Where to change your email on an iPad

You change your email address in the Settings app, not in Mail or any other program. Open Settings, tap your name at the top, then tap "Name, Phone Numbers, Email" to change the email linked to your Apple ID. If you want to change the email address you use to receive mail in the Mail app itself, that is a separate step in the Mail settings.

The distinction matters: your Apple ID email is what you use to sign into your iPad, buy apps, and recover your account. Your Mail app email is the inbox where messages arrive. You may need to change one, the other, or both depending on what you are trying to do.

Key Takeaways

  • Your Apple ID email (changed in Settings > [Your Name]) is separate from the email address you use in the Mail app.
  • To change your Apple ID email, you must have access to both your current email and the new email address you want to use.
  • Adding a new email to your Apple ID does not automatically remove the old one — you can keep multiple email addresses linked to the same account.
  • If you forget your Apple ID password, you will need access to a recovery email address, so do not delete all old emails from your account.

Changing your Apple ID email address

Open Settings and tap your name at the very top of the screen. Tap "Name, Phone Numbers, Email." You will see your current Apple ID email listed. Tap "Edit" in the upper right corner.

Tap the red minus sign next to the email you want to remove, then tap "Delete." Now tap "Add Email or Phone Number" and enter your new email address. Apple will send a verification code to that new address — you must open that email and enter the code to confirm you own it. Once verified, the new email becomes your Apple ID email.

If you want to keep your old email as a backup recovery address instead of deleting it, tap "Edit," then tap the minus sign and choose "Keep Using as Rescue Email" instead of "Delete." This way you can still use the old email to recover your account if you forget your password, but it will not be your primary Apple ID email.

Adding or changing email addresses in the Mail app

If you want to add a new email account to read mail from (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or another provider), open Settings and scroll down to find "Mail." Tap "Accounts," then tap "Add Account." Choose your email provider from the list or tap "Other" if your provider is not shown.

Enter your email address and password. Mail will try to set up the account automatically. If it succeeds, you are done — the new email will appear in your Mail app inbox list. If it fails, you may need to generate an app-specific password from your email provider instead of using your regular password. Gmail and Yahoo both require this step.

To change which email address is the default sender in Mail, go to Settings > Mail > "Default Account" and choose the one you want to use when you compose new messages.

What happens to your old email address

If you delete your old Apple ID email entirely, you lose the ability to use it to sign into your account or recover your password. You cannot get it back later. For this reason, most people keep at least one old email address linked to their Apple ID as a recovery option, even if they do not use it for anything else.

If you remove an email account from the Mail app, your iPad stops downloading new messages to that inbox, but the old messages stay on your device. You can still read them in the Mail app — they just will not update anymore. The email account itself still exists with your email provider; you have only disconnected it from your iPad.

If you do not have access to your current email

If your current Apple ID email no longer works (the account was closed, you lost access to it, or you never set it up), you cannot change it through Settings. Instead, go to iforgot.apple.com on a web browser and follow the account recovery process. Apple will ask you to verify your identity using a trusted phone number or a recovery key, then let you change your email without needing access to the old one.

This process takes longer than changing it in Settings, but it is the only way forward if your current email is truly gone. Have your iPad nearby — Apple may send a verification code to it as part of the process.

Troubleshooting email changes that do not work

If you enter a new email address and the verification code never arrives, check your spam or junk folder first. If it is not there, the email address may be invalid or already linked to a different Apple ID. Try entering it again carefully, watching for typos.

If you see an error saying the email is already in use, that email address is already the Apple ID for another account. You cannot link the same email to two different Apple IDs. You would need to use a different email address, or recover access to the other Apple ID if that one is yours.

If Mail will not connect to your email account after you add it, the most common cause is an incorrect password. Go back to Settings > Mail > Accounts, tap the account, and tap "Password." Re-enter your email password. If you still cannot connect, your email provider may require an app-specific password — check their website for instructions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have more than one email address on my Apple ID?

Yes. You can add multiple email addresses to your Apple ID in Settings > [Your Name] > "Name, Phone Numbers, Email." One will be your primary email, and the others will be aliases you can use to sign in or receive messages. You cannot remove all emails — you must keep at least one.

Will changing my Apple ID email sign me out of my iPad?

No. Changing your Apple ID email does not sign you out. You stay signed in with the same Apple ID; only the email address linked to it changes. You can still use your iPad normally.

What if I change my email and then forget my password?

If you kept an old email as a recovery address, Apple can send a password reset code to that email. If you deleted all old emails and cannot access your new email, go to iforgot.apple.com and use your phone number or recovery key instead.

Do I need to change my email in Mail if I change my Apple ID email?

No. Your Apple ID email and your Mail app email are separate. Changing one does not affect the other. You only need to change Mail settings if you want to stop receiving messages at an old email address or add a new inbox to read from.

Can I use the same email for two different Apple IDs?

No. Each email address can only be linked to one Apple ID. If you try to use an email that is already in use, you will get an error. You would need to remove it from the other account first.