How to: change the email address linked to your Apple ID account

Posted:
in iCloud edited February 2017
Apple ID is the gateway to Apple's online services -- App Store, iCloud, iTunes and more -- and is a crucial part of your digital identity. AppleInsider shows you how to change the email address that serves as your Apple ID login credential in a few easy steps.









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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    Why are there now two identical threads with this title by AI?
  • Reply 2 of 22
    ksecksec Posts: 1,569member
    WOW, Let me try this. I never knew we could change email address, When i tried signing up for iCloud, GOOGLE was deliberately delaying or block iCloud's activation email. I choose my Outlook / Hotmail account instead and it was there instantaneously. So i have been stuck with an Email i dont really use.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 22
    Kbauerlv1Kbauerlv1 Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    Very informative however still doesn't help what most of us have been wanting to do for years. The point some of us used an old email address many years ago to sign up for iTunes. And now even after all these years you cannot assign a new email to the iTunes account without losing all the music or anything else. How about a work around for just that 
    muppetrypatchythepiratedigital_guy
  • Reply 4 of 22
    Kbauerlv1 said:
    Very informative however still doesn't help what most of us have been wanting to do for years. The point some of us used an old email address many years ago to sign up for iTunes. And now even after all these years you cannot assign a new email to the iTunes account without losing all the music or anything else. How about a work around for just that 
    If I understand the process correctly , changing the email address does NOT change your AppleID. Yes - this is very confusing. You have an AppleID "[email protected]" with an email "[email protected]".

    Much better is to create your AppleID and also the free iCloud email that matches exactly. On the new ID, enable Family Sharing and link your old ID.

    You asked for a work around - this is exactly what you asked for.
    edited February 2017 cornchip
  • Reply 5 of 22
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Accounts still can't be merged. Or split.

    Likewise, an Apple ID still can't be changed from an Apple email address to a non-Apple email address, or vice versa.
    baconstangcornchip
  • Reply 6 of 22
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    john.b said:
    Accounts still can't be merged. Or split.

    Likewise, an Apple ID still can't be changed from an Apple email address to a non-Apple email address, or vice versa.

    Yes, that is really odd. 

    It's almost as if, years ago, Apple decided that the AppleID should be the primary key then linked it to everything else so it would be murder to allow people to change it.

    Most DBAs I run into do the same thing when they hear this:

    "Okay, you can use this customer reference as the primary key. I can guarantee that it will never need to change, now or ever."

    The DBA nods politely, then sets up a unique, auto generating number as the primary key, so that the customer number can be changed without causing a problem.

    No primary key should be visible to the users.

    I'm pretty certain that Apple will never allow the actual AppleID to be changed, or implement a way of merging accounts. For one thing, not enough people ask for it, and secondly, it would be too bloody hard.

    edited February 2017 randominternetperson
  • Reply 7 of 22
    Rayz2016 said:
    john.b said:
    Accounts still can't be merged. Or split.

    Likewise, an Apple ID still can't be changed from an Apple email address to a non-Apple email address, or vice versa.

    Yes, that is really odd. 

    It's almost as if, years ago, Apple decided that the AppleID should be the primary key then <...>

    This is indeed one characteristic of a primary key, just by definition : it cannot be changed, because it makes no sense to even think about it. OK, I know that apart from software people, this makes no sense, either, but that's the way it is .....
    edited February 2017 cornchip
  • Reply 8 of 22
    Not sure why we have the same topic twice in less than a week, but let me re-post what I mentioned in the other article. There's one more important catch behind this and I had to learn it the hard way when I tried to change my Apple ID (and then had to revert back because of this). ALL in-app purchases you have ever made in any of your apps will be invalidated. You'll only be able to re-download apps that you paid for upfront (purchased for the full price directly from the App Store). Unfortunately the majority of apps that my family uses are free to download and you have to unlock their full content from within each app, but those types of purchases are forever linked to the Apple ID they were purchased with, so once you change it you have to re-purchase everything again. This is probably the most nonsense policy Apple ever implemented (or failed to fix for that matter) and there's no way around this whatsoever.
  • Reply 9 of 22
    plovell said:
    Kbauerlv1 said:
    Very informative however still doesn't help what most of us have been wanting to do for years. The point some of us used an old email address many years ago to sign up for iTunes. And now even after all these years you cannot assign a new email to the iTunes account without losing all the music or anything else. How about a work around for just that 
    If I understand the process correctly , changing the email address does NOT change your AppleID. Yes - this is very confusing. You have an AppleID "[email protected]" with an email "[email protected]".

    Much better is to create your AppleID and also the free iCloud email that matches exactly. On the new ID, enable Family Sharing and link your old ID.

    You asked for a work around - this is exactly what you asked for.
    Actually there is an easier way, call Apple and tell them you need to change it but first set up all the two step authentication so Apple can verify who you are and they will change it. I had this done since I had different emails for iTunes and iCloud and Apple online community and I wanted them the same when they combine all this stuff. Apple took care of it and now I have one of with one email account.
    argonautjfc1138jfc1138baconstangcornchip
  • Reply 10 of 22
    Several months ago, I changed my Apple ID from a dummy, made up email account to a regular one.  Wish I had not.  Had no problems whatsoever, however, with previous app purchases, including, AFAIK, in-app ones!  I'd like to switch the email address again.

    Is there a way of finding out which in-app purchases one has?!

    The warnings in the video could have been much clearer!

    "You may have the risk of removing in-app, unlock style purchases" ??  What is an in-app, "unlock style" purchase?!  What is an "unlock style" as opposed to just an in-app purchase or a unlock one?!    Is it a "risk"?  Or, is it as posters are saying, a definite thing?!

    Then, the speaker said:

    "consumables don't seem to.affected, but one time use charges seem to be removed from your account"

    "consumables"?!  What are we doing, buying toner for our printers?!  :-)

    "one time use charges" is also oddly phrased.  If it's only one time, who cares if I get it back or not?!  Clearly, the speaker needed to state this differently!

    What would help is a print story to accompany this-- with the warnings spelled out clearly, unambiguously!




    randominternetpersonargonaut
  • Reply 11 of 22
    These links may help

    From Apple itself with good photos:  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202667

    From iMore:  http://www.imore.com/how-change-email-address-associated-your-apple-id

    This, though, is probably the best as it includes a warning about apps and IDs; it's oddly worded, however.

    http://osxdaily.com/2014/08/01/change-apple-id-ios/

    This is one gets into how to handle an email that is not verified!

    https://9to5mac.com/2013/07/20/how-to-change-the-email-address-associated-with-your-apple-id/

    I imagine that doing two things FIRST before logging are ESSENTIAL if you don't want to lose recent purchases. :

    1.  Transferring all purchases from each device.  

    2.  Syncing each device.  Make sure that iTunes has backed up your device as part of the sync.  If not, click the backup button.
     
    Doing step #2 alone should work as it will prompt you in each case to backup unsaved purchases.  Dumbly, Apple requires you to exit the synching, transfer all purchases from the device, and then start synching again!
    edited February 2017 argonaut
  • Reply 12 of 22
    I, for one, don't like these video-only features on AI.  I almost never watch them, but I read almost every written story from beginning to end.  When I have clicked through, they tend to be good, but for whatever reason, I'm not here for videos.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    I've been looking for being able to split an iTunes account for years. Back in the day, I had two kids at home, one primary computer and a boatload of music downloaded and ripped into iTunes. Life was simple, the "family" e-mail address was the account and everybody could pick and choose what songs they wanted on their iPod. Once everybody started getting iPhones (my family started with the 4 and 5 as BB contracts ended), it became more difficult. First, they each had their own Apple ID, but all their music and app downloads were tied to the iTunes account. Second, they went off to college and wanted to buy music. OK except that the music only resided on their phone and their own laptops. Couldn't sync with the primary computer until they came home, if they even bothered. So, eventually they started their own iTunes accounts. That was fine for all the new stuff, but it was very problematic to copy songs to their account. Many a USB stick transfer later, they had most of their music on their accounts. Some couldn't be moved for whatever reason and if they wanted, had to be repurchased.

    It seems like they didn't think that families grow up and move out. The whole thing is very clunky sometimes.
  • Reply 14 of 22
    Kbauerlv1 said:
    And now even after all these years you cannot assign a new email to the iTunes account without losing all the music or anything else. How about a work around for just that 
    I ran into this issue when I wanted a mac.com Apple ID in order to start fresh. Unfortunately, all of my previous iTunes Music Store purchases were locked to my previous Apple ID with a yahoo.com address.

    Once iTunes Match was released, I was able to attempt to play one of the yahoo.com songs, then authenticate when asked. Now that the computer was authorized to play those yahoo.com tracks, I ran Match, deleted the previous files and downloaded higher quality and DRM-free tracks. That cost $25 for the year. Now it's essentially free if you do it during the trial period for Apple Music.
  • Reply 15 of 22
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    mike1 said:
    I've been looking for being able to split an iTunes account for years. Back in the day, I had two kids at home, one primary computer and a boatload of music downloaded and ripped into iTunes. Life was simple, the "family" e-mail address was the account and everybody could pick and choose what songs they wanted on their iPod. Once everybody started getting iPhones (my family started with the 4 and 5 as BB contracts ended), it became more difficult. First, they each had their own Apple ID, but all their music and app downloads were tied to the iTunes account. Second, they went off to college and wanted to buy music. OK except that the music only resided on their phone and their own laptops. Couldn't sync with the primary computer until they came home, if they even bothered. So, eventually they started their own iTunes accounts. That was fine for all the new stuff, but it was very problematic to copy songs to their account. Many a USB stick transfer later, they had most of their music on their accounts. Some couldn't be moved for whatever reason and if they wanted, had to be repurchased.

    It seems like they didn't think that families grow up and move out. The whole thing is very clunky sometimes.
    Yes, I think from day one, Apple believed that everyone should have their own id rather than sharing one. 
  • Reply 16 of 22
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Rayz2016 said:
    mike1 said:
    I've been looking for being able to split an iTunes account for years. Back in the day, I had two kids at home, one primary computer and a boatload of music downloaded and ripped into iTunes. Life was simple, the "family" e-mail address was the account and everybody could pick and choose what songs they wanted on their iPod. Once everybody started getting iPhones (my family started with the 4 and 5 as BB contracts ended), it became more difficult. First, they each had their own Apple ID, but all their music and app downloads were tied to the iTunes account. Second, they went off to college and wanted to buy music. OK except that the music only resided on their phone and their own laptops. Couldn't sync with the primary computer until they came home, if they even bothered. So, eventually they started their own iTunes accounts. That was fine for all the new stuff, but it was very problematic to copy songs to their account. Many a USB stick transfer later, they had most of their music on their accounts. Some couldn't be moved for whatever reason and if they wanted, had to be repurchased.

    It seems like they didn't think that families grow up and move out. The whole thing is very clunky sometimes.
    Yes, I think from day one, Apple believed that everyone should have their own id rather than sharing one. 
    Looks that way. Did they really think we were going to rip the same hundreds of CDs two or more times... to the SAME computer?!
  • Reply 17 of 22
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    apple2c said:
    Several months ago, I changed my Apple ID from a dummy, made up email account to a regular one.  Wish I had not.  Had no problems whatsoever, however, with previous app purchases, including, AFAIK, in-app ones!  I'd like to switch the email address again.

    Is there a way of finding out which in-app purchases one has?!

    The warnings in the video could have been much clearer!

    "You may have the risk of removing in-app, unlock style purchases" ??  What is an in-app, "unlock style" purchase?!  What is an "unlock style" as opposed to just an in-app purchase or a unlock one?!    Is it a "risk"?  Or, is it as posters are saying, a definite thing?!

    Then, the speaker said:

    "consumables don't seem to.affected, but one time use charges seem to be removed from your account"

    "consumables"?!  What are we doing, buying toner for our printers?!  :-)

    "one time use charges" is also oddly phrased.  If it's only one time, who cares if I get it back or not?!  Clearly, the speaker needed to state this differently!

    What would help is a print story to accompany this-- with the warnings spelled out clearly, unambiguously!




    Like this?

  • Reply 18 of 22
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator

    I, for one, don't like these video-only features on AI.  I almost never watch them, but I read almost every written story from beginning to end.  When I have clicked through, they tend to be good, but for whatever reason, I'm not here for videos.
    Unfortunately, there is a "video only" crowd. We appreciate your reading, though!
  • Reply 19 of 22
    Rayz2016 said:
    john.b said:
    Accounts still can't be merged. Or split.

    Likewise, an Apple ID still can't be changed from an Apple email address to a non-Apple email address, or vice versa.

    Yes, that is really odd. 

    It's almost as if, years ago, Apple decided that the AppleID should be the primary key then linked it to everything else so it would be murder to allow people to change it.

    Most DBAs I run into do the same thing when they hear this:

    "Okay, you can use this customer reference as the primary key. I can guarantee that it will never need to change, now or ever."

    The DBA nods politely, then sets up a unique, auto generating number as the primary key, so that the customer number can be changed without causing a problem.

    No primary key should be visible to the users.

    I'm pretty certain that Apple will never allow the actual AppleID to be changed, or implement a way of merging accounts. For one thing, not enough people ask for it, and secondly, it would be too bloody hard.

    That's ridiculous. So anyone that started an iTunes ID before getting an Apple ID should be perpetually stuck with having a split ecosystem with Apple? I think particularity since so many people were introduced to Apple through the popularity of iPod that A LOT of people have this issue. All of my iTunes, Apple Music, and app purchases are linked to one email, and everything else in my Apple ecosystem is linked to my iCloud account. It's absurd that Apple hasn't yet provided a solution for those that want all their Apple services under one iCloud account.
    mike1
  • Reply 20 of 22
    pepe779 said:
    ... and there's no way around this whatsoever.
    [slaps forehead]  IT'S FAMILY SHARING.

    All together now ... FAMILY SHARING !!!
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