Feed
 

Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Rick Churchill
Now you’re stuffed with hot cross buns and chocolate here is a little problem which you may have come across.
My brother has an Apple Mac and wants to start using an iCloud email address. In order to do so he needs to create an Apple ID which he assures me he has not done before.
On System Settings > Sign in > Create Apple ID I get “Verification Failure- An Unknown Error Occurred”
I then updated the OS from Monterey to Ventura and repeated the procedure and got the same message. On the web there are similar errors but these seem to be from people trying to sign in to existing accounts and being refused recognition of their entered ID.
Any ideas?

I should point out that my brother is a technophobe and so working towards a solution is met with a lot of negativity. He would be reluctant to allow me to do anything drastic such as resetting the computer to factory settings although he might allow me to make a new user to see if a new ID could be created from it which is what I will try next when I see him again.

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Mick Burrell
Assuming you're using his existing email address as the ID itself, try logging in (iCloud.com will do) and using Forgot Password to see if he'd already set it up.

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Rick Churchill
I haven't used any email address to log in. I pressed the "Create Apple ID" button leaving the ID entry field blank. My computer does not have this button. It is replaced by "Sign Out..." I read that it is possible to have more than one Apple ID but this can only be done after signing out from an existing one. I think that when I signed out this button changes to "Create Apple ID" so giving no clue as to whether the user has an ID already.
I gather you are suggesting putting in his existing email address, which is a plus net account, into the this field in case he has forgotten setting it up, In which case I don't understand the iCloud.com reference. Is this a separate action?

Note it may be a week before I get to see him again. I'd rather not try to get him to do it without my being there.

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Rick Churchill
Thanks by the way for your reply.
I just had another thought. If he has already created an Apple ID and has signed out, why won't it let him create another one?

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Mick Burrell
In which case I don't understand the iCloud.com reference.

Sorry Rick - yes, if you're trying to create it in System Preferences/Settings then you would need to sign out. I suggested iCloud.com purely so you'll be asked to log in there which you can do with his email address without signing out on your machine. There's a Forgot Password option there.

If he has already created an Apple ID and has signed out, why won't it let him create another one?

Do you know he's signed out? He would need to use a second email address. Does he have one?

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Rick Churchill
Do you know he's signed out? He would need to use a second email address. Does he have one?

I thought that as he has the button "Create Apple ID" rather than the "Sign Out" button that this indicates he is not signed in. He assures me he hasn't got an ID. His present email address would have been the one he used.

When I see him I'll try logging in with this email address and using Forgot Password to see what happens.

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Mick Burrell
I've just been through something very similar with mu mum in order to set up an iCloud email address. Neither of us were aware that she had an ID but there was one associated with her email address, probably set up by her husband who died 8 years ago! Luckily I was able to guess answers to her security questions and hence set a new password. All is now well. Good luck.

Re: Getting a New iCloud Mail Address

Avatar Rick Churchill
SUCCESS. Today after sorting out his video recorder I managed to get my brother to attempt to log into the Apple account he swore he never set up, using his existing email address. After going through the forgotten password route it did not come back with the message saying there was no such account. It took some time to devise a suitable new password, he wanting to use the same one for opening his MacBook! Then it was only a matter of setting up two-factor authorisation with a barely used mobile phone which (you guessed it) had little battery life left. After that setting up the new mail account was a breeze with luckily his chosen email address unused.
Thanks Mike for suggesting it. Strangely there were no security questions.
 
Feed