Issue with changing Apple ID

apple-id

My email address no longer active and valid and I need to change it.

Once I log in and access the "Change Apple ID" page and enter a valid email address, I get an error message "This email address is not available. Choose a different address."

Best Answer

Most likely the problem is is that that email is used as a recovery email for another Apple ID.

According to this Apple Support discussion:

The issue was that I wanted to create an account with an address that was already listed as a secondary address for an another, older, Apple ID account.

This situation blocks the Apple ID creation process (and because the email is not a primary address for any Apple ID yet, there is no birthdate associated with it and the recovery emails go nowhere)

To solve the problem I went to id.apple.com, clicked "manage your ID" and logged in with my old account credentials.

I then deleted the email address that I wanted to use to create an ID from the list of "alternate emails" associated with the old account and victory! After that the Apple ID creation process went fine.

Related Question