On iPhone, go to Settings, Mail, Accounts, Add Account, then choose your email provider and sign in.
Steps
- Open Settings and tap Mail.
- Tap Accounts, then Add Account.
- Choose your provider (iCloud, Google, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo, Outlook.com) or Other.
- Enter your email and password, or sign in on the provider’s page.
- Choose what to sync (Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Notes) and tap Save.
Other provider
Choose Other, Add Mail Account, then enter name, email, password. iOS finds the server settings.
Two-factor
Gmail and iCloud may need an app-specific password or a browser sign-in.
Check
Open the Mail app to see your inbox.
Remove
Settings, Mail, Accounts, tap the account, Delete Account.
Mail app versus Gmail app
- The built-in Mail app supports iCloud, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL and Exchange accounts, plus any other provider through IMAP.
- You can also install the Gmail or Outlook app, which sign in separately and do not use the Mail app account list.
- Each account can sync Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Notes and Reminders. Switch off the items you do not need.
Fetch, push and sync
- Push delivers new messages instantly when the provider supports it. iCloud, Exchange and Yahoo support push, while Gmail accounts normally use fetch.
- Fetch checks for new mail at an interval you choose, from every 15 minutes to manually.
- Path: Settings, Mail, Accounts, Fetch New Data. Push uses more battery than fetching every 30 minutes or hourly.
Mail days to sync
Under Settings, Mail, Accounts, tap the account, then Account, Advanced. Mail Days to Sync can be set from 1 day to no limit. A shorter window saves storage on the phone.
Common errors
- “Cannot Get Mail” or “Cannot Verify Server Identity”: check the password, the incoming and outgoing server names and whether the server certificate is current.
- Gmail and Yahoo may require an app password if two-factor authentication is on and the account is added through IMAP.
- Gmail needs IMAP enabled in its settings if you add it manually.
- Typical IMAP ports are 993 with SSL for incoming and 587 or 465 for outgoing.
Which account sends by default
In Settings, Mail, Default Account, choose the address used for new messages. When replying, the phone uses the address the message was sent to.
Storage
Each synced account stores message headers and recent mail locally. A large mailbox can use several gigabytes. Check Settings, General, iPhone Storage, Mail.
Account types supported by iPhone
The iPhone Mail app supports iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, Google, Yahoo, AOL and Outlook.com accounts with a guided setup, and any other provider through the Other option using IMAP or POP settings. IMAP keeps messages on the server and syncs the same inbox across devices, while POP downloads messages to one device and can remove them from the server. Most modern setups use IMAP. Incoming mail servers commonly use port 993 with SSL, and outgoing mail servers use port 465 or 587. If your provider asks for an app specific password, as Yahoo, iCloud and Gmail with two step verification do, create it in the provider’s security settings and use it instead of the normal password.
Fixing common sync problems
If new messages do not arrive, check Settings, Mail, Accounts, Fetch New Data, and choose Push or a fetch interval such as every 15 minutes. Confirm that Mail is turned on for the account and that Low Power Mode is not delaying background refresh. Cellular access for Mail can be limited in Settings, Cellular. If an account shows “Cannot Get Mail”, re-enter the password, remove and re-add the account, and check that the server details match what the provider lists. Apple’s support pages say that adding an account does not delete anything, and removing an account only deletes its local copy from the phone, not the mail on the server for IMAP accounts.
Based on data from Apple Support
