This email address is not available choose a different address

In some cases, you can use a different email address (username) to identify your Google Account.

What this email address is

• When you're signed in, your email address shows next to your name and profile photo. To find your email address, select your Profile picture or initial. 
• You can sign in with it.
• It's where you get important information about most Google services you use, unless you've added a contact email.

Learn how to use different email addresses on your account.

Step 1: Check if you can change it

1. 1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app
      
      .
   2. At the top right, tap your profile picture or initial 
      
      Google Account. If you don't use Gmail, go to myaccount.google.com.
2. At the top, tap Personal info.
3. Under "Contact info," tap Email.
4. Select Google Account email. If you can't open this setting, it might not be possible to change your email or username.

• If your account's email address ends in @gmail.com, you usually can't change it.
• If you're using a Google Account through your work, school, or other group, ask your administrator for help.

Important: If you use Sign in with Google for non-Google sites or Chrome Remote Desktop to connect remotely, view this info before you change your email address.

Step 2: Change it

1. Next to your email address, select Edit
   
   .
2. Enter the new email address for your account. Choose one that isn't already used by another Google Account.

• If you're having trouble, go to the get help changing your email address section.

1. Follow the steps on the screen.

We'll send an email with a verification link to your new email address. You'll need to open the email and click the link. If you don't get the email, try fixing the problem.

Get help changing your email address

• To switch from a Gmail address to a non-Gmail address, you need to delete your Gmail address. Learn more about deleting your Gmail address.
• To switch from a non-Gmail address to a Gmail address, add Gmail to your account. Learn how to add Gmail to your account.
• If the email address you want is already an alternate email, remove it there first.

Options if you can't change it

• If you want to sign in with another email address, add it as an alternate email.
• Learn how to check emails from other accounts in Gmail.
• Create a Google Account with a different Gmail address.

Sign in with Google & Chrome Remote Desktop users

If you use Sign in with Google or Chrome Remote Desktop and you change your primary email address for your Google account, you may experience issues.

Some reasons you might change your primary email address are:

• You previously used a non-Gmail email address and you sign up for a Gmail account.
• You have a Gmail account but create a new Gmail account to be your main account.

Sign in with Google

If you created an account with a non-Google site with Sign in with Google and you change your primary email address, you may lose access to the account you created on that non-Google site.

Tip: If you can't access the account you created with a non-Google site, contact the non-Google site directly to recover your account.

Chrome Remote Desktop

If you use Chrome Remote Desktop and change your primary email address, follow these steps to fix your remote connections:

1. On the remote host machine, go to Chrome Remote Desktop.
2. To disable any connections, under “This device,” click or tap
   
   .
3. After you disable all connections, under “This device,” click or tap Turn on.
4. Follow the steps to reconnect with your new email address.

Related articles

• Change the name on your Google Account
• Manage your email addresses
• Change your primary domain for Google Workspace

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Question

While trying to add a new support address or a user as staff, I get the error This email address is already used by [user]. What does this mean?

Answer

It is possible that this user has already been added as an end user. You must run a search to confirm if this user already has an account. Also, an email address cannot be used both as a support address and as an identity for an agent or end user. To use the email address as a support address, you must detach it from the user it is currently associated with. 

Steps to resolve

1. Click the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner and search for the email address in question.
2. On the search results page, click Users.
3. Click on the user or email, which will bring you to the profile page for that user.
4. Choose one of the following actions:

• • Change the email address associated with the user to another address within the user's profile. If this is a legitimate user, make sure to use a valid email address at which they can receive an email. For a demonstration of how to change a user's email address, see the following video:

•  
  • Delete the user. If the user exists for testing purposes or is not a legitimate end user or agent, remove the profile. This will make the email address available again as a support address.
  • If you're trying to add a user as staff, change the user from End user to Staff member under User type.

Once you have updated or removed the user, you can use the email address as a support address. 

For a demonstration of how to resolve this error, see the following video:

For a high-level look at setting up email in your account, see this article: How to turn on email in Zendesk.