Email processing in iPhones are usually done through the built-in platform called Mail. With the Mail app, you can view and respond to important emails in just a few screen taps. All you need is a stable internet connection and a valid email account that’s properly setup. The fact that Mail is developed and maintained by Apple itself makes more people rely on the platform very much. But just like any other apps, the Mail app can also be infiltrated by some flaws and thus random problems can also arise. Among the factors that can possibly cause problems to Mail app are network connectivity issues, email server issues, incorrect settings on the phone, and even faulty updates. Tackled in this post is a relevant issue on the new iPhone 11 Pro that cannot receive emails in Mail following the iOS 13.2.3 update implementation. Read on to find out what to do in case you’d endure the same email issue on your iOS device after getting an update.
Troubleshooting an iPhone 11 Pro that cannot receive emails in the Mail app after updating iOS
Lined up below are basic email troubleshooting procedures to fix common email issues, particularly incoming email problems that are inflicted by an iOS bug. Before troubleshooting, make sure that your iPhone is connected to the internet. Also consider logging in to your email account via webmail to check and ensure that the email server is available.
First solution: Restart your iPhone (soft reset).
The first things to rule out are minor system errors that the recent update might have brought into your iPhone system. It’s normal for apps to act up following an update as they react to the recent system changes implemented on the device. And this is likely what’s going on with the Mail app after updating your iPhone software to the latest version. For minor post-update symptoms, restarting the phone is likely what’s needed to get things back up and working as intended. Thus, you should consider this as the first possible solution to try. Just follow these steps:
- 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.
After restarting, wait for your iPhone to re-establish Wi-Fi connection and once it’s online, retry launching Mail and create a sample email to send to your own email account. If you receive that sample email, that means the problem is fixed. Otherwise, you’ve got to try other means to eliminate other factors that halt your phone from receiving emails.
Second solution: Refresh your internet connection.
As mentioned earlier, a stable internet connection is needed for your iPhone to process emails. Thus, random internet problems that caused slow internet connection or intermittent connection must also be ruled out. That said, refresh your phone’s internet connection using any of these methods.
You can use the typical way that’s through the Wi-Fi toggle. Just follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Wi-Fi.
- Then tap the Wi-Fi switch to turn the feature OFF.
- After a few seconds, toggle the Wi-Fi switch to turn the feature ON again.
Give your iPhone enough time to re-establish Wi-Fi signal and reconnects to your Wi-Fi network.
Another way to refresh wireless connection on your phone is through the Airplane mode trick. It works by giving a simultaneous restart on your phone’s wireless radios and relevant features. Here’s how it’s 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.
After turning off Airplane mode, wait for the Wi-Fi signal to stabilize and then re-enable Wi-Fi to reconnect to your network and get back online.
Deleting and re-adding the Wi-Fi network can also help solve the problem if it’s attributed to a corrupted Wi-Fi network on your phone. Here’s how it’s done:
- Go to your iPhone Settings-> Wi-Fi menu and make sure that the feature is enabled.
- Navigate to the Available networks section then find your Wi-Fi network in the list.
- Select your Wi-Fi network then tap the information icon represented by a small letter “i” next to the SSID/network name.
- Select the option to Forget This Network.
- If prompted, enter your passcode then confirm that you want to forget the network.
Repeat the same process to forget all other saved Wi-Fi networks from your device that are no longer useful. Doing so will help prevent any of these networks from possibly interfering with the current network in use.
After forgetting all saved Wi-Fi network, turn Wi-Fi off then restart your iPhone. As soon as your iPhone reboots, go back to Settings then re-enable Wi-Fi and connect to your Wi-Fi network like the first time. Be sure to input the correct network password if asked to authenticate network access.
Third solution: Manage your restrictions on your iPhone 11 Pro that cannot receive emails through Mail after the update.
Restrictions can also be the main reason as to why you are not receiving emails through Mail. This is usually the case if the recent update override your settings and eventually put Mail under restricted apps. To clear this out, follow these steps to check and manage Mail app restrictions on your iphone 11 Pro:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Then tap on Screen Time.
- Select Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- From the Allowed Apps section, make sure that the Mail app switch is enabled. Otherwise, toggle the switch to allow the app.
That should lift restrictions for the Mail app. Retry creating a sample email then send it to your own email account to see if you can already receive. If you still can’t, then move on to the next applicable solution to eliminate other culprits.
Fourth solution: Remove then re-add your email account.
Your emails login session might have been voided from the update and is therefore no longer valid. In this case, you will need to sign back into your email account. However, if your email got corrupted from the update, will need to delete it so you can set it up as new. So here’s what you should do then:
- 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 or soft reset your iPhone to clear out 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:
- 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.
After making all these changes, restart your iPhone to clear and refresh its memory. Then try to see if that solves the problem with incoming emails on your Mail app.
NOTE: You may also have to consider checking the incoming email server settings on your iPhone to make sure it is correct.
Fifth solution: Reset settings on your iPhone 11 Pro that cannot receive emails through Mail.
Resorting to some settings reset might also be necessary to eliminate any erratic settings that might have caused conflicts with the incoming email system on your device. There are two resets you can try then.
To eliminate network-related errors, you can carry out a network settings reset to delete all current network settings including faulty overrides from the recent update that might have caused conflicts with Mail. Just follow these steps:
- 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 the option to reset network settings again on your device.
To eliminate erratic system settings that might have ruined Mail’s incoming email system, you can reset all the settings on your iPhone 11 Pro with 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.
Both these resets don’t affect any saved data on your iPhone storage, so there’s no need for backups.
After the reset, you will need to configure everything on the network or system settings of your iPhone. That means you’ll have to re-enable individual features that are disabled by default so you’d be able to use them again on your phone.
Last resort: Erase your iPhone and set it up as new (factory reset).
You may consider performing a factory reset as the last option if all else failed to resolve the issue and that your iPhone 11 pro is still unable to receive emails via Mail. This reset will likely solve the problem if something from the recent update had ruined the entire email system. Complex system errors will likewise be eliminated in the process so as the associated symptoms. Just don’t forget to back up all your important files beforehand because they will also be deleted during the reset. Once you have secured your backups, follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone straight from the settings menu:
- 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.
You can also use iTunes to manually erase and restore factory default settings on your iPhone 11 Pro using a computer. This would be an ideal option if your iPhone is enduring some internet problems or performance issues. After this, verify if the iPhone cannot receive emails issue has been rectified.
What to do if you still have an iPhone cannot receive emails through Mail?
At this point, you may have to consider escalating the problem to Apple Support. The fact that none of the above solutions is able to solve the problem can be an indication that a stubborn iOS bug is present and therefore needs to be obliterated. Or you can also ask further assistance from your internet service provider to carry out more advanced troubleshooting methods to deal with complex email problems on your iPhone. Also consider relaying any error message you get so that they can use that as hints in determining the underlying cause of the problem.
Otherwise, wait for Apple to roll out a fix patch. While waiting for Apple to issue the required fix patch (if it’s proven and confirmed to be an iOS Mail bug), you can use other platforms to process emails on your iPhone. Among the most reliable alternative email platforms to Mail are Gmail, Edison Mail, Airmail, Spike, Outlook, Boxer, Spark and Newton Mail. Just select any of these tools so you’d still be able to process emails on your iPhone.
ALSO READ: Dealing with various Internet and Network problems on iPhone 11 Pro after iOS 13.2.3 update