Missouri S&T is requiring that all Apple Accounts using an @mst.edu email address be managed by the university. If you created a personal Apple Account (Apple ID) with your @mst.edu address, you'll need to take action by October 18, 2026.
You have two choices:
- Keep it as a personal account (recommended for most people). You change the account's email address to a non-university address, such as Gmail or iCloud. You keep all your data, purchases, and subscriptions, and the university has no access to the account.
- Transfer it to a work account. The account becomes a university-managed Managed Apple Account. Only choose this if you created the account solely for university work.
If you don't have an Apple Account using your @mst.edu address, you won't receive any notices and don't need to do anything.
How you'll be notified
Apple will email every address on the affected account, and you may see a notification on any Apple device signed into that account. The email comes from appleid@apple.com with the subject "Update your Apple Account by October 18, 2026."
Tip: If you're unsure whether a message is legitimate, don't click links in the email. Go directly to account.apple.com and sign in, or use Settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Before you start
- To complete the process on a device, you need macOS 15.1, iOS 18, or iPadOS 18 or later. If you don't have a supported device, you can do everything at account.apple.com.
- Have access to the new email address you plan to use, since Apple will send a verification code to it.
- If Stolen Device Protection is on and you plan to keep the account personal, turn it off first on the device signed into that account.
Which option should I choose?
Keep as a personal account if any of these apply:
- You store personal photos, documents, or passwords (Keychain) in the account
- You've bought music, movies, or TV shows with it
- You use Apple Pay, Apple Card, Family Sharing, iCloud+, or iCloud Mail with it
- You're not sure
Transfer to a work account only if all of these apply:
- You created the account only for university work
- It holds no personal data
- You use it mainly on university-owned devices or for university services (for example, Apple Developer Program)
Important: A transfer can't be undone. After transferring, the university will have access to data stored in the account, Find My and Health won't be available, music/movie/TV purchases will no longer be available, you can't make new purchases, and active subscriptions won't renew.
Option 1: Keep as a personal account (change your email address)
- Open the email and select Get Started, open the notification on your device, or sign in at account.apple.com.
- On the Update this Apple Account screen, select Keep as a personal account.
- Enter the new email address you want to use. This must be a non-@mst.edu address. If you don't have one, you can create an iCloud email address using the link on the screen. Select Continue.
- Check the inbox of the new address for a 6-digit verification code from Apple, enter it, and select Continue.
- You'll see a confirmation that your account has been updated. From now on, sign in with your new email address. Your password does not change.
If you see "This action could not be completed because of an error": Select OK. In our testing this message could appear even though the change succeeded. Sign in at account.apple.com with your new email address to confirm. If the new address doesn't work, sign in with your @mst.edu address and try again.
What to expect afterward: You may need to sign in again on your devices using the new address. People you share with will see your new account name in Messages and other Apple services. All your data and purchases stay with you.
Option 2: Transfer to a work account
Before transferring
- Sign out of the Apple Account on all your devices. Apple requires this before the transfer can finish, and it's easiest to complete the transfer at account.apple.com.
- Remove AirPods, AirTags, and other Find My items from the account first. Find My isn't available on managed accounts, so you won't be able to locate or remove them afterward.
- Download or save anything personal you want to keep.
Steps
- Open the email and select Get Started, or sign in at account.apple.com.
- Select Transfer to a work account.
- If you see "1 change needed" (or more), Apple has found something that must be fixed first. Select the option to see what it is.
The next screen lists the required change, such as using a remaining Apple Account balance. Follow Apple's instructions for that item, then return and try again.
Common required changes include: using up a remaining Apple Account or Apple Cash balance, paying an outstanding balance, turning off Auto Reload, removing Apple Pay/Wallet cards, removing Find My devices or accessories, removing yourself as someone's recovery contact, updating the account's country/address to the United States, and deleting Health data from iCloud.
- Review the Subscriptions and purchases will change screen and select Continue.
- Review the Transfer to a work account screen. When ready, select Transfer and Sign Out.
- If you're still signed in on a device, Apple will ask you to sign out of it. Sign out on that device, then select OK.
- You'll see confirmation that the account has been transferred. You can now use it to sign into university apps, services, and devices.
Why can't I transfer?
Some accounts aren't eligible and will only see the option to keep the account personal. This includes accounts that use iCloud+, iCloud Mail, Apple Card, Apple Savings, Family Sharing, Sign in with Apple, a Legacy Contact, a Recovery Key, Security Keys, Advanced Data Protection, or have pending App Store pre-orders. If this applies to you, use Option 1.
What happens if I do nothing?
After October 18th, Apple automatically renames your account to a temporary address. For example, jminer@mst.edu becomes jminer-mst.edu@temporary.appleaccount.com. Apple will email you the new temporary name.
Your account and data are not deleted, but you'll need to sign in with the temporary address and then change it to a permanent email address of your choice. It's much easier to take care of it before the deadline.
For more detail, see Apple's article: If you are asked to transfer your Apple Account or keep it as a personal account.