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"This email address is not available for use as an Apple ID"

My current apple id using ****@ mail.com now.

I want to change to ****@ gmail.com.

But I get the message "This email address is not available for use as an Apple ID"

Not sure why?


[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Oct 12, 2021 2:25 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 12, 2021 2:29 PM

"If you see a message that the email address you want to use isn't available or is already in use, check that you or a family member aren't already using that email address with a different Apple ID. If a family member is using that email address, remove it from their account then try to use it." From: https://support.apple.com/HT202667


Apart from the above statement I have yet to find a formal Apple position statement online about re-using email addresses. Many user reports on this forum (I don't have specific reason not to believe them) suggest that contrary to what the statement implies as to ease of address re-use, if you have recently used an email address with Apple for another purpose such as a notification email address it cannot be re-used; at least not immediately and possibly never.


About your Apple ID email addresses (was "Manage your Apple ID primary, rescue, alternate, and notification email addresses") --> https://support.apple.com/HT201356

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 12, 2021 2:29 PM in response to stevenkc

"If you see a message that the email address you want to use isn't available or is already in use, check that you or a family member aren't already using that email address with a different Apple ID. If a family member is using that email address, remove it from their account then try to use it." From: https://support.apple.com/HT202667


Apart from the above statement I have yet to find a formal Apple position statement online about re-using email addresses. Many user reports on this forum (I don't have specific reason not to believe them) suggest that contrary to what the statement implies as to ease of address re-use, if you have recently used an email address with Apple for another purpose such as a notification email address it cannot be re-used; at least not immediately and possibly never.


About your Apple ID email addresses (was "Manage your Apple ID primary, rescue, alternate, and notification email addresses") --> https://support.apple.com/HT201356

Oct 13, 2021 8:25 AM in response to stevenkc

Contact Apple and ask. As I indicated, Apple does not have a clear and complete statement about email address re-use. We have had to simply go by what people have posted here in in the past about reputed experiences but it's all hearsay.


Contact Apple. Click here --> https://support.apple.com/choose-country-region Select your country, then a product. If you don't see one that handles your issue then keep experimenting with selections until you reach one that gets you a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.


or:


Contact Apple for support and service --> "See a list of Apple phone numbers around the world."

Click here --> https://support.apple.com/HT201232



"This email address is not available for use as an Apple ID"

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