How to register a new domain name from the iPhone Settings app

The iPhone has several amazing tricks that can help you change how you use the smartphone, including hidden ones that you discover the more you use the operating system. And each iOS update brings new handy functionalities that might take time to discover. But the ability to register a new email domain right from the iPhone’s Settings app is the kind of hidden feature that might be more difficult to discover on your own. I know I didn’t pay attention to it.

But if you want to use your domain name with email on iPhone, you can purchase it directly from the handset’s Settings app. It’s incredibly easy and might beat getting a custom email domain name from somewhere else.

Apple announced the feature part of the iOS 16 update. iCloud Plus gives you access to custom email domain names. But that’s a feature not all iPhone users might take advantage of. And that’s how the ability to purchase a custom domain name from the iPhone might have gone unnoticed. Like me, others were surprised to discover it, including 9to5Mac and John Gruber.

There are plenty of reasons to buy your custom domain name. You might run a business, and a custom domain would help. Or you might want the ability to move your email from one place to another without losing your email address. Whatever the case, Apple makes it easier, and it’s all available from the iPhone, as long as you meet a few conditions:

• age 18 or older
• an Apple ID with two-factor authentication turned on
• a primary iCloud Mail email address
• an iCloud Plus subscription

iCloud Plus is Apple’s cloud subscription that offers you more cloud storage space, starting at $0.99/month for 50GB of storage. Other iCloud Plus features include iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, HomeKit Secure Video, and the Custom Email Domain.

How to purchase a domain name on iPhone from the Settings app

Assuming you meet the requirements above, you’ll need to follow these incredibly easy steps to buy an email domain name directly from the Settings app, as listed on Apple’s support pages:

• Open the Settings app.
• Tap your name.
• Tap iCloud, then select iCloud Mail.
• Select Custom Email Domain, then tap Continue.
• Select Buy a Domain.
• In the text field, enter the domain name that you want to purchase.
• Tap Search. If the domain or similar domains are available, pricing options are listed.
• Select a domain, then follow the onscreen steps to complete your purchase.

The same process works your iPad, as long as you’re logged into your Apple ID on the tablet. You can also purchase your custom email domain name on iCloud.com if you don’t want to do it on your iPhone.

Apple explains on the page that a third-party registrar handles the sale of each domain. You’ll have to contact them for billing and refund issues. That means that, yes, you have to spend extra money on the custom email domain name. It doesn’t come free of charge with your iCloud Plus subscription.

If you plan on setting up a domain name for your business or family and are an iPhone user, you might want to keep this guide handy.