[BUG] Apple-created account (real email shared, no relay) unreachable on web — all three sign-in paths route to onboarding while iOS sessions stay authenticated

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

An account created via Sign in with Apple in the iOS app — with the real email shared, no Hide My Email relay — is unreachable from every web surface. All three sign-in paths verify the email and then route to claude.ai/onboarding "Let's create your account" instead of resolving to the existing paid account. No error is surfaced.

This is the same backend identity-mapping failure documented in #36797, #39788, #51002, #57164, #58566, #60022, #71262 and #75638, with one variation I have not seen reported: no private relay address is involved, and Sign in with Apple in Safari also falls through to onboarding. #66123 covers the relay-delivery variant; this is not that.

Ruled out:

• Chrome incognito, no cookies or extensions: reproduces
• Site data cleared for claude.ai, claude.com, anthropic.com: reproduces
• Individual plan — SSO and provisioned seats not applicable
• No relay address on the account, verified in iOS Settings → Apple Account → Sign in with Apple → Claude, which shows a plain Gmail in the Email row and no Hide My Email row. Screenshot available.
• Not a credential mismatch — the address entered matches the one shown in the iOS app's account settings

What Should Happen?

A verified email that maps to an existing paid account should resolve to that account on web and desktop, not fall through to the new-user onboarding flow.

Error Messages/Logs

No error is surfaced. The browser lands on claude.ai/onboarding?returnTo=/magic-link with the email shown as verified, and there is no path back to the existing account.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Account created via Sign in with Apple in the iOS app, 15 Feb 2026, with name and email shared. Max 5x subscription active, billed through Apple IAP.
2. On desktop, go to claude.ai/login.
3. Try each of: Continue with email, Continue with Google, Sign in with Apple (Safari), using the account's email address.
4. Each verifies the address, then lands on "Let's create your account."

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Not applicable — issue is on claude.ai web and Claude Desktop, not Claude Code CLI

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Not done, deliberately: I have not clicked "Create account." Per #51002, doing so creates a duplicate under the same email with a different auth provider and orphans the original paid account.

Suspected cause, needs someone with database access: before I understood the problem I attempted Continue with Google using the same address, which I believe created a second, empty record holding it. Two records competing for one email would explain why even the Apple path now falls through.

Asks:

1. Check for duplicate account records under this email and remove the empty one so the Apple-created account resolves.
2. Enable email or Google sign-in on the surviving paid account so it is reachable on web and desktop.

Neither is an email change or a subscription transfer.

Impact: open since late August. Paying for Max 5x that is unusable on desktop. The lockout also blocks data export, which is only available on web and desktop — I am a Spain resident and have a separate GDPR Art. 15/20 request pending on that basis.

On repo fit: filing here per the precedent in #47290, #51002 and #60022, where backend auth issues were filed on this tracker because frontline support could not resolve them. Happy to verify identity, payment and account ownership through any official channel — four active iOS sessions plus the Apple receipt.