email address removal from iPhone

[JeffL]

I need help removing an unwanted email address on an iPhone. My wife has one iPhone (SE 1st Gen), no other devices. When she first got the iPhone we had to choose an email address for her. I can’t remember the exact sequence of events but she has a gmail email address for her Apple ID and an iCloud email address for her day to day use. When we set up the iCloud email address, the first one she chose she subsequently didn’t like so we set up another one which is the one she still uses day to day. We have tried many times to delete the unwanted one without success. Today she received am email to that unwanted email address. It wasn’t a scam as such, I think it was a marketing ploy from some company that has found that address on a list somewhere or it was randomly created. This made me attempt again to remove it from her phone, but it won’t let me! I went to Settings/xxxxxApple ID/Name,Phone Numbers,Email/contactable Edit/this displays her gmail and iCloud email addresses, her mobile phone number and the unwanted email address. There is no red delete button next to it just a lower case i in a circle. When I tap it a message appears “Your email address cannot be removed. Go to iMessage and FaceTime Settings”. I’ve done that but still cannot see how to delete it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ferrarr]

Did you try to add the email address she uses day to day? Is the iPhone number listed there as well?

 

[JeffL]

Did you try to add the email address she uses day to day? Is the iPhone number listed there as well?

In Settings/Messages/Send & Receive - Under the heading "You can receive iMessages to and reply from" her phone number is there and her gmail and iCloud email addresses and all with a Tick next to them., also the unwanted iCloud email address is there too but not Ticked. Lower down it says "Start new conversations from" only the phone number and the gmail and iCloud email addresses appear in that section, not the unwanted email address. In Settings/FaceTime it is the same as iMessage.

 

[ferrarr]

Then I believe you will need to go to Settings > Apple ID, then scroll down and select Sign Out. Then sign in with the account she uses day to day.

 

[JeffL]

Then I believe you will need to go to Settings > Apple ID, then scroll down and select Sign Out. Then sign in with the account she uses day to day.

Before I do that, I just want to check something with you. When you say "Sign Out" and "Then sign in with the account she uses day to day". Her Apple ID is her gmail email address, so she can't sign in with her day to day email address which is an iCloud email address.

 

[ferrarr]

I have two Apple/iCloud ID's. My original is set up with my Hotmail email address, and my new and most used is an iCloud email address.

The original (Hotmail) account was used to set up iTunes back in 2003, I believe. I made my iCloud email when I purchased my iPhone 4S in 2012.

They are both Apple ID's and iCloud accounts at the same time.

You can check and see if they are set up as the same thing, by logging into iCloud.com with both email addresses. The only thing that may hinder this is if she created the new account as an "alias" under her original Apple ID.

 

[JeffL]

I have two Apple/iCloud ID's. My original is set up with my Hotmail email address, and my new and most used is an iCloud email address.

The original (Hotmail) account was used to set up iTunes back in 2003, I believe. I made my iCloud email when I purchased my iPhone 4S in 2012.

They are both Apple ID's and iCloud accounts at the same time.

You can check and see if they are set up as the same thing, by logging into iCloud.com with both email addresses. The only thing that may hinder this is if she created the new account as an "alias" under her original Apple ID.

Signed out of her iCloud account. Tried to sign in with her day to day email address but it wasn't recognised as an existing account. Then tried to sign in with the unwanted email address which was recognised but we did not know the password so we set up a new password. So she is now signed into iCloud with the unwanted email address BUT her Apple ID in Settings where her photo is shown shows underneath the photo her gmail email address. So I am unsure where we are now? Now that we appear to have established she has an iCloud account with the unwanted email address as its ID, should we go into that account and request to delete it? and if so should that remove or allow us to remove the unwanted email address from her phone? The other thing is that I received an email message to my email account on MY devices (Mac and iPhone) which said "Your Apple ID password has been reset" but in the body of the email it was addressed to my wife i.e. Dear XXXX XXXXXX(my wife's name) message reads "The password for your Apple ID [email protected] has been successfully reset" but the one rest was via the unwanted iCloud email address I am bit confused. Could be that my email address was her recovery email address?

 

[ferrarr]

Could be that my email address was her recovery email address?

Yes, most likely.

Now that we appear to have established she has an iCloud account with the unwanted email address as its ID, should we go into that account and request to delete it?

No, you can't delete an account (Apple/iCloud ID). It is just used as a user name to identify ownership. If it is that bothersome, then she will have to create a new account.

 

[JeffL]

Update: This unwanted email address is an alias of her Apple ID email address. Any suggestions on how to remove it now that I have identified it?

 

[IWT]

Yes. Log in to her Apple ID on line. Go into accounts and from there email. Within email she will see her official email address and any aliases she has made. These can be suspended or deleted. Suspended means that that address can be reactivated in the future. Deleted means just that. Gone for good.

NB As I said this can only be done by logging into her Apple ID online. Not from a device.

Ian