Mail not working on iPhone after iOS 18 Update

ios18.1 b2 is same. Not solved on my iPad.

Problem still present with 18.3!!!

MrHoffman wrote:

I’d think that a mail server not minimally offering TLSv1.2 and forward security would be a more interesting question to investigate and potentially address, …

And for completeness, this may be a bug in the iPhone mail client, too.

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Appears that at least for my server, checktls and several other online tls and Mx testers all say TLS works and 1.2 is available and functioning…. One service griped about the sectigo certificate and was looking for the intermediate, but it finished the TLS tunnel and reported all was well. Meanwhile, the mail app on my macOS machines are happily chugging new mail off this server…. So we can stop blaming the mail server.

The only place where this IMAP issue is happening for me is in iOS and iPadOS 18.0 mail app clients. And looking at the server log, it looks like the mail app just decides to go silent and doesn’t even begin negotiating the mail list at all. (I’m not posting the log file…. Too much to redact there)

[Edited by Moderator]

I am having exactly the same issue. Since Tuesday I haven't received any emails. I followed some of the advice in here about deleting the email account, restarting then adding the email account. It hasn't helped at all.

I went to my nearest Apple store (Brent Cross in London) and the Apple person I spoke to said he'd never heard of the issue and sent me on my way.

NickAleshgo wrote:

• Here

TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 are being deprecated due to security concerns: 

Security vulnerabilities

• TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 are vulnerable to a number of attacks, including POODLE, BEAST, CRIME, FREAK, and LOGJAM. These attacks can compromise encrypted communications and expose valuable data. 

• Compliance requirements

• Many organizations, including government agencies, must meet compliance requirements that mandate the use of TLS 1.2 or higher. 

• Evolving standards

• Internet standards and regulatory bodies are evolving to provide improved security. 

• Here are some details about the deprecation of TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1: 

Windows

• TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 will be disabled by default in Windows 11 Insiders Preview and Windows Server Insiders Preview releases in 2024. This change applies to both client and server devices. 

• Azure

• Azure will remove support for TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 for new and existing storage accounts by October 31, 2024. 

• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

• The IETF officially deprecated TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 in March 2021. The IETF recommends that companies, government agencies, and software developers use TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3. 

While that is good info for people, This imap failure on the mail app on iOS and iPadOS 18 is happening on servers that use TLS 1.2 and 1.3

I have. As I have two mail accounts with the same provider and only one has problems, Apple cannot say that the solution must come from the provider.

On the phone I was told that they are working in it. Should I believe them? But Even if I do not believe them, I have no other way than using another app and waiting.

I strongly believe that we need, all of us, to contact them. The more complains they have, the better for us. But we must not accept that they say that it is our or the provider’s mistake. We all have a tablet where our mail functions. We can all bring at least this as argument. It is not also very logical that so many mail accounts have problems just by updating the IOS. So if they tell you that it is the provider’s problem, it is up to you (to your arguments and your patience) to tell and insist that this is not the case and make them accept it.

I think that the issue has not yet reached the ‘press’. That would help us a lot, I think, as for the time being we are complaining between ourselves.

I did wait until 18.1 and STILL this issue persists. So now I have an essentially bricked iPad, since email is its primary use. I’ve been deleting accounts, adjusting settings, and re-adding them for 2 days now. Sadly, I’m used to this extreme inconvenience because I have to do this when mail server certificates change anyway since Apple doesn’t let you trust new mail server certificates. Unfortunately, adding accounts back doesn’t seem to fix this latest Apple-induced FAILURE.

Apple1138 wrote:

And just like that, after an hour of working perfect it’s back to freaking out what a blunder

This was predictable. My own experience is that the steps you hastily suggested do not fix anything, but only alleviate the problem temporarily and imperfectly.

I believe many, if not all, of the alleged fixes posted here were either for different problems or – as was the case here – did not actually fix anything.

Since it is apparent that this will only be fixed when Apple fixes it, the most useful measure that can be taken by people venting and otherwise posting here is the report the bug: Feedback - iPhone - Apple Select "bug report" under "feedback type".

I first started having issues with Mail on a iPhone SE (3rd Generation) after updating to iOS 18.1.1. The sequence >>Connecting>>Checking for Mail>>Downloading X Messages>> took at least 45 seconds. Further IMAP sync was not working properly. I spoke w/Apple Support on 11/24/24 and was even escalated to the next level. We took the following actions during several interactions:

• checked fetch/push settings
• turned off VPN
• did diagnostics on the phone
• submitted videos and screenshots to document the problem(s)
• reinstalled Comcast email
• reinstalled complete Apple Mail app
• updated to iOS 18.2 on 12/25/24

None of this solved the problem. After a month of trying to fix the problem I decided to delete Apple Mail and use Gmail on my iPhone. Gmail is blazingly fast and IMAP sync is working properly with virtually instant response time. Given this, I'm going to stick w/Gmail. I've asked the Apple Support team to feel free to contact me if the Apple teams can fix this issue.

Still not working after applying update 18.3.1. Come on Apple. Please fix this issue. Many people cannot access their email accounts!!

Same here. Can send, and message DOES reach recipient, but all IMAP folders stay empty (except for that one message going into the "Sent" folder). Btw, that Sent folder seems NOT to be synchronized with the IMAP server, and is eventually lost (the Sent folder disappears after refreshing folder list). So there must be a bug, probably in the Mail App, probably IMAP only (as SMPTS worked fine). Very frustrating, for me and so many others, and unbelievable that it has not been fixed yet.

I have the same issue with my work email. Same error message.

also, other emails do not load properly. Keeps flashing between downloading and email updated. I have to wait a couple minutes for everything to load.

Pretty frustrating. Would like to undo the update for now if I could.

It is a very strange bug however. I have two gmail accounts: one has the ‘known’ problem (the account sends mails, but nothing is received and the mail folders are visible but empty) while the other one has no problem!

Surveygold wrote:

I found a solution: Spark mail …

using any third party mail app is not a solution- it’s not even a workaround. True, you get your mail, but the fact that all the third party imap clients work proves that something is wrong with the mail app itself

Everybody is trying a combination of things that everybody else has already tried but not had any luck doing. I believe the only way Apple is going to pay attention is if everybody calls in or contacts Support. Unfortunately, Support will just walk you through deleting and reinstalling. They’re starting to get as bad as Microsoft. Reinstall and reboot.