The iPhone mail app is a convenient service for sending and receiving your mail. You can have multiple accounts on the app, and it supports a range of email domains. But Mail is one of the annoying iPhone apps that won’t update automatically, which can be very frustrating.

Plus, the mail app can sometimes fail to function altogether. Here are some ways in which you can solve that.

Mail app not working? – What to do

There are a few issues that could be stopping your mail app from working. Here’s a list of those problems, along with their solutions. Then, you can start sending and receiving mail again.

Internet Issues

In order to send and receive mail using the app, you must have a working internet connection. Check that your internet is working. Try using something that requires the internet – e.g. a YouTube video. If it doesn’t work, then there’s probably something wrong with your internet connection.

Try disconnecting and reconnecting to your network on your device, and try using the internet again.

If it still doesn’t work, try turning your router on and off again.

If it the issue persists, then you can check if there are any problems with your internet provider by going on https://downdetector.co.uk/ and searching for your broadband. Click on your broadband to see their recent outage reports in the last 24 hours. If there’s a high amount of reports, then there your internet broadband is having problems. These should be solved in the next few days. So, try using the app again in a day or so.

Restart Device

The mail app may not be working due to an issue with your device. Try restarting your device, and using the app again.

Hold down the lock button on the right side of your phone until the option to ‘power off’ appears on the screen. Slide the switch to shut down your phone.

Then, after about 10 seconds, hold the lock button until the apple logo appears on the screen to start your phone again.

Update Device

The mail app may not be working due to your device using outdated drivers or systems. Check for updates and download any that are available. Then, after updating your device, try using the app again.

Go to Settings>General>Software Update. If there’s an available update to download, press ‘download and install’ to update your phone.

Update App

The mail app may not be working because you have an outdated version of the app. Try checking to see if your app needs updating, and update the app if it does.

Go to the app store and search ‘mail’ in the search bar. The first search result should be the mail app. See if there’s an update option for it. If there is, press on it to update the app.

Log Out

Try logging out of your account, and logging back in again.

Go to Settings>Mail>Accounts.

Then, press into whichever accounts you’re having issues with. Or, if the app is having issues in general, log out of all accounts.

For Your Main iCloud Account:

For the iCloud account you used to sign into your device, press it and then press ‘sign out’.

Finally, log back into your iCloud account and try using the app again.

For Your Other Accounts:

Press the account, and then press ‘delete account’.

Afterwards, you must add and sign into those accounts again.

Go to back to your list of accounts, or go to Settings>Mail>Accounts. Then, press ‘add account’ and press the email domain for the account you’re trying to add back.

A notice should then pop-up. Press ‘continue’ and sign into your account.

Repeat this process for your other accounts.

Reinstall App

If none of the solutions above made your app work again, try uninstalling and reinstalling the mail app. Then, try using the app again.

Press and hold the mail app icon on your home screen. This should make a list of options appear. Press ‘remove app’ to uninstall the app.

This will cause another set of options to appear. Press ‘delete app’ to confirm the uninstallation.

A final set of options will then appear. Press ‘delete’ to start the uninstallation.

Finally, go on the app store and search ‘mail’ in the search bar. The first search result should be the mail app. Press on the cloud icon to reinstall the app.

Contact Customer Support

If none of these solutions worked, then try contacting Apple support. Go to https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=cups&SG=SG003.

Press ‘apps and features’, and then press ‘mail questions and troubleshooting’.

You can either press the chat option to message the support team, or the call option to talk to the support team.

After clicking into either option, a notice will pop-up asking you to sign in or input your device’s serial number.

If you know your device’s serial number, type it out. But, if you don’t know the serial number, click the sign-in option to log into your iCloud device.

Then, the notice for inputting your serial number should pop-up again. Scroll down until you see a list of devices registered under your account. Click on the relevant device.

Conclusion

To conclude, there are many reasons for why the mail app may not be working. If it’s due to an external factor, such as the internet, then you can only wait a day or so before trying the app again.

However, if the issue is caused by a more personal factor, such as your device, a specialised solution would be most helpful. Contact Apple Support if none of the solutions above worked, and they should be able get your app working again.