# unable to sign in iCloud



## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

For the life of me I can't figure this out. Went through the Apple help with no success. I am attempting to set up iCloud on my Mac and device. I've entered my Apple ID (tried as an email address and just as user) and my password that I use for my iTunes purchases. Just won't work. Now I'm getting unrecognized Apple ID or password. I must be missing something. I've tried to create a new account but I can't use either of my email addresses as I am told they both are being used. Any suggestions?

I've reset my password. Signed out of iTunes and went to sign back in with the new password- incorrect password. Used the old one and signed in no problem. Something is flukey here.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

I've got a trial MobileMe account (with email address). I could try using that one but Apple recommends you use the same account you use for store purchases.
According to the Apple help, an Apple ID is your email address. How can that be? To sign in to iTunes or the App Store, I've never entered my email address as my ID. It's always been just my "username."


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## iphoneottawa (Apr 21, 2010)

I used my US account and it worked. It has an Email name. My Canadian which has a User name did not work.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Maybe that's the problem then. Any others having a problem with their Canada account? I'd rather have ervything (purchases and iCloud) tied in to the same account.


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## staples57 (Nov 19, 2007)

Yes... having similar problems.

I can login to iCloud, but I cannot access iCloud Mail on my iPhone (iOS 5) or via the web (www.icloud.com).

I'm wondering if they have activated the iCloud Mail only for US customers at this point?

Is anyone else able to access iCloud Mail using a Canadian account??


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

same problem here



staples57 said:


> Yes... having similar problems.
> 
> I can login to iCloud, but I cannot access iCloud Mail on my iPhone (iOS 5) or via the web (www.icloud.com).
> 
> ...


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

I just signed in to iCloud with my "trial" ...me.com address which worked. How will signing in with this differ from signing in with my Canada account? Also, in the setup process, it asks if I have the requirements met on all the devices I will be using with iCloud. I haven't yet updated my iPad, so I backed out of the setup. Once you sign in to iCloud with say, a ...me.com address, can you sign in later with another (gmail)? I'd really like to get the low down on this matter. I don't want to lock myself out of something.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Been checking out my 2 Apple accounts. One I don't use anymore. It's Apple ID is my actual email address. The other one which I use, also has my same email address but the ID is not in email address form, but just a user name. Not sure why one is an email address and the other not.
Anyways, to tie my iClout account to my "working" account, should I change that Apple ID to my other email address and change the email address to another working one? I don't want to mess things up. I suppose 2 accounts can have the same email address but not the same ID? Not sure why iCloud will only allow email addresses for ID's.

Something isn't right in these 2 accounts. I am trying to switch my ID and email address in my working account to make it work with iCloud, but the address I use says it's verified with another account. I switch over to that account and it says it's not verified. Is there any way of deleting an account?


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## crawford (Oct 8, 2005)

I had some initial confusion, as I have an Apple ID that I use regularly for purchases that is different from my MobileMe account (both of which can be Apple IDs, as it turns out). iCloud in the system preferences kept having difficulty with the two IDs. 

Ultimately, I just logged out of both and logged back in through System Preferences and I seem to be up and running with my MobileMe ID associated with iCloud and my other Apple ID associated with iTunes purchases. Fingers crossed. Looking forward to the day when I can merge both IDs.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Here's what I just did. I went into my account and changed my ID to my email address. It took. Why, I don't know. The other account I don't use has the very same ID and email address- just a different password. Anyways, I fired up iCloud and it said not a valid email address or something like that, and then all of a sudden it logged me in. Strange. So, I guess I'm in. When I click on Mail for syncing, it asks me to create a me.com email address. What's the reason behind this? Should I just use the one I created with my trial of MobileMe?


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## crawford (Oct 8, 2005)

It asked me that too. I declined and things seem to be ok still.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Not sure how iCloud works now. Is it all automatic? I notice that when selecting iCloud Backup on my iPod Touch, I am warned that the iPod Touch will no longer sync with my computer. Hmmm. Not sure if that's what I want.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Been reading up a bit on iCloud and how it works. I came across this: " If you use your Apple ID on multiple devices to buy apps (say, if you have one central account for your, your spouse's, and your children's purchases), it's best not to convert it into an iCloud account."
Not sure of the reasoning behind this, but that's kind of what I did (which corresponds to this thread). So, what I can gather, is that one should set up an individual iCloud account for each device, apart from the Apple ID/account used to make iTunes purchases. Is that correct? If so, how does one eliminate the iCloud originally set up? Maybe someone can clear up this matter.


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## mitched (Sep 4, 2008)

I had similar problems as my Apple ID and my me.com address are different. iCloud did not like my me.com data so I tried the AppleID and it worked fine. I made the transfer and now everything is fine and I can login using my old me.com login. It took a long time for me to gain access to the iCloud server but once traffic settled down it was quite quick.


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## iphoneottawa (Apr 21, 2010)

csonni said:


> " If you use your Apple ID on multiple devices to buy apps (say, if you have one central account for your, your spouse's, and your children's purchases), it's best not to convert it into an iCloud account."
> .


Thx for the info. 
So now I have to buy the same APP 3 times, one for each family member !?


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Never thought of it that way. Hmmm.


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## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

AppleIDs were never intended to be shared amongst different people, family members or not. You don't necessarily have to buy apps again, as you can log into your AppleID on each device and download the apps. Yeah, it's a bit of a pain, I agree. Maybe Apple should have a family pack mechanism where you can pay 60% more for a family pack. Although, iOS apps are so cheap, buying extra copies isn't that big of a deal, especially since they're intended to be licensed to one person anyway.


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## Rubble (Mar 4, 2007)

I have 2 accounts. My main account is the one I've used since I first signed up with iTunes and has an @mac.com address as the ID. (I have not been able to access that email address since my @mac.com account lapsed a long time ago.) When I tried to log in to make a purchase today I was told I hadn't verified my account and that an email had been sent to me - to the @mac.com address. Yea, that does me a lot of good... I do have a Gmail address for contact in my profile.

I also have a secondary account that I seldom use that I was able to log in to without a hitch. That account has a Gmail address as the ID. I really don't know what is going on but I'm somewhat frustrated by all this integration that is designed to make everything easy and seamless.... I have no interest in iCloud and haven't tried to create an account yet it seems my iTunes account is being held prisoner of this system.

Because I only use iTunes gift cards I now don't have access to the balance on my original account.... I'm waiting for Apple support to email me back. I'm not too impressed. 

Rub


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