Changing contact email address for an AppleID

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
When I first set up an AppleID I was mainly using Telus email so I chose a Telus email address to use as my AppleID. I am no longer using Telus email services.

I know that this AppleID will remain and be useable going forward, but if Apple needs to contact me in the future regarding that AppleID they will send an email to the Telus email address. I would rather have my iCloud email address registered with them for contact purposes. Is that possible? And if so where do I go to make that change?

Dave
 

chas_m

Well-Known Member
You can in fact change your login ID (the old email address) at appleid.apple.com, but unless Apple has changed its rules, you can't use your own iCloud address as your Apple ID login. Apple always likes for users to have a non-Apple contact email in case you get locked out by forgetting your password. Promotion emails will always go to your @icloud.com address. :)
 

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
You can in fact change your login ID (the old email address) at appleid.apple.com, but unless Apple has changed its rules, you can't use your own iCloud address as your Apple ID login. Apple always likes for users to have a non-Apple contact email in case you get locked out by forgetting your password. Promotion emails will always go to your @icloud.com address. :)

I have been playing with this for the last couple of days: Starting from the web site iCloud.com I log in with my (Telus based) AppleID, Then I click on "Settings" and from there I find a "Manage" button for managing my AppleID. That takes me to a new Apple web site where I again have to log in with my (Telus based) AppleID.

Once there it shows my Telus email address as my primary contact but it also shows my iCloud.com email address. However next to that is a "Verify" button. It claims it will send an email to my iCloud.com email address for verification. So I click on "Verify" and it does in fact send me an email with a 6 digit verification code which I need to enter back on the web page. So I enter that 6 digit code and hit "Continue". At that point it tells me that the service is "not available at this time and try later". I have been trying for two days.

Assuming I get past this and it actually then shows the iCloud.com email address as a secondary contact, the question will be whether I can swap them (primary vs secondary.)

Dave
 

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
Further progress on this. I ended up talking to Apple on this today and like you said, Chas, using my iCloud email address is forbidden since it is also used as another AppleID. I see I could also use a phone number for their contact method and tried both our home phone number (landline) and my iPhone number but they already had these on file so could not be used in this situation.

Finally took the great advice of Chas, (isn't it all great?) in another post and went to Protonmail.com and set up a 3rd party account which Apple seems to want for this use.
 

David

Well-Known Member
Dave, I was curious about your experience with Protonmail? I see for a "light" account, which is all I would need, the service is free. Have you had a positive experience with the service? Do you have to go to their webpage to access your email? Currently, I have a shaw and iCloud account but would like to drop the Shaw in favour of something else. I also have a gmail account which I really use and its for sites I don't really care about. The iCloud account is my private account. Any info would be greatly appreciated. David
 

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
Well (at the excellent suggestion of Chas) I just set up my ProtonMail account as a second account to my iCloud email account, in case some glitch in iCloud, perhaps, makes having another account handy for testing, or emergency use. As such I hardly use it. ( I do have a hotmail account and still have my Telus accounts for now but they will likely go away so can't be counted on.)
On iOS there is a ProtonMail App (rather than using Apple's Mail App) and, yes, on the Mac you access it via the web (Safari in my case.)
For the paid account there is another piece you can get that lets you use Apple's Mail, I believe.
ProtonMail appears to be very secure and private so in my thinking much better than gmail or yahoo mail. I hadn't heard of ProtonMail until Chas mentioned it. (The good news about that is that we haven't heard of any scandals with that service!)
 

clcharlie

Member
Well, need the expert help from the forum group. Is it possible to change your contact email address for your apple ID without changing the Apple id? When we created our id - years ago it was a XXXXX@telus.net apple id. We are no longer using them as our provider. I would like to update the contact emailaddress with Apple. It is not a icloud.com email address. Currently it is shaw.ca address but sometime in the future it will be an outlook.com email address. What are my steps to change the address? Fingers crossed that I can change the contact email address but not change my apple ID. Thank you for your help.

PS. When I log into"appleid.apple.com", it says I can edit the account. When I go to edit, there is an option to change my Apple ID. I have not clicked on that as I do not really want to edit the Apple ID unless that is where I'm to go.
 

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
You can add another email address (or a phone number) as an additional contact.

You start by logging into icloud.com (if you are using two-factor authentication you will need to enter the verification code sent to the other device.)
Next click on "Account Settings>" and then "Manage"

Screen Shot 2019-10-20 at 10.42.26 PM.png

This will take you to another web site where you have to log in again.

Screen Shot 2019-10-20 at 10.42.45 PM.png

Again, if you are using two-factor authentication you will need to retrieve the verification code from the other device.

On the next page look for "contactable at" This will show your present AppleId but under that is says "Add more..."

Screen Shot 2019-10-20 at 10.45.14 PM.png

Here you can add an additional email address (or phone number if you make that choice). When you hit "Continue" it will send an email to the email address you added which you have to retrieve to verify it. At that point it is added. Your AppleID remains as it was.

Dave Teece
 
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