Setting Up Custom Domain With...Apple iCloud+

The productivity space for many years has been owned by Microsoft and Google. The recent announcement from Google ending Workspace Legacy user accounts has sent many scrambling for an alternative. If you are going to pay, Microsoft 365 Family is still my number one pick because you get the best bang for your buck. All that aside, there is another solution out there that is not getting much press. Ready? Apple's iCloud+.

iCloud+ with a Custom Domain

Back in 2021, Apple announced that iCloud+ users could add a custom domain name to their account. This allows users to use a custom domain for personal use or if they are using family sharing. While I did not jump on this right away, I thought it was a great idea and could put Apple into the running as a productivity contender.

The first thing that you need to have an iCloud+ account. For $12 a year you can get 50GB or for $35.88 a year, you can get 200GB. Next, you need to purchase a domain name. This is an easy process and you can get one from GoDaddy or Google Domains for cheap.

Setting Up Your Custom Domain

Now that you have a domain name, it is time for you to sign into your iCloud account. When you login go to your name in the top right corner and then choose "Account Settings".

One the next screen you will see "custom email domain". Click on "Manage" and the "add a domain".

You will then enter the domain name that you purchased. On the next screen, you can choose how you want to use the domain; for yourself or you and your family. Once you choose, the next screen will ask you if you want to add email addresses. Unless this is a domain you already owned, I would wait on this step. (Even though I had been using my domain, I waited, too.)

Next you will follow the instructions to finish the setup. Depending on your domain, you may be prompted to sign in to your domain registrar to automatically update your records. If not, you can easily update your DNS records manually. For information on how to update your MX, TXT, and CNAME records. Apple will provide the information you need to make these changes. Note, it can take up to 24 hours for this to take effect.

Once this is completed, you can go back into your iCloud account setting and choose "manage" under Custom Email Domain. Click on your domain and you can now start adding addresses with your new domain name.

Last Steps: Changing Your Apple ID to your New Address

To get this to work with Calendar, you are going to need to make your new email address the primary. I worked on this for sometime and finally figured out the solution.

Short back story. Based on Apples website, "you can also use it?for Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, to sign in to your device, and more." After trying to send a calendar invitation to some people, it still showed coming from my iCloud account ([email protected]) and not from my new domain. I picked up the phone and called Apple Support and talked with 2 senior Apple advisors. They were great, but told me that I was the first to ask about this and that they did not know what to do. After some finger motion and critical thinking, I figured it out. You have to change you Apple ID email address to the new one with your domain name (ex. [email protected]).

To do this, log into https://appleid.apple.com. Once there, click on Apple ID and put in your new address that uses your domain name. And Voila! You are done!

Before you quit, go back and log into iCloud and open your calendar. To make sure everything works, send a meeting request out to someone and ask them if they see the invite coming from your new address. Having tried this a couple of times every thing worked well.

If you do run into issues, you can reach out to me! I hope this was helpful! Have a blessed day!