The quickest way to change your email on iPhone

To change the email address on your iPhone, open Settings, tap Mail, then Accounts, select the account you want to change, and tap Account. From there, you can edit the email address in the Email field. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use iCloud, Gmail, Outlook, or another email provider, but the Settings path is the same for all of them.

The change takes effect when ready on your iPhone, but you may need to re-enter your password or verify the new address with your email provider. If you are changing the address itself (not just updating a typo), your email provider may require you to confirm the change through a verification link sent to your new address.

Key Takeaways

  • You can edit your email address directly in Settings > Mail > Accounts by selecting the account and tapping Account.
  • If you are changing to a completely different email address, your provider will likely send a verification link to confirm the change.
  • Changing your email in Settings does not delete messages already on your iPhone — they remain in the Mail app.
  • Some providers require you to update your password or re-authenticate after changing your email address.

Step-by-step: changing your email address in Settings

Open the Settings app on your home screen. Scroll down and tap Mail. Tap Accounts to see all the email accounts connected to your iPhone.

Find the account whose email address you want to change and tap it. Tap Account at the top of the screen. You will see the Email field with your current address. Tap the field, delete the old address, and type the new one. Tap Done in the top right corner to save the change.

Your iPhone will attempt to verify the new address with your email provider's server. If the verification succeeds when ready, you are finished. If your provider requires additional confirmation, you may see a prompt asking you to check your email for a verification link.

When your provider asks you to verify the change

Many email providers — including Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo — send a verification email to your new address when you change it. This is a security measure to make sure you actually own that email account. Check the inbox of your new email address for a message from your provider with a link or code to confirm the change.

Click or tap the verification link in that email, or enter the code if your provider uses one. Once you verify, the change is complete on your provider's end. Your iPhone will sync this confirmation automatically, usually within a few minutes.

If you do not see a verification email within 10 minutes, check your spam or junk folder. Some providers send the verification from an automated address that filters sometimes catch.

Changing your email for iCloud accounts

If you use an iCloud email address (one that ends in @icloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com), the process is slightly different. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts, select your iCloud account, and tap Account. You will see your iCloud email address listed, but you cannot edit it directly in the Mail settings.

Instead, you need to go to Settings > iCloud (or Apple ID on newer iPhones) and tap your name at the top. Tap iCloud, then scroll down to Mail. From here you can add an alias — a secondary email address that works with your iCloud account — but you cannot change your primary iCloud email without changing your Apple ID itself.

If you want to use a completely different iCloud address, you will need to create a new Apple ID with that address and set it up on your iPhone as a separate account.

What happens to your old emails after you change your address

Changing your email address in Settings does not delete any messages already downloaded to your iPhone. All your old emails remain in the Mail app and stay organized in the same folders they were in before. You can still read, search, and manage them normally.

However, new emails will arrive at your new address, not your old one. If you want to keep receiving mail at your old address, you may be able to set up forwarding through your email provider's website — most providers let you forward mail from an old address to a new one for a period of time.

Troubleshooting: what to do if the change does not stick

If you change your email address in Settings but it reverts to the old one, or if you see an error message, your iPhone may not be able to verify the new address with your provider's server. This usually means either the new address does not exist yet, or your provider is not recognizing it.

First, make sure the new email address is actually active with your provider. Log into your email provider's website directly (Gmail.com, Outlook.com, Yahoo.com, or your provider's site) and confirm the new address is set up and working. Then go back to Settings > Mail > Accounts, select the account, tap Account, and try entering the new address again.

If you still see an error, try removing the account from your iPhone entirely and adding it back. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts, select the account, scroll to the bottom, and tap Delete Account. Then tap Add Account, choose your provider, and enter the new email address and password. This forces your iPhone to re-authenticate with your provider's server and often resolves verification problems.

Using email aliases instead of changing your address

If you want to receive mail at multiple addresses without fully changing your primary email, most providers let you create aliases. An alias is a secondary email address that delivers to the same inbox as your main address. Gmail calls these "send as" addresses, Outlook calls them "aliases", and iCloud calls them "email aliases".

To set up an alias, log into your email provider's website and look for account settings or email settings. You can usually add an alias there without touching your iPhone settings at all. Once the alias is active, you can choose which address to send from in the Mail app by tapping the "From" field when composing a message.

This approach is useful if you want to keep your current address but also receive mail at a new one, or if you want to use different addresses for different purposes without managing separate accounts on your phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to change my password when I change my email address?

Not usually. Your password stays the same — it is tied to your account, not your email address. However, some providers may ask you to re-enter your password in the Mail settings after you change your email, as a security check. If you see a prompt for your password, enter the same one you have been using.

Will changing my email on iPhone change it on my other devices?

If you use iCloud or a provider that syncs across devices (like Gmail with a Google account), the change will sync to your other iPhones, iPads, and Macs automatically. If you use a local email account that is only on this iPhone, the change affects only this device. Check your other devices to see if the change appeared there.

Can I change my email address back to the old one?

Yes. Follow the same steps — go to Settings > Mail > Accounts, select the account, tap Account, and change the email field back to your old address. Your provider will verify it the same way. Just make sure the old address is still active with your provider before you try to switch back.

What if I forgot the password for my new email address?

You will need to reset it through your email provider's website before you can use it on your iPhone. Go to your provider's login page, click "Forgot password" or "Can't sign in", and follow their recovery process. Once you have reset the password, you can enter it in the Mail settings on your iPhone.

Does changing my email address affect my iCloud backup?

No. Your iCloud backup is tied to your Apple ID, not your email address. Changing the email address in Mail settings does not affect backups. If you change your Apple ID email address itself, that is a different process and does affect your iCloud account, but your backups remain intact.