactly how it's intended to be and there's nothing wrong with it although I appreciate you may like it to work differently.

Sure it is. From any average user's perspective, this is not at all a crazy or exotic thing to want and should simply be possible. From a user's perspective, it therefore does not at all behave as should reasonably be expected and is an issue.

I appreciate that this is the way the back-end of Apple ID works. The fact that Apple ID works this way however *is* the issue, at least from a lot of users' perspectives as extensively discussed in this thread https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4434456.

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Can't change Apple ID