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I will be buying an iPad and will want to use iCloud. However, I want to use a non "@me.com" address to send email from/reply to. Is this possible when you sign up for iCloud? Thanks

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I wonder if someone could clarify the distinction (if there is one) between where email is actually sent from versus the address the recipient sees when she hits "reply" or "add to contact list." I want my email to be sent via iCloud's SMTP servers, so that a copy gets put into iCloud's SENT folder, but I want recipients to only see my pobox.com address for purposes of replying or adding me to their contact list. It doesn't appear that iCloud lets you send email via its SMTP but specify a different "Reply-to" address. – Chap Feb 25 '12 at 2:22
@ChapHarrison - that should be a separate question also as non Apple specific look at and try SuperUser – Mark Oct 15 '12 at 15:30
Is this for OSX mail or iPhone/iPad? The former is easy the latter problematic – Mark Mar 1 at 19:56

7 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

Using iCloud doesn't necessarily means you'll have to use Mail on iCloud. You can still use your current mail provider to send/receive email on your iPad. Providing you can connect to your current provider using IMAP, Exchange or POP.

You can also create your iCloud account without having a @me.com address. I use my @gmail.com address as my Apple ID to connect to iCloud to sync Contacts, Calendars, etc.

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I use a "@pobox.com email address which is a forwarding service that I pay for. I simply tell my pobox.com account where to forward email to. Therefore I never have to inform anyone when I change my email address. All email sent from Mail on my iMac shows sent from my pobox.com address. I use a gmail account as my server (provider?). I would like to continue to use my pobox.com address when sending email from Mail or from my new iPad and from iCloud. Will I be able to use this forwarding address, pobox.com to sync email through iCloud. Thanks for your help. – kogunn Nov 28 '11 at 16:46
Since it's acting like a real email address, I don't see any issue. They'll probably send you an email to this address to confirm it exists and then you'll be able to log in with it. – Loïc Wolff Nov 28 '11 at 16:57
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Loic: Technically you're not using your gmail address to sync via iCloud. Your gmail address is your Apple ID and it's what you're using to log into iCloud. – Richard Nov 28 '11 at 21:30
@Richard right, I tried to clarify it in my answer, thanks. – Loïc Wolff Nov 28 '11 at 21:37
up vote 0 down vote

If you use iCloud mail, then you can not use any other email address than me.com. You can forward the mails from your old email to the me.com, but if you send an email from iCloud then the sender will be me.com. This is a serious issue with iCloud, and I personally hate it.

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Wow. If that's true, I hate it, too. Pobox.com has won my trust, whereas Apple hasn't (after pulling "free" mac.com email addresses). I want to send from iCloud, simply because of its ability to capture and propagate my "Sent" mail, but I want my official email address to be my pobox.com address. – Chap Feb 25 '12 at 2:27
@aloponen The other answer here seems to contradict what you're saying: apple.stackexchange.com/a/32404/20489 – Sharon Mar 23 '12 at 12:45
up vote 0 down vote

You can, but it's a bit of a hack.

You can choose to use an different SMTP server to the normal one, as is the SMTP server for iCloud that rejects the use of an email address that doesn't match up. You can point it to a Google GMAIL server, and then get Google to change the "send from" address to match what you need to use.

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up vote 0 down vote

Yes you can.

Because of security [mainly spam and phishing] issues, respectable outgoing mail (smtp) server operators will only allow you to send mail from an email address and domain that they know you have the right to use.

This isn't just picky, it's an essential part of the mechanism that has cut down SPAM. Apple have no way of knowing whether you have the right to send from xxx@acme.com. If you haven't that right, and Apple lets you use it to spam, then they are likely to end up with their servers being blacklisted and then none of us can send email. Hence the restriction.

But your domain service provider has that knowledge. They are already probably forwarding you incoming email, or mapping your incoming email server address across to Apple. Ask them if they have an outgoing smpt server that you can use to send mail, and use it rather then Apple's outgoing server.

This may seem like a hack, but it is actually a perfectly rational setup. The outgoing email will still get put in your iCloud out box, so there is no downside.

What would be nice is if Apple would take on the whole domain name management issue.

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That is not using iCloud but is then using your domain service provider's SMTP which is not necessarily available if you move around – Mark Mar 1 at 19:06
up vote 0 down vote

No - iCloud servers will not send "spoofed" email so you'll need to arrange a second server to receive that email and send it.

There are several ways people configure this, the popular ones being:

  • configure an alternate SMTP server for outbound mail by setting up iCloud manually
  • use DNS and a proxy to handle the traffic
  • setting up two accounts on iOS / Mac and letting iCloud send from the alternate account.
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up vote -2 down vote

I use my personal domain name as the sent-from when using icloud to send from my iphone. However, when on my PC, using www.icloud.com, it does not seem possible. Therefore switching to icloud is useless for me.

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You should set Reply-To as your domain name, if you have that no stanards compliant emailer will reply to the me.com address – Mark Oct 15 '12 at 15:32
up vote -2 down vote

what the hell is going on? how can there be so many answers?, the answer is simple, we you setup you iCloud you can use whatever mail u want, i use yahoo, a mac.com , and me.com/icloud.com these are all your APPLE-ID you can use whatever mail address as you want to! i use gmail, yahoo, icloud as once on my, mac, iPad, iPhone, with no issues! (expect i get load of spam on yahoo) so as long as your mail, acts as a real mail address, i don't se a single issue!

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We don't test people before they can ask and answer, as we are a very open and participatory site. Not all people are alike, so some consider two accounts as one, some don't mind splitting the inbound and outgoing settings, others consider this a simple NO. – bmike♦ Mar 1 at 19:27
you are right... however i saw the answer clearly, but yes you are right! – Macmaniman Mar 3 at 12:29

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