A few weeks back my I completed a restore on my iPhone 3GS. In doing so I restored it to the factory default, which results in a loss of installed apps, music, email and other defaults. As a result the ability to choose from a list of MobileMe aliases was lost.

I am not sure why this was the case. My web search resulted in little information that was useful in getting this “feature” back. Short of restoring my iPhone from the last known backup, I was now without the ability to use aliases within MobileMe account setup on my iPhone. In my searches I discovered a work around that in the end I found to be not only a fix but also a better way of managing aliases.

I also discovered after implementing the change I didn’t have to fumble around to make sure the email was originating from the correct alias account.  This of course being the main reason I set up the alias in the first place.

The steps to set up a separate MobileMe alias on an iPhone are quite easy.

Step 1: Go To Settings on your iOS device and choose Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

Step 2: Select Add Account…

Step 3: Select “Other”

Step 4: Enter the alias account information in the “Address” and “Password” Fields

Step 5: Select “IMAP” and enter in the alias MobileMe account address and password. This is needed to get MobileMe to respond correctly to the alias.

In the “Incoming Server” area type in mail.me.com for the Host Name, followed by your main MobileMe Username and Password.

In the outgoing server enter smtp.mail.com in the host field, followed by your main MobileMe Username and Password.

The iOS device will now ask you to turn Mail and Notes on or off. Since you have come this far I suggest leaving Mail on, while leaving Notes on or off is up to you. After few moments your MobileMe alias will be up and running. No more choosing which email address you to reply with, now you can open any email and know it is coming from the alias you want it to.