The time may come when you might want to change or switch your Apple ID.  Users who use multiple Apple IDs have to switch their Apple ID in order to check their app purchases or subscriptions associated with the account. To do so on your Mac or PC, follow the directions below.
Contents
Change your Apple ID
How to change your Apple ID depends on whether you’re using an Apple-based email address such as @mac.com, @me.com, or @icloud.com, or a third-party email.
Using an Apple Email
If your current Apple ID is tied to an Apple email, following these steps.
- Go to appleid.apple.com and sign in through a web browser on your Mac or PC.
- Next, click Edit in the Account section.
- Under your existing Apple ID, click on Change Apple ID.
At this point, you’ll be given a choice of Apple emails to use as your new Apple ID. The only email addresses you can use are those that are already an alias with your account. If your @icloud.com address was created in the past month, you might have to wait a mentioned number of days before being allowed to change your Apple ID. Regardless, you can only change your Apple ID to an @icloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com email.
Once a change to your Apple ID has been made, you’ll receive an email from Apple confirming the notification.
Recommended:
- Update Apple ID Phone number Message in Settings App, How-To Fix
- Apple ID Disabled for Security Reasons? Here’s What to Do
- What to Do If Your iOS Device is Asking You to Sign-In To Someone Else’s Apple ID
Third-Party Email
It’s much trickier to change your Apple ID when you’re currently using a third-party email address. To do so, you must log out of every device that uses the email before attempting to make a change. If you plan on changing the Apple ID using an iPhone or iPad, you can stay logged into your account on that device before making the change.
When you decide to make a change to your Apple ID when you have a third-party address, you can use another third-party email address or select one from Apple. If you decide to use a @mac.com, @me.com, or @icloud.com email address, it must already be a login alias or alternate Apple ID for your account. You can find this information by logging into the Apple ID account page from a web browser.
- After logging into your account, tap Edit next to Accounts.
- Scroll down until you see the section Reachable At and see if there’s an Apple email you can use to replace your Apple ID.
Most likely, if you’re using a third-party email as your Apple ID, you’ve never added an Apple email as an alias. Therefore, your best bet at this point is to add an all-new Apple email to use as an alias.
Changing Your Apple ID on Your iOS Device
After logging out of your third-party Apple ID across all of your devices except for the one where you’ll make the change:
- Go to Settings > Your Name > Name, Phone Numbers, Email.
- Tap Edit, then delete your current Apple ID next to Reachable At.
- Select Continue, then add the new Apple ID.
- Tap Next.
Making the Change on Your Computer
- Go to appleid.apple.com through a web browser and sign in.
- Click Edit in the Account section.
- Under Apple ID, click Change Apple ID.
- Enter the Apple ID you’d like to use.
- Click Continue.
If your @icloud.com address was created in the past month, you might have to wait up to 30 days before being allowed to change your Apple ID.
Once you’ve changed your Apple ID email, you’ll need to confirm using the verification code you’ll receive from Apple through email. Once complete, you can log into your other machines using the new Apple ID.
Note: When you go from using a third-party email to an Apple email for your Apple ID, you won’t be able to change it back to a third-party email.
Switching Apple IDs on Your Devices
If for whatever reason you have two or more Apple IDs, you can change the one you’re using on any of your devices. To do so, you merely need to log out of one account and into another.
On iOS
- In the Settings app, tap on Your Name.
- Scroll down and tap Sign Out.
- Enter your Apple ID password, and tap Turn Off.
- Turn on the data that you want to keep a copy of on your device.
- Tap Sign out for a second time.
- Tap Sign out for a third time to confirm that you want to sign out of iCloud.
- Choose Sign In to use another Apple ID.
Switch Apple ID On Your Mac
- Go into System Preferences and click iCloud.
- Choose Sign Out.
- If you want to keep a copy of your iCloud data, be sure that you select the appropriate checkboxes. Then click Keep a Copy.
- If you want to keep a copy of your Safari passwords on your Mac, click Keep on This Mac.
- Select Sign in and log in using your other Apple ID and password.
Switch Apple ID On Your PC
- Open iCloud for Windows.
- Click Sign out.
- Select Sign in and log in using your other Apple ID and password.
On Windows, you can turn off a selected service. To do so, go into iCloud for Windows, then select or deselect that service. To save your changes, click Apply.
Why Change Your Apple ID?
As you can see, changing your Apple ID isn’t a simple process, especially if you’re currently using a third-party email address. The primary reason to do so is when you detect that your Apple ID has been compromised. Apple offers a lengthy support document detailing what you should do. Read this document when in doubt.
The biggest takeaway: “Because you use your Apple ID for so many Apple products and services, you should make sure that your Apple ID is as secure as possible. You should be the only person who knows your password and can sign in with your Apple ID. If someone you don’t know or don’t trust can sign in with your Apple ID, your account is not secure.”
Beyond this, you should also take a look at our report on what to do when you no longer have access to the email tied to your Apple ID.
N Moseley says
I’ve taken over my daughters Mac Pro and am trying to authorise my data and music on this machine. Your instructions on how to do this are incomplete and do not follow a logical sequence. Basically your instructions simply do not work. How about writing them so that ordinary users can understand how do do what’s required.