iPhone Mail not updating? 8 fixes to get new emails

Mail on iPhone depends on a few things working together: a connection, a setting that tells the phone how often to check, permission to run in the background, and an account that is still signed in. The fixes below check each one in turn. Most people solve it by the third or fourth step.

Why the Mail app stops refreshing

When Mail does not update, the phone is rarely broken. The most common causes are a Manual or slow Fetch setting, Background App Refresh turned off, Low Power Mode, Mail blocked from using cellular data, a password or app password that changed, and a mailbox that is full. A server outage at your email provider can look the same, so it is worth checking that first.

Fix 2: Set the account to Push or a short Fetch time

Open Settings › Apps › Mail › Mail Accounts › Fetch New Data. Turn Push on if your account supports it. For accounts that do not, choose a Fetch schedule such as Every 15 Minutes, and tap the account to set it to Fetch. If it says Manual, Mail only checks when you open the app. On older iOS versions, this page is at Settings › Mail › Accounts › Fetch New Data.

Gmail and some other providers do not offer Push on iPhone, so they use Fetch. That is why Gmail can be a few minutes behind. See Gmail that is not working on iPhone for Gmail-specific fixes.

Fix 3: Turn on Background App Refresh for Mail

Open Settings › General › Background App Refresh. Make sure it is set to Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi & Cellular Data, and that Mail is switched on in the list. If it is off, Mail updates only while you are looking at it. It does not need to run all day. This step makes sure it can check for new mail between your visits.

Fix 4: Turn off Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode pauses background mail fetching and some background refresh. Open Settings › Battery and turn it off, or use the Low Power Mode control in Control Center if you have added it. If you want to keep it on, you can open Mail to refresh manually. Our guide to what Low Power Mode does lists everything it pauses.

Fix 5: Allow Mail to use cellular data

If mail updates on Wi-Fi but not away from home, open Settings › Cellular and scroll to Mail, then make sure it is on. Also check Settings › Apps › Mail and look for the Cellular Data option. A data saver mode can limit this too, so check Settings › Cellular › Cellular Data Options.

Fix 7: Check iCloud storage if you use an iCloud address

iCloud Mail shares the storage in your Apple Account. When iCloud is full, new mail can stop arriving, and you may see messages bounce for senders. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud to see how much is used. Our guide to a full iCloud shows how to free up space or add storage. Delete large attachments and empty the Trash and Junk folders in Mail.

Mail notifications are late or missing

Notifications are a separate setting. Open Settings › Notifications › Mail and make sure Allow Notifications is on, then tap each account and check the alert style and sounds. Focus modes and Do Not Disturb silence alerts too, so check the Focus in Control Center. If you set the account to Fetch, the alert can only arrive when the phone checks, so a delay is expected.

When the problem is the email provider

If other devices also stop getting mail, the problem is with the account, not the iPhone. Try your email on a computer or in a web browser. If mail is there on the web but not on the iPhone, the iPhone settings are at fault. If it is missing everywhere, check your provider’s status page, make sure your mailbox is not full, and look at spam and filters. Also check that the account is not blocked for suspicious activity, which can happen after several wrong password tries.

Last resorts

Restart the iPhone, then update iOS in Settings › General › Software Update. Bugs in Mail are often fixed in point updates. If you still cannot get mail, reset network settings in Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset › Reset Network Settings. It clears saved Wi-Fi passwords, so you will need to join networks again, but it does not erase your emails or photos.

Quick checklist

• Safari loads a page, so the connection works.
• The account is set to Push or a short Fetch, not Manual.
• Background App Refresh is on for Mail.
• Low Power Mode is off.
• The account is signed in and the password is current.
• iCloud has free space if you use an iCloud address.
• The account was removed and added again if nothing else worked.