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How Do I Change My Apple ID On My iPhone? The Fix!

    David Payette
  • 8 years ago
    • Categories: iPhone

What a headache! You’re setting up your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and it asks for your Apple ID. Something goes wrong and it becomes extraordinarily difficult to create a new Apple ID or change your old one to a new email address. Breathe deeply and rest assured: In this article, I’ll help you change your Apple ID or create a new one so you can start using your iPhone or Mac and stop pulling your hair out.

Apple’s website has a cute little support article on this subject. It assumes you already know your Apple ID and password, that you can successfully log in on the “My Apple ID” webpage, and that the email address you’re changing it to isn’t already in use.

If you do, scroll down to the section called How To Change Your Apple ID Email Address for a process that’s much simpler than Apple’s. But that’s probably not why you’re here. You’re here for one of these reasons:

  • You’re trying to change your current Apple ID to a new email address.
  • You’re trying to create a new Apple ID but your iPhone or Mac says “That email address is already used as an Apple ID.” You have no idea what the password is and you just want to start fresh.
  • You had an Apple ID but you can’t remember what it was, and you probably don’t know the password either.

It Happens All The Time

Anyone who’s ever worked in an Apple Store has seen this problem 1000 times. One of two things happen:

  • A customer is setting up their new iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and they go through the process of creating an Apple ID. They fill in all their information, press Done, and it doesn’t work.
  • A customer is simply trying to change their Apple ID from an old email address to a new one. When they try to update it, their iPhone or Mac tells them the email address is already in use.

What You Need To Know Before We Begin

Separate Accounts with Separate Passwords

Apple IDs are always linked to an email address, but the Apple ID and the email address are separate accounts with separate passwords. It can be confusing because both accounts have the same username (youremail@gmail.com, for example), but the accounts are entirely separate. The only exception is if you choose to create a new iCloud email address (ends in @icloud.com) when you create your Apple ID.

Just to be clear: Even though you know your email password, your Apple ID password may be entirely different. They can be the same, but only if you set them up that way when you created both accounts.

Make Sure You Have Access To The Email Account Linked To Your Apple ID

Apple sends a verification email to the new Apple ID’s email address as part of the setup process. If you don’t have access to that email account, you won’t be able to verify the address with Apple and you won’t be able to use that Apple ID.

For instance, if you’re creating an Apple ID for mary@gmail.com, make sure you can log in to mary@gmail.com on the Gmail website before you begin. Remember, even though they have the same user name (the email address), the accounts are entirely separate and may have separate passwords.

What To Do If Your Email Address Is Already An Apple ID or Not Available

If you’re creating a new Apple ID and you see “Email Address Is Already an Apple ID” or that it’s not available,  that Apple ID already exists, even if you don’t remember creating it. You can’t create a new Apple ID if an Apple ID was created using that email address in the past. The rule is one Apple ID per email address.

To make this walkthrough easier to understand, we’ll use these email addresses as examples:

  • myCurrentAppleID@apple.com – The Apple ID you’re using now
  • emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com – The email address you’d like to change your Apple ID to. Even though you may not remember creating this ID, it does exist.
  • emailIDon’tCareAbout@apple.com – We’ll change the Apple ID at emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com to this one to move out of the way. You can create a free email address on gmail.com if you don’t have an another email you can change it to.

How To Change An Apple ID Email Address That Is Already In Use

  1. Log in to the emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com account on the “Apple ID” page of Apple’s website.
  2. Change that Apple ID’s email address from emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com to emailIDon’tCareAbout@apple.com. We’re moving it out of the way to make room for your current Apple ID.
  3. Sign Out of appleid.apple.com.
  4. Check for a verification email from Apple in the inbox of emailIDon’tCareAbout@apple.com and go through the verification process. You can’t change your myCurrentAppleID@apple.com to emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com until you change emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com to emailIDon’tCareAbout@apple.com and verify it to complete the change.
  5. Log in to the myCurrentAppleID@apple.com account on appleid.apple.com.
  6. Change that Apple ID’s email address to emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com.

Password Problems

If you don’t remember creating an Apple ID with for emailIWantToChangeItTo@apple.com, there’s a good chance you don’t remember the password, either. If that’s the case, go back to Apple’s Apple ID webpage and click Reset your password. If the email address you’re trying to change to is already in use, you’ll need the passwords for both your current Apple ID and the Apple ID associated with the email address you’re changing it to in order to complete this process.

Apple’s Unnecessarily Complicated Method For Changing Your Apple ID

Apple’s support article suggests an inefficient time-consuming method designed to shield you from seeing warning popups that ask you to update your Apple ID after you change it to the new email address. But these warnings make your life easier! 

Apple’s article suggests you sign out of all the services that use your Apple ID (iTunes, App Store, iMessage, etc.) on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other devices before you begin. I recommend you change your Apple ID on all your devices after you change it to the new email address. You’ll enter the updated information when your iPhone, iPad, or Mac asks you to. It’s easier than hunting through Settings on all your devices to sign out of every service that uses your Apple ID first.

How To Change Your Apple ID Email Address

  1. Go to appleid.apple.com, click Manage Your Apple ID, and sign in with your Apple ID.
  2. Click edit to the right of your email address under the section called Apple ID and Primary Email Address.
  3. Enter your new Apple ID email address.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Check your inbox for a email called “Verify your Apple ID.” from Apple and click Verify now >.
  6. Log in on Apple’s website to complete the process.

Apple ID Email Address: Changed.

You’ve successfully changed your Apple ID email address and you can finally use your iPhone, iPad, and Mac with the email address you want to. As you’ve discovered, it can be extraordinarily difficult to change an Apple ID to a new email address – in face, the process is amazingly complicated. I hope this walkthrough has helped clarify the process for you and I’d love to hear about your experiences with changing your Apple ID in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading and remember to pay it forward,
David P.

View Comments (56)

  • I have been sharing my apple id with my wife for years and now want to have my own apple id and keep all the apps, messages, passwords, contacts, calendars and pictures. I have a new iphone 13mini. Thank you in advance.

  • I had to get a new apple ID for my cell, because I deleted my account by accident. I know, stupid!
    SO, I got the new email and the password, however, when I try to update on my phone, they keep asking me for my password to my old Apple ID and I can't remember that. Is there a fix for this? Thank you.

  • I set up my Apple ID with the correct email address. However, I accidentally added a letter to my last name that doesn't need to be there. How do I edit that?

    • Hi Heath! I'd suggest reaching out to Apple's support team directly about this issue. They're typically the best bet for trying to resolve minor Apple ID issuesl ike this. Best of luck!

  • My iPhone is not letting me login to my app. It keeps saying "Access denied please check your credentials". How do I fix that?

  • I am not sure if my case can be fixed with the method you explained here. My Apple ID is an email address that ceased to exist/function. I bought a brand new iPhone XR and put all my personal info into it and created a new Apple ID with my actual functioning email address. It seemed to go well to this point and my new Apple ID appeared on my new iPhone. After I did this and changed my SIM card from my old iPhone to the new one, I proceeded to regenerate the new iPhone with the backup info that I had kept on my computer previously. This took only a few minutes and after that... my Apple ID went back to the one I wanted to eliminate (I hate it) and now my new iPhone is useless! I can access the iPhone, but it won't let me do anything. My previous Apple ID (email address) does no longer exist and I have no password. I can't access iCloud either and I can't even sign out of the phone. I even tried to return the iPhone (and switch to Android) to the store I bought it from last week, but they would not accept it back, since this is nota guarantee issue. Is there any hope for this?

  • Hi, I had an old iPad mini with an account with a U.S address. I utilised the same Apple ID for my recent purchase of an ipad.

    I would like to change the email address as well as the street address ( to one that is outside the U.S)

    1. does the street address really matter .. -(the billing address)
    2. I have complimentary Apple TV for the yr & would like to sign up but want to switch the info 1st
    .3. would this affect my previous app purchases. ( would it still be there.

    Or should I leave it alone & just maintain it
    Tks

    Note the U.S address is not my residential add.

  • Hi my uncle was using a iPhone 5 and he passed . So the family give me the iPhone it has password which I dont know. Pls help me in resetting it.

  • Doesnt work for me as I have an old @icloud address...
    Really pissed off. Ive been on and of far trying to find a solution for months.

  • I am trying to eliminate the 6 digit code to open iPhone. When I do, it ask me for my password for Apple ID for an email address I do not use for Apple ID anymore. I changed that months ago. I do not remember that password anymore for the old email address I used to use. What now?

  • what to do if my iphone is blocked and i don't remember my apple id password? So now i unlocked my phone and it says that this phone is linked to apple id ***blahblah and i don't remember the password. I tired changing my password, but the problem is that link is sent to my phone number and my phone numper is linked to my iphone. I can't get in my phone, help

  • I no longer have the email address that I set up with Apple. How can I change to my current email address

  • What happens to the contacts, etc. that you have on the phone? Will they remain even if you change your email address on the apple id?

  • Hello Im using a iPhone my brother gave me his phone and wen I put in his information it keeps on saying your Apple ID has been disabled for security reasons wat das that means? Please help

  • My companies iphone 7 and I need to reset my password to gain access to my phone. I changed my email address and it will not let me unlock this phone. My IT department was not very helpful, I guess they believe I should have never forgot my password. HELP!!

  • Please help. Ive started at a company. They gave me a Iphone 6. I did factory reset because the previous lady no longer working for the company and nnot using icloud any more. How can I reset the iclout password

  • AND THIS was supposed to be simple? It's like having to be able to understand this before you can undersstand this...unnecessarily complicated.

  • I have 2 apple ids. How do I merge these accounts gracefully? Meanwhile my devices are not synching properly because of their confusion.

  • When I went to appleid.apple.com
    I got this message:-

    "Your connection is not private

    Attackers might be trying to steal your information from appleid.apple.com. (for example, passwords, messages or credit cards). Learn more"

    SInce I am going there to change or set up a password this does not seem like a very good idea!!
    any other clues what to do. My apple ID email address no longer exists.

  • Ugg mine says my account has been locked for security reasons. After I finally remembered my password and now I can't get squatt. I dislike Apple so much.

  • This Apple ID an password is a big mess. The IT guys think the mores complex they made, the more "secured" it is but the result is putting the users a unnessary burden. I wonder if they ever tried to use the device like a regular human being. I have the first gen. iPad mini. I hate this retarded garbage to begin with, I had been using just as a desktop clock.. But one day out of the blue, it locked me out. Since then I am not able to lock in again. I tried every method from Apple, any online resources including this site, nothing works. It keeps asking my Apple Id, wiich links to an long abondoned yahoo email. I don't know what to do any more,

  • These instructions seem to be for very specific situations. I'm trying help an elderly friend have access to the Apple Store on her iPhone. She has two Apple ID's. No password to either ID. Neither email address is still active. I would like to set up a new ID, new password and remove the old, irrelevant ID's from her phone. Is that even possible?

  • I tried to do a factory reset and now it asks for the first apple account that was on the IPhone...which one i don't remember...niether the id or password...is there anything that can be done?
    Or it will remain just like a toy for my kids from now on?

  • Apple sucks. Changed for a competitor smartphone (made in China), and saved time, money and problems like this.

  • can't get to it as my account has been locked and the verification code has been sent to an email address (the one i'm trying to change) that no longer exists!

  • tried this and it still saying I can not use the email i want. Changed the "emailiwant" to "emailidontcareabout" logged out. logged back in to make sure it took, verfied and all. Still will not let me change it. even tried logging in with "emailiwant" and it said apple id does not exist. So it's not tied to anything. Has anything changed? Thanks!

  • my daughter set up my phone with her apple id now i have no storage on my phone can't take pictures because no storage available

  • hi i have changed the email id to idontcareemail id but still emailidiwanttochangeto shows it is used on another apple id..:can you suggest pls

  • On setting up an iPhone 5c, my husband entered an incorrect email that doesn't actually exist. Because there is no password attached to the incorrect email there is no way to log in and get the validation email. This means there is no way to validate the phone, access icloud, or even hard reset the phone as there is no way of creating a password to do this and be able to log out of the phone. Any suggestions on how to rectify this?

  • Thanks! But now I can't seem to get iCloud to switch to the new AppleID so nothing is being backed up. I'm not seeing an option to edit the ID as I did for iTunes. Help?!

  • I'm in a pickle
    The email address on my Apple ID is that of my estranged daughter!
    I'm resetting my Apple ID but it says it takes days :(
    Did you sort your problem?

  • You can open a safari page and go to iCloud. Then fix it from there. But it is far easier to do it on the Computer. Once you change it on the website it will prompt you for things in your iCloud settings on your phone (various Apple devices).

  • Go to yahoo, recreate that email with a password and you are golden. Or fix getting back into that account on yahoo.

  • i had the same problem so i called the support center, after you change the primary email address on one account theres a 30 day period where you cannot add that email address to another account. It should work after waiting 30 days

  • I'm having the exact same problem. And what's worse is I can't even log into my macbook after it wakes up from a sleep, I have to restart it each time. Happened as soon as I changed my apple ID email. THIS IS SO ANNOYING PLEASE HELP!!

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David Payette: I'm a former Apple employee and the founder of Payette Forward, and I'm here to help you with your iPhone.