Having trouble sending and receiving emails through your iPhone XS Mail app? If that’s so, then this post is for. Keep reading to find out what to do if you can’t send or receive emails through the Mail app on your iPhone XS.
High-end smartphones like the iPhone XS offer more advanced handy features that owners can take advantage of. One of the most useful features offered by modern devices like this iPhone is the email feature. On this iPhone XS, several email platforms can be used to manage emails on the go. There’s a pre-installed Mail app that’s entrenched with the key components for email processing and there are also other downloadable third-party email platforms that offer more than what the stock Mail app offers. For stability and reliability, many people would prefer to use the built-in email platform, which the Mail app on their respective iPhones. But despite the app’s robustness, there are still some instances when it succumbs to random errors and glitches. Many factors can trigger these problems and the most common triggers include but are not limited to network-related errors, random software glitches, and invalid settings configuration on the phone. In this article, I have come up with some basic yet effective solutions to email sending and receiving issues on an iPhone. Read on and get help when needed.
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Troubleshooting an iPhone XS that can’t send or receive emails
The following are generic solutions to email problems on an iPhone XS. Use these procedures to eliminate software-related factors that might have prevented your iPhone XS from sending or receiving emails through the iOS Mail app. Make sure that your iPhone is running on the latest iOS version available. If not, then you should consider updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version as it might contained some dedicated fix patches to eliminate problems affecting system functions and built-in applications like the Mail app.
After each procedure, try to create a sample email to send and receive on the email account that’s set up on your iPhone Xs Mail app.
First solution: Refresh internet connection on your iPhone XS.
Internet connection plays a vital role to your phone’s internet-operated apps and services including the Mail app. To be able to send and receive emails, your phone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network or cellular data network for internet access. With that said, online services and apps like Mail are likely to experience problems whenever your device is experiencing random internet problems. To clear this out, try to refresh your Internet connection with these methods:
- From Home, go to Settings.
- Select Wi-Fi menu.
- If it is currently turned off, tap the Wi-Fi switch to enable the feature. Otherwise, toggle the switch off and on again to refresh its connection.
For those who are using cellular data on their phone to access the internet, simply navigate Settings-> Cellular-> then tap the Cellular switch to turn it off/on. Be sure to turn the feature ON to connect your iPhone to the Internet through cellular data network.
After refreshing the Internet connection, go back to the Mail app and then try to send yourself a sample email. If you’re already able to receive the message, then that means the problem is fixed and so you’re done troubleshooting. Otherwise, proceed to the next applicable solutions.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone XS that can’t send/receive picture messages (MMS)
Second solution: Restart your iPhone XS (soft reset)
Minor software glitches and cached files saved on your iPhone’s internal memory can also be the possible triggers. When random firmware crashes occur, apps and relevant functions are likely to be afflicted. Hence, various symptoms transpire. To clear this out, performing a soft reset or restarting the phone is advised. If you haven’t already, then you should give soft reset a try. Here’s how it’s done:
- Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Release both buttons when the Slide to Power off command appears.
- Then drag the power off slider to the right.
- After about 30 seconds, press and hold the Side/Power button again until the Apple logo appears.
Minor in-app glitches inflicted by minor firmware issues will then be rectified. Performing a soft reset can be done even without backing up files because it doesn’t affect the internal data. Just wait for your phone to finish its boot sequence and then reconnects to the Internet. As soon as it’s connected, open the Mail app and create a sample email to send and receive on the default email account on your phone’s Mail app.
Third solution: Force close Mail app then restart on your iPhone XS.
Email issues can also be due to the Mail app that’s acting up. Despite the fact that the Mail app is frequently maintained, random errors and glitches could still affect the app and trigger it to fail. This is usually what happens if you’ve left the Mail app suspended for long. To fix the problem, force close the Mail app and then restart your iPhone XS. Just follow these steps:
- From Home, swipe your finger up and then pause.
- Swipe left or right to navigate apps preview.
- Then swipe app the Mail App preview to close it. You can also close all other apps previews. Doing so will prevent any suspended apps from conflicting with your phone’s features and functions including Mail app.
After closing all the background apps, reboot (soft reset) your iPhone XS to eliminate corrupted Mail app files or data that is preventing your phone to send or receive emails.
ALSO READ: How to fix iPhone 5s Gmail app that’s not working, keeps crashing
Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone XS.
If the underlying causes of the problem are network connectivity issues, then resetting your iPhone’s network settings could help fix it. Any misconfigured network settings that cause conflicts to the Mail app system will therefore be rectified in the process and the network settings are restored to default. Saved files and personal information you store on the phone storage won’t be affected in the process so there’s no need to back up files. Once you’re ready, follow these steps to reset network settings on your iPhone XS:
- From Home, go to Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to and tap Reset.
- Then tap on Reset network settings option.
- Enter your device passcode when asked to continue.
- Lastly, tap the option to confirm network settings reset.
Your iPhone will reboot on its own when the reset is finished. By then you can start modifying the network settings according to you preferences. Don’t forget to re-enable and reconnect to your Wi-Fi network so you can get back online and use online services and apps like Mail.
Fifth solution: Remove your email from your Mail App then set up again.
Try to open your email through webmail and see if everything works as intended. If you are able to send and receive emails on your webmail without bumping into an error, then the problem must be from with the Mail app or iOS itself. At this point, you can try setting up your email account as new on your phone. Just follow these steps to remove the problematic email account and then add it back.
- From Home, go to Settings.
- Select Accounts & Passwords.
- Scroll to Accounts section and then select your email account.
- Tap Delete Account option. Doing so will only delete your email from your phone but not from the email server.
Reboot (soft reset) your iPhone XS after you have successfully removed your email account. Once it’s finished rebooting, head back to Settings-> Accounts & Passwords-> Add Account and then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the email setup process. Finally, tap Save to apply the recent changes.
Then try to see if that solves the problem. If your iPhone XS still can’t send or receive email through the Mail app, you should escalate the problem to Apple Support already.
ALSO READ: How to fix iPhone 5s email problems after iOS update, cannot send/receive emails
Still can’t send or receive emails on your iPhone XS Mail app?
If you’ve reached this point facing the same problem and that you still can’t send or receive emails on your phone, this might be a problem with the email account if not due to some complex iOS errors that caused the Mail app to fail and stop working as intended. At this point, you better escalate the problem to your email service provider or Apple Support instead.
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