Many iPhone owners are utilizing the built-in email platform (Mail app) to process emails. The fact that it’s developed and maintained by Apple itself makes Mail a highly credible email processing application. With the constant iOS updates, Apple has made its email application easier and a lot more stable. However, this isn’t what some iPhone owners get after updating to iOS 13.2.3. Earlier reports have it that many users experienced various issues after updating their iPhone software to the latest version pushed by Apple a few days ago. Among the said post-update issues is on the Mail app that stopped working as intended. Read on to find out what to do if you would encounter the same issue on your iphone 11 Pro Max Mail app that stopped working after the recent iOS update.
Troubleshooting an iPhone 11 Pro Max Mail app that stopped working after updating iOS
The following solutions I demonstrate will help you determine and eliminate the underlying cause. This will be a trial-and-error process since Apple has yet to comment on this matter. Just don’t forget to test your Mail app to see if it’s already working again after carrying out each of these subsequent procedures.
First solution: Quit the Mail app and restart your iPhone.
Like other system apps, the Mail app could also end up crashing or not working after an update, especially if it’s left open or running in the background during the update installation process. In this case, you will need to force close the app and then restart your iPhone. Here’s how:
- 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 force close or end all other background apps on your iPhone 11 Pro Max. Once you’re done clearing out background apps and the Mail app, soft reset or reboot your iPhone to clear its memory cache and to refresh its system services. Just continue with these steps:
- Simultaneously press and hold 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.
Wait for your iPhone to finish rebooting and then launch the Mail app again to see if it’s already working.
Second solution: Refresh your internet connection.
Minor internet connectivity issues attributed to some minor network system errors from the recent update can also be the underlying cause and therefore must also be eliminated. To clear our random post-update internet errors that might have halted your iPhone’s email system, follow these steps to refresh your phone’s wireless internet feature:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Select Wi-Fi.
- Tap the Wi-Fi switch to the OFF position.
You can also use the Airplane Mode trick to simultaneously restart your iPhone’s wireless radios and eliminate any associated errors. Here’s how the Airplane mode trick is done:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Airplane Mode.
- Toggle the Airplane Mode switch to turn the feature ON. Doing so disables your iPhone’s wireless radios and associated features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
- While Airplane Mode is turned on, reboot or soft reset your iPhone to clear out network cache.
- After it reboots, go back to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu.
- Then toggle the Airplane Mode switch to turn it OFF again.
Wait for your iPhone to re-establish Wi-Fi signal and once the signal bars have stabilized, go to your iPhone settings or launch the Control Center to re-enable Wi-Fi and reconnect to your Wi-Fi network.
Third solution: Check and manage email settings to fix your iPhone 11 Pro Max Mail app that stopped working after updating iOS.
It is also possible that your current email settings have been overwritten by the recent iOS update and those automatic overrides have resulted in some conflicts. As a result, the email system has become erratic and eventually stopped working. To clear this out, follow these steps to check and manage Mail settings on your iPhone 11 Pro Max:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Select Passwords & Accounts.
- Tap to select your email account.
- Tap your email address next to Account to view the account information including the incoming and outgoing email servers.
If necessary, modify or edit your server settings by entering the correct server information on the given fields. If you are not sure of which information to enter, you can always refer to the LookUp tool or contact your email service provider for further assistance.
After making all necessary changes to your email settings, restart your iPhone and then see if that solves the problem.
Fourth solution: Disable restrictions for Mail app and relevant email services.
It is also possible that the Mail app ended up restricted on your iPhone after the update. To check on this, follow these steps to access the privacy restrictions menu and make necessary adjustments to your iPhone restrictions:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Screen Time.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Enter your Screen Time passcode if prompted to proceed.
- Tap Allowed Apps.
- Find the Mail app and make sure that the switch next to it is turned ON.
That should lift any restrictions for the Mail app on your iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Fifth solution: Remove your email account then add it back.
The email account you’re using could also be the main cause of the problem, especially if it went corrupted from the recent update. If this is what happens, you will need to delete the corrupted email and then set up your email account as new. Just follow these steps to continue:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Passwords & Accounts.
- Select the email account that you want to delete.
- Tap the option to Delete Account.
After deleting your email account, restart your iPhone to dump any errant cached files and corrupted temporary email data stored on the Mail app. Then continue with these steps to add your email account on your device:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Passwords & Accounts.
- Tap the option to Add Account.
- Select your email provider from the list.
- Enter your email address and password then tap Next.
- Wait for the Mail app to verify your email account.
- After verifying account, select the information from your email account then tap Save.
You can also try setting up your email account manually, if you have the server information ready. This can be a better way to ensure that your email account is set up using the correct settings and server information. Just refer to these steps if you wish to go for manual email setup on your iPhone 11 Pro Max:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Select Passwords & Accounts.
- Tap the option to Add Account.
- Select Other.
- Tap Add Mail Account then enter your name, email address, password and email account description.
- Tap Next to continue then wait for Mail to find the email settings and finish the email account setup.
- Finally, tap Done to complete the account setup.
Give your iPhone another restart when you’re finished setting up the email. Doing so will ensure that all recent changes to your Mail app are properly saved and implemented.
Last resort: Reset network settings on your iPhone.
Resorting to some settings reset can also be considered an option to rule out incorrect settings and erratic update overrides from the underlying causes. In this, you can go for a network settings reset to eliminate network-related post-update errors that barred the Mail app from working on your iPhone. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Tap Reset Network Settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to continue.
- Confirm action by tapping on Reset Network Settings again.
You need to re-enable Wi-Fi after the reset for you to set up and connect to your Wi-Fi network as new. Be sure to input the correct Wi-Fi password to ensure that the network connection is successful.
Another type of reset you can try is an all settings reset. This will erase all your current system settings including personal preferences that caused conflicts to the recent system changes. To reset all settings on your iPhone 11 Pro Max, simply follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Tap Reset All Settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to continue.
- Confirm action by tapping on Reset All Settings again.
All your current system settings will then be erased but your iPhone date remains. To use the features that are disabled by default, you will need to re-enable them first.
Is your iPhone 11 Pro Max Mail app still not working?
Performing a factory reset can also be deemed among the last options if the problem continues after applying the previous solutions. This is often needed to eliminate stubborn iOS bugs that might have ruined the phone’s built-in email system and thereby halted the Mail app from working. If you wish to proceed, back up all important files from your iPhone storage and follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone 11 Pro Max:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Tap Erase all content and settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to continue.
- Confirm action by tapping the option to erase and reset your iPhone.
After the reset, set up your iPhone as new. This will also allow you to set up your email account as new.
If all else failed to fix the problem, contact your email service provider or Apple’s email support to ask further assistance in performing more advanced email troubleshooting procedures.
While waiting for Apple to issue a fix patch, you can use other email platforms like Gmail app to process emails on your iPhone 11 Pro Max.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 that cannot send emails through Mail app