6 Best Fixes for Cannot Get Mail Error on iPhone and iPad

Do I get the “Unable to receive mail” error message when you open an email in the Mail app on your iPhone or iPad? If so, you should read this guide to the end. We have detailed six (6) different ways to solve the problem. Check them and receive emails again quickly and without problems.

The Mail application displays this error message when it fails to establish a connection with the mail provider’s server. And the reason behind this can vary. This could be due to poor internet connection, incorrect email setups, or device specific issues. Before moving on to the solutions below, you should try to force shut down Mail app and restart your iPhone / iPad. If the error message still appears afterwards, refer to the troubleshooting instructions in the following paragraphs.

1. Troubleshoot the Internet connection

Whenever this error appears on your iPhone or iPad screen, your first port of call should verify that your device is connected to the internet. If you’re using cellular data, turn it off and back on. Do the same if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. Turning airplane mode on and off after a few seconds can also help refresh your device’s Internet connection. If the error persists, you need to check that your Internet source (Wi-Fi router) is turned on and is transmitting data correctly.

Try using other apps and check if they have internet access. If Mail is the only app affected, verify that it has access to your device’s mobile data. Go to Settings> Mail and make sure mobile data is turned on.

We also recommend that you read some step-by-step guides that we have prepared for troubleshooting internet and connectivity issues on your iPhone and iPad.

2. Edit device push settings

Push configurations of your device can also affect the way the Mail app retrieves new emails. On devices running iOS 11 or newer, the mail app is configured to automatically retrieve new messages from Apple’s mail server. If your iPhone or iPad is not configured to receive new updates, you may automatically encounter this “Unable to receive mail” error. Follow the steps below to check your device’s push notification settings.

Step 1: Launch the iOS Settings menu and select “Passwords & Accounts”.

2nd step: Then select “Extract new data”.

Step 3: First, turn on Push. And finally, verify that Fetch is set to Automatically.

This will ensure that new data / updates are transmitted to your iPhone from the Mail app server as soon as possible.

Note: Your iPhone / iPad will only retrieve new data for Mail and other apps while charging or when connected to Wi-Fi.

3. Disable low power mode

IOS Low Power Mode can help improve your device’s battery life, but it comes with some costs. On the one hand, enabling low power mode will pause your device’s push settings (in point 2 above) and therefore delay the frequency with which the Mail app retrieves new emails. Close the email app, turn off low power mode, and check if the email app is now working properly.

If the battery icon on the status bar or control center of your device is yellow in color, it means low power mode is on. Tap the yellow battery icon in the control center to turn off low power mode.

You can also go to Settings> Battery and turn off low power mode.

Now relaunch the Mail app and check if your emails now appear in your inbox.

4. Reconnect the account to the Mail application

This involves removing the affected third-party email account from the Mail app and re-adding the account. Let’s see how.

Step 1: Launch the Settings menu and select “Passwords & Accounts”.

2nd step: Select the email account in the Accounts section.

Step 3: Turn off the Mail option, wait a second and turn it back on.

Now relaunch Mail app and check if “Cannot Get Mail” error persists. If so, proceed to step 4 below to remove the account from your device.

Step 4: Tap Remove account and select “Remove from my iPhone” from the confirmation prompt.

Step 5: To add the account again, select Add an account on the “Passwords and accounts” page.

You will be prompted to select an email provider and enter your account credentials afterward.

5. Reset network settings

Since the error is most of the time due to some network related issues, resetting your device’s network settings may help. Go to Settings> General> Reset> Reset network settings. You can learn more about the effects of resetting network settings on your iPhone / iPad in this guide.

6. Check for a service failure

If the Mail app keeps showing this error after trying all of the above solutions, you need to confirm if all is well with your email service providers. Check if they are experiencing a server failure or downtime. You can check the status of iCloud mail service on the Apple System Status page. For Gmail, Yahoo, and other third-party email providers, you can use trusted website scanners like DownDetector to check for outages and downtime.