iPhone Mail: Setup, Settings and Fixes

Our guide to the Mail app on iPhone: adding and removing accounts, where the settings are, and what to do when email stops arriving or sending.

By:
Dev Sanghani
Updated:
October 2026

The Mail app on iPhone works with iCloud, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and any work account. In iOS 18 and later its settings moved: go to Settings > Apps > Mail, and Mail Accounts is where you add, fix or remove an account. This guide gives the short answer for each common task and problem, with a link to the full step-by-step guide. Steps are checked on iOS 27.

Quick answers

Accounts and setup

To add an account, go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts and tap Add Account. Type your email address, tap Next and sign in when your provider asks. Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo, iCloud and most work Exchange accounts set themselves up. For any other address, choose Add Other Account and enter your name, address and password. If the iPhone can't find the settings, choose IMAP or POP and enter the incoming and outgoing servers your provider gives you.

Work accounts usually use Microsoft Exchange, which can also sync contacts, calendars and reminders. The full walk-through covers each provider, the manual settings and what to do when an account won't verify. See how to add an email account to iPhone.

Accounts added with the Google, Microsoft, Yahoo or iCloud option have no password field to edit: change the password with the provider, then sign in again when Mail asks. Accounts added with Add Other Account have separate incoming and outgoing password fields. See how to update your email password on iPhone.

Removing an account takes it off the iPhone but doesn't close it. Open Mail Accounts, tap the account and tap Delete Account. If you only want to stop its mail for a while, turn off Mail for that account instead. For iCloud, the switch is Use on this iPhone. Check webmail first if you use POP, because the iPhone may hold the only copy of some messages. See how to remove an email account from iPhone.

Mail settings

Every Mail setting is in Settings > Apps > Mail. Apps is near the bottom of the Settings list, which is why people can't find it after updating from iOS 17. The settings people change most:

  • Mail Accounts: add, fix or remove accounts.
  • Fetch New Data: how often new mail is checked. In iOS 27 it's at the bottom of the Mail Accounts screen.
  • Notifications: whether Mail alerts you, and for which accounts.
  • Swipe Options (below Message List): what a left or right swipe does in the message list.
  • Ask Before Deleting (below Messages): a confirmation before Mail deletes a message.
  • Privacy Protection (below Messages): hides your IP address and whether you opened an email.
  • Undo Send Delay: how long you have to take a message back after tapping Send.

Categories (Primary, Transactions, Updates and Promotions) aren't a setting in the Settings app. You turn them off inside Mail: tap the button at the top of the inbox, then choose List View. See iPhone Mail settings for what each one does and what's worth changing.

Alerts can be set per account, so a work inbox can stay quiet in the evening while a personal one still pings. See Mail notifications on iPhone and Mac.

Swipe Options has one choice for each direction, and a full swipe left runs the rightmost action. See swipe actions in Mail.

Fix Mail on iPhone

Most problems come from one of three things: how the iPhone fetches mail, a password the provider no longer accepts, or an account that needs to be removed and added again.

Emails aren't arriving

If new mail only shows up when you open the app, check Fetch New Data. Push delivers mail as it arrives where the account supports it; otherwise Mail checks on a schedule, and "Automatically" only downloads new data when the iPhone is charging and on Wi-Fi. Low Power Mode also turns off email fetch. Then check that Mail is on for the account and that the password still works on the provider's website. See iPhone not getting emails.

Mail keeps asking for a password

First sign in to your provider's website with the same password. If that works and Mail still refuses it, the account may need a fresh sign-in rather than a new password. Apple notes that with 2-step verification on, you might need a special password or authorization. Outlook and Hotmail accounts are a common case: Microsoft stopped accepting plain passwords from email apps in September 2024, so an Outlook account added as Other keeps asking. Delete it and add it again with the Outlook.com option. See how to fix the iPhone email password prompt.

Email won't send

A message that couldn't be sent waits in the Outbox in your list of mailboxes. Tap it, check the address and tap Send. No Outbox means the message went. See email stuck in the Outbox on iPhone.

Mail keeps crashing

Close Mail and restart the iPhone, update iOS, and turn Mail off for each account in turn to find the one that triggers it. If nothing helps, delete Mail and redownload it from the App Store. See Mail keeps crashing on iPhone.

When nothing else works, Apple's fix for both sending and receiving is the same: delete the account in Mail Accounts and add it back. Check that your mail is on the provider's server before you do.

Organize, delete and send

After you tap Send, an Undo Send button appears in your inbox or mailbox list for a few seconds. Settings > Apps > Mail > Undo Send Delay sets how long. Once that time is up, the email can't be pulled back. See how to unsend an email on iPhone.

The Smart Mailboxes you create on a Mac don't appear in Mail on iPhone. The iPhone has its own set of filters and mailboxes, and ordinary mailboxes on an iCloud or IMAP account show up on both. See mailboxes and folders.

Mail on iPhone has no read-receipt option. Some other apps can request one, but whether you get it depends on the recipient. See read receipts in Apple Mail.

Privacy and security

Mail Privacy Protection is in Settings > Apps > Mail > Privacy Protection. With Protect Mail Activity on, senders can't see your IP address or reliably tell whether you opened their email. It doesn't cover links or attachments.

Mail on iPhone has no PGP encryption of its own, so encrypted email needs a separate app or service. See encrypted email (PGP) on iPhone.

Mail on your Mac

The same accounts work in Mail on a Mac, and most fixes there use Mail > Settings and the Mailbox menu instead of the Settings app. Our complete guide to Apple Mail on Mac and iPhone covers setup, settings and the most common fixes.

For the Mac versions of the most common tasks, see how to set up Mail on a Mac, and what to do when Mac Mail is not receiving emails or Mac Mail is not sending.

Other email apps for iPhone

Mail on iPhone covers the basics for most people, and it's free. The limits show up with heavier use. It can't create rules for Gmail, Outlook or other accounts; only iCloud Mail has rules on the iPhone, set in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Mail > iCloud Mail Rules.

If you're thinking of switching, compare the best email apps for iPhone. If it's between Mail and one other choice, see Apple Mail vs Gmail or, for the difference between the app and Apple's mail service, Apple Mail vs iCloud Mail.

Disclosure: we make Canary Mail, an email app for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows and Android, with AI drafting and summaries on paid plans; it's covered, downsides included, in our list of the best email apps for iPhone.

Sources

FAQ

Where are Mail settings on iPhone?

Go to Settings > Apps > Mail. Apps is near the bottom of the Settings list. Accounts are under Mail Accounts. In iOS 17 and earlier, the settings were in Settings > Mail.

Where is the Mail app on my iPhone, and how do I get it back?

Swipe down on the Home Screen and search for Mail, or look in the App Library. If you deleted it, open the App Store, search for "Mail" using that exact name and tap Redownload.

Why is Mail not working on my iPhone?

Check that the iPhone is online, that Mail is on for the account in Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts, and that your password still works on the provider's website. Check Fetch New Data and Low Power Mode if mail arrives late. If nothing helps, delete the account and add it back.

How do I add another email account to my iPhone?

Go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts > Add Account, type your email address, tap Next and sign in. For addresses that don't set themselves up, choose Add Other Account and enter the server details from your provider.

How do I change my email password on iPhone?

Change the password with your email provider first. Mail then asks you to sign in again. For IMAP or work accounts you added by hand, open the account in Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts and type the new password in both the incoming and outgoing server fields.

Does deleting an email account from iPhone delete my emails?

It removes the account and its downloaded mail from the iPhone, but not from the provider. With iCloud, Gmail, Outlook and other IMAP or Exchange accounts, your email stays on the server. POP accounts can keep messages only on the device, so check webmail first.

Can I set a different default email app on iPhone?

Yes. Go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Email and choose another installed email app.

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