Apple ID and iCloud: Primary email address?

I have an Apple ID, (for the sake of example) [email protected]
When I signed up for iCloud with that Apple ID, I activated Mail & Notes, which prompted me to add a new @me.com email address to my account; I chose (for the sake of example) [email protected]
That new address I added for Mail & Notes, [email protected], currently shows up as an "alternate" email address when I log in to manage my existing [email protected] Apple ID.
When I try to change my "primary" email address to that new [email protected] address, I get the following error, which seems outdated as it still refers to MobileMe:
"You cannot create an Apple ID using a MobileMe account. If this is your email address, it is also your Apple ID."
How can I make the new [email protected] the "primary" email address on my Apple ID, so that correspondence from Apple no longer gets sent to my Gmail address, but instead gets sent to my new iCloud address?
Who else is experiencing this issue?

I had a mobileme account which I decided to just abandon and start over (granted I lost the increased disk space -- but that wasn't going to last anyway and I wanted to see if could live in the size they gave me.)
I created a new non-me.com address as my appleid and since my contacts, calendars, etc. are on my mac, they synced to the new account. The contacts were automatic. The calendars I had to 'export' from ical and then once I added the icloud account, I imported them. volia! data transferred!
I logged out of mobile-me before I started and any questions of keep or delete I answered 'keep'.
Now from reading this (not that I've tried it), sounds like once you have a non-me.com appleid, you can add a me.com id as your email in some kind of transitional hack. Perhaps once you have setup the non-me.com id, you can delete the me.com address you were using and then re-add it the new apple id you just created. I don't really expect that to work as I'm not sure you can actually delete an appleid, but it might be worth a test?
If you get both accounts setup in Mail, you should be able to transfer the mail messages by dragging from the old account to the new icloud account (drag 'n drop em).
Personally, I'm still using google for email until icloud gets its act together, so I don't know if this will work. After reading this pain, I'm glad I just decided to start clean.
Let us know if you try this and it works for you!

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Can't change my Apple ID and/or primary email address

When I try to do so, I get logged off and it writes: An unknown error has occured.
Help please

I am also curious about this.
I want to stop using my hotmail account (which is also my Apple ID) and migrate to my icloud address for all my email.
Why cant I use my icloud mail address as my Apple ID?
Seems strange to be forced to use a hotmail address instead.

HT201407 hi..I cant activate my Iphone 5. I bought this from someone who cant remember her apple password and even the email address that she used to set up the account.What am I gonna do now....How can I activate my Iphone. what are my options...pls help

hi..I cant activate my Iphone 5. I bought this from someone who cant remember her apple password and even the email address that she used to set up the account.What am I gonna do now....How can I activate my Iphone. what are my options...pls help me.thank you

Activation Lock in iOS 7 > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5818
hannibalfromlemery wrote:
.I cant activate my Iphone 5. I bought this from someone
The Apple ID and Password that was Originally used to Activate the iDevice is required.
If you cannot get this information from the seller
Removing a device from a previous owner’s account
You need to return the Device for a refund, as you will not be able to re-activate it.

I can't make my Apple ID and my primary email one and the same. I've had my Apple ID since the first iPod but now I can't access iCloud because of this.

Since the introduction of iCloud, I've had this problem with the Apple ID. I've tried to "manage my Apple ID" but clicking the box to "make Apple ID and primary email address one and the same" but it just won't work. I'd given up and just ignored everything iCloud... I've ignored iCloud on my iPad mini and my iPhone 5 and now I'm going to get an iPhone 5s. I'm sure this will be an issue again. FYI, my Apple ID is in the format "a_xyz" only and it's working for purchases and upgrading of iOS, etc just not with iCloud. Any suggestions other than to create a new iCloud account with a different name? Thanks!

I don't have any suggestions that will help you resolve this issue other than to try posting here where there should be more iCloud experts.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/icloud/icloud_on_my_ios_device
Or contact Apple and ask for their help with this. Try here. I think Account and Setup would be the starting point.
https://getsupport.apple.com/Issues.action

Changing my Apple ID and its associated email address

For the past 6 years or so I have used the same Apple ID and email. It started out as an Aol account and is now my [email protected] as my Apple ID. I want to change my Apple ID and its associated email account to Gmail since that is what I use more often now. I see the option to change Email Address has next to it "This will be your new Apple ID", which is exactly what I want to do. I have two questions:
1) I will change the Email Address field to my Gmail address. Will this create any sort of confusion with the DRMed songs and videos I purchased in the past?
2) For posting on these discussion boards I have yet another Apple ID (created kind of by mistake, a long story). Is there any way I can merge the two?

I attempted to do the the same (similar) thing yesterday (Sept 2nd, 2010).
I wanted to change my current Apple ID used for iTunes Store (which was created years ago when I bought my wife an iPod) to be my Apple ID (created when I joined the Apple Developer program way before iTunes).
After changing the information and clicking the "Done" button, I received an error message that was positioned on the "Apple ID" box, which stated "this is not a valid email address". I assumed that the "email pattern filter" was erroneously attached to the Apple ID input box, so I contacted iTunes Store Customer Support.
*iTunes Store Customer Support response:*
+I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, since "<my.user.name>" is already an Apple ID it cannot be used for another iTunes account. At this point, it can only become it's own iTunes account.+
I'm posting my followup question below, in case anyone on the forum has these same questions or has any experience with actually doing what Apple proposed - create a new account to be used with an existing iTunes Library - and has any experiences they might wish to share.
*My followup question to iTunes Store Customer Support (waiting for reply):*
So, what are the implications of creating a new (second) iTunes account?
- Will I keep my same iTunes Library (i.e. Will all previous items be visible, when using the new account to purchase items)?
- How will this affect devices (iPhone, iPod) that are synched to the current iTunes Library?
So, I guess what I'm asking is; "How tightly coupled is the iTunes "account" information bound to the Library"?
I don't want to create a situation where:
- My iPhone and Apps gets wiped out when I sync because it sees a different "account name".
- My Library looks like I have "zero" items (Music/Videos/Playlist) because I've logged into iTunes with a different "account name"
I'm attempting to only change the iTunes Apple ID and email associated with the account for purchasing items through the iTunes Store. I want to preserve all other aspects of the current set up.
Is this possible?

Apple ID and an old email address?

Hello,
    I recently switched my IPS carrier, ( Cox to Verizon ) My current Apple ID is my old Cox email address, and I am wondering if that is
going to cause a problem, having a user id that is an invalid email address.
     I do not see how this can cause any problems seeing how it is just a user id, but I am curious just the same. I could just create another Apple ID, but
I really hate having accounts just floating in limbo, I do not know why we just can not delete an account and / or change our user id's at will, but I am sure Apple has their reasons.
    PS: I hope I posted this in the correct area, It was the best one I could think of.
    Thank You in advance for any help or information you can give.
    John

Thank You ,
    ScotMij, Thank you, the link below says the same thing, but they suggest you update it to a current e-mail address.
    I jumped the gun a little posting this thread, however I did find out how to change some of my info:
Here is the link if anyone is interested.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HE40
    I appoliges for not looking more into it before posting.
    John

HT4436 How do I move my icloud primary email address to a different apple id

I set up my wifes icloud account on my phone but thought i had sighed into her id but was still under mine, can i move the primary (.me or .icloud) addresses over to her id?

"set up my wifes icloud account on my iphone" - do you mean that you created a new ID/account using your phone, or did you try logging into her icloud account on your phone but it's still logged into your account? I'm a bit confused.
At any rate, if you created a new account, say [email protected], that is intended for your wife, but accidentally did this in your account (thus you created an alias), then no, you can't move xxx to another account.
And what do you mean by "move the primary ... addresses over to her id"?

Trying to make my apple ID and primary email address one and the same!

As suggested by apple on the 'manage my apple ID page', i have tried to change my apple ID to my primary email address, i press submit and the page just refreshes and does nothing! I'm guessing other people are seeing this issue, is there a resolution? Would like to start using iCloud but can't do so until this is resolved and my ID becomes my primary email.
any ideas?

I have the same issue... not sure if it's broken or if it's now in process. All I know for sure is that this is a poor customer experience.

Apple ID and Primary Email Address need both saperated

Hi,
my
Apple ID and Primary Email Address
both are same an email address
I want to create my login id on iphone is a name .. not my email id .. can i do this
thanks

Found a solution...
• Go to your country's Apple Store website http://store.apple.com/
• Click on the Account button in the top-right corner
• Under Account Settings, click on Change your default shipping or billing info
• Sign in with your usual Apple ID and password
• The email address listed under Payment Information is the key
• Click on Edit next to Payment Information and change that email address to your preferred address
This worked for me!

Apple ID and Primary Email Address are locked and cannot be edited

Apple ID and Primary Email Address are locked and cannot be edited... I accidentally clicked "make my apple ID and Primary Email address one" and now I cannot edit it. I don't use my @mac account and am not receiving any notifications. How can I change my primary email address back to an address I actually check?

Found a solution...
• Go to your country's Apple Store website http://store.apple.com/
• Click on the Account button in the top-right corner
• Under Account Settings, click on Change your default shipping or billing info
• Sign in with your usual Apple ID and password
• The email address listed under Payment Information is the key
• Click on Edit next to Payment Information and change that email address to your preferred address
This worked for me!

How do i delete the primary email address associated with my apple id?

My husband deleted the Outlook email account that was associated with my Apple ID as the primary email. I have two alternate emails also associated with the same Apple ID. How can I delete the old, Outlook email and use one of the alternates as a primary? I have tried to do this under "manage my account," but there is no option to delte the primary and select one of the alternates in its place.
I also cannot receive confirmation emails from Apple at the old, primary email address because it has been terminated. Other Apple help posts indicated this could be a problem, as I need that old account to receive emails pertaining to a switch.

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.

How can I change Primary Email Address to icloud email?

I have an apple id been using for many years. I would like to change the primary email address. I would like to create a new icloud email address and use that as primary email for my apple id.
When I try to do this in the Manage Apple ID it says that I cannot pick an email address associate with apple domain.
How do I do this???
Essentially I would like to start over with an icloud email address but keep all my existing itunes purchases etc. If I create a new Apple ID with icloud email id I am hosed and cannot copy over my purchases. If I stay with existing Apple ID, I can change primary email address but I can't use icloud email.
Any suggestions??

While you can't currently change your Apple ID to a Mobile/iCloud email address, I found a solution that helps with a related problem.
Suppose you've recently got an iCloud email address, but Apple are still sending all your iTunes Store, App Store and Mac App Store receipts to your old gmail address (the one that's still your Apple ID). And suppose they're also sending all the Apple Support Communities notifcation emails to your old gmail address. How do you change it? How do you fix it?
Well the option exists, but it is hidden away in a weird place. To get Apple sending all of their receipts and notifications to your new iCloud email address...
• Go to your country's Apple Store website http://store.apple.com/
• Click on the Account button in the top-right corner
• Under Account Settings, click on Change your default shipping or billing info
• Sign in with your usual Apple ID and password
• The email address listed under Payment Information is the key
• Click on Edit next to Payment Information and change that email address to your iCloud address
That's all you have to do.

Can I change my verified primary email address associated with my apple id? I don't want to change my apple id as I have music/apps associated with it. My current email will be changing soon.

Can I change my verified primary email address that is currently associated with my apple id? I don't want to change my apple id because I have music and apps assoicated with it. I tired following some of the posts that shows going to an apple dialog that allows you to update your apple id and primary email separately, but when I try doing it I get a dialog that says I can update my apple id and my primary email. I don't want to change my apple id only my primary email. Anyone have any suggestions? That email is going away soon. Thanks for any help.

Did you change the email for the Apple ID or did you create a new Apple ID? A new Apple ID cannot be used with content that was bought using a different Apple ID.
Changing the email address you use for your Apple ID -
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5621

How to use second email address as primary email address without creating NEW ID?

Hello Everyone,
After TWO long years I am back in Apple Family.. I am loving it.
I tried Android Galaxy S3 for TWO long years and I feel really good to come back in Apple Family again.
I don't think so I or anyone from my family will ever go to Android.
I have a quick question for all the Apple Family members.
I have an Apple ID on abc@old_domain.com this ID I am no longer using it and I want to use my new ID which is abc@new_domain.com.
But I DO NOT want to create NEW Apple ID. Because I want to make use of my PAID apps which I bought with abc@old_domain.com APPLE ID two years back.
How can I do that ?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Hemant

As the long as that email address isn't currently being used as the primary email address on an account (and it's not an alternate or rescue email address on the old account that you want to use it on), then you should be able to put it as your primary email address by logging into the old iTunes account via the Store > View Account menu option on your computer's iTunes, or by logging into the account via http://appleid.apple.com
Changing your primary email address : Change your Apple ID.
Changing the primary email address on an account should not affect any of the account's purchases, as long as the apps are still in the store (and you haven't changed countries since buying them) then you should be able to redownload the via the Purchased link under Quick Links on the right-hand side of the iTunes store homepage on your computer's iTunes, and the Purchased tab in the App Store app on an iOS device.

I created an Apple ID for my daughter with her own gmail address, but I want her Apple ID and primary email address to be an iCloud email address. How can I do this? I can't set up an icould email address for her without first creating an Apple ID?

I have created an Apple ID for my daughter with her own gmail address as the primary email address, but I want her Apple ID and primary email address to be an iCloud email address. How can I do this? I can't set up an icould email address for her without first creating an Apple ID right?
I'm not good with computers so please explain in simple way...:)
I also wonder what the best way is to set up accounts for children in a family. I dont want them to be able to purchase apps etc through the parents accounts, also some things we like to share as a family and others we don't want to share. Is there any good. clear, simple explanation from Apple Support about these issues? Or best to go to Apple store and go to genius bar or one to one advise?
thanks

You can set up an iCloud account which makes the iCloud email address you choose the Apple ID and thus the login for it:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22283348#22283348
though I have to say I think it's more sensible if the ID is another address, both for security reasons (so people don't know what the login is) and as a contact address from Apple if the account were to stop working and they needed to contact you. So personally I would to to System Preferences, enter the GMail address which is an ID, and then choose a nerw @icloud.com address.
If she has her own iCloud account she will need either her own computer or her own user account on your Mac to be able to make use of it. You should note that under Apple's terms of use Apple IDs are only available to children of 13 and over.
As to purchasing apps, this is nothing to do with iCloud: it's iTunes, and the login can be different. So you can all sign into the same iTunes account but have different iCloud accounts. Or she can have her own iTunes account if she is of suitable age (credit card needed for purchasing apps).
If you have other children you should be aware that any one Mac or device can create only three iCloud accounts - this is tied to the serial number, not the user account, and once reached cannot be bypassed. You can of course sign into an iCloud account created on another device.

Apple ID and iCloud: Primary email address?

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