One of the most important apps built into an iPhone is the Mail app. Through this app, you can access and process emails while on the go for as long as you have your iPhone with you. For the Mail app to work as intended, you must have a valid email account set up on your device. Your iPhone must also have internet connection for you to start checking on, responding to and creating new emails. But just like other robust email platforms, various issues can also be encountered when using Mail on your iPhone. And this is when you’ll see some error prompts as the Mail app failed to work as intended. If for some reason you couldn’t get to use Mail on your new iPhone 11 device, I’ve managed to gather some handy tweaks you can use as additional inputs when troubleshooting Mail app problems. Read on to find out how to deal with an issue on the iphone 11 Mail app that doesn’t work and prompts a “cannot verify server identity” error.
Before moving on, feel free to browse through our troubleshooting pages to find potential solutions to other problems with your other Apple devices. If your iPhone is in the list of our supported devices, then you can visit its exclusive troubleshooting page and find the problem that you need help dealing with. You can refer to or use our provided solutions and workarounds if needed. In the case where you’d prefer to get direct assistance from us, simply fill up our iOS issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.
Troubleshooting iPhone 11 Mail prompting a “cannot verify server identity” error
The error depicted by “cannot verify server identity” message means that the mail server’s certificate in use isn’t authentic or fake. This error usually occurs when your iPhone fetches an unreliable server SSL certificate or untrusted or invalid email server settings. This happens when your device finds that the certificate does not match the domain name, when the certificate is expired, or not signed the company. Many iPhone owners bumped into a “cannot verify server identity” error when setting up or migrating an email account.
Before you begin to troubleshoot, check the date and time information on your device and make sure they are properly set. Incorrect date and time information can also result in some conflicts and may possibly result in similar errors. After taking care of the date and time settings, toggle the Wi-Fi switch to refresh wireless internet functions and relevant services on your device. If none of that works, you can try the following procedures to eliminate other software-related factors.
First solution: Force close the Mail app then restart your iPhone.
Like many other apps, the Mail app also gives into some random crashes, especially when it’s left suspended or running in the background for long. In this case, force closing or ending the application will fix the problem. So if you’ve recently opened the app and haven’t closed it yet, follow these steps to end it:
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen then stop when your finger reaches the middle and pause until the app cards/previews show up.
- In the app switcher, swipe sideways to find the Mail app card/preview.
- Swipe up on the card preview to force close the app.
Follow the same steps to clear all other background apps to prevent them from interfering with the Mail app the next time your launch it. After clearing all background apps, restart or soft reset your iPhone to clear cache and to refresh its memory and system functions. Just follow these steps to proceed:
- Press and hold both the Side and Volume Up buttons for a few seconds.
- Release both buttons when the Slide to Power off bar appears.
- Swipe or drag the bar to turn your device off.
- After about 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button and then release when the Apple logo appears.
Allow your phone to finish rebooting and then reconnects to the Internet. Once it’s connected, launch the Mail app again and see if the error is gone already.
Second solution: Remove your email account then add it back.
Some people who have encountered this same error were able to fix it by deleting their email account and then setting it up as new. If the first procedure doesn’t do any good, then you can resort to this workaround and see if it yields some positive outcome. Just follow these steps to get started:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Passwords & Accounts.
- Navigate to the Accounts section then tap on your email account that you want to delete.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen then tap Delete Account.
- Then tap the option to Delete From My iPhone to confirm email account deletion.
After deleting the problematic email account, restart/soft reset your iPhone to clear errant caches. Then add your email account back using these steps:
- From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select Passwords & Accounts.
- Tap the option to Add Account.
- Select the account type or your email service provider from the list. If you wish to manually add your personal email account, tap Others.
- Enter the required account information such as name, email, password, and the like. Options may vary depending on the account type you select.
- Then tap Next to continue.
- Configure sync options according to your preferences.
- Then tap Save on the upper-right side of the screen when done.
When you’re finished setting up the email account, restart your iPhone to dump junk mail files. Then retry loading Mail to see if the error is gone.
Third solution: Update carrier settings to fix cannot verify server identity error on your iPhone 11.
Installing available carrier updates can also help fix the problem if network-related factors are to blame. Carrier settings update usually contains network system enhancements as well as relevant patches to fix any transpiring network problems affecting web-based system services like Mail. If your iPhone is connected to the internet and has ample battery life, follow these steps to check and install any available carrier settings update:
- From your Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Tap About.
- If an update is available, you’ll be prompted with an option to select OK or Update.
Follow the rest of the onscreen prompts to finish downloading and installing the update on your device. Don’t forget to restart your iPhone afterwards.
Fourth solution: Install the latest iOS version for your iPhone.
Another update you shouldn’t miss implementing is the iOS update. This update usually embeds critical patches to eliminate stubborn iOS bugs that caused havoc to system services on different iOS devices. If you haven’t set your iPhone to auto-update, then you can manually check and update through settings. Just make sure it’s connected to the internet and has at least 50 percent of battery life to proceed. Just follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Tap Software Update.
You’ll see a notification if a new iOS version is available. Back up all critical files saved on your phone before start downloading the update, for safekeeping. Then follow the given instructions to download and install available system update.
Fifth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone 11.
Settings that were not properly configured including invalid customization to network settings and personal preferences can also result in some system conflicts. To clear this out, you can reset all settings on your iPhone 11. This reset will erase your customized settings and recent system configuration without affecting any critical data saved on the phone. Any associated errors are also eliminated in the process. If you wish to give it a shot, then here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, launch the Settings app.
- Select General.
- Scroll to and select Reset.
- Tap on Reset all settings option.
- Enter your device passcode when asked to continue.
- Then select the option to confirm all reset settings on your iPhone.
When the reset is finished, your phone restarts on its own and then loads up the default values and options. To use necessary features, particularly those that are disabled by default, you will need to re-enable them first individually.
Last resort: Factory reset your iPhone 11 and set things up as new.
A factory reset can be considered among the last options if Mail app still doesn’t work and prompts a “cannot verify server identity” error. This reset will wipe everything from your device including saved data on the internal memory and then restores factory default settings. That said, don’t forget to back up all critical data you’ve got from your iPhone to iCloud. Once you have secured your backups, follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone through settings:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Erase all content and settings. This will erase everything from your iPhone system including downloaded apps, customizations, and files stored on the internal memory.
- Enter your device passcode if prompted to continue.
- Then tap the option to confirm that you want to erase your iPhone.
After the reset, you can use the startup wizard to set up necessary features including your email account in Mail using automatic settings.
Still getting “cannot verify server identity” error when using Mail app on your iPhone 11?
If the error isn’t gone after applying all the above procedures, then it may be due to some server issues with Mail. At this point, it would be better if you have it escalated to Apple Support already. There might be some technical problems that need to be addressed. In the meantime, you can switch to other third-party email platforms for your iPhone 11 like Gmail, Spark, Spike, and Outlook. These are just some of the most reliable email processing tools you can download on your new iPhone. Just be sure to set up your email account based on the required configuration to avoid bumping into some errors.
Connect with us
We are committed to helping our readers fix the problems with their phones as well as learn how to properly use their devices. So, if you have other issues, you may visit our troubleshooting page so you can check by yourself the articles we’ve already published that contain solutions to common problems. Furthermore, we do create videos to demonstrate how things are done on your phone. Visit our Youtube Channel and please subscribe to it. Thanks.