How to Fix Mail Slow to Update on iOS

Is the Mail app slow to update on your iOS device?

Apple has incorporated the Mail app on many of its devices including iPhones. With this, you can now check your email without having to access your Mac computer. 

However, it can be frustrating if the Mail app for iOS is slow to update your emails. 

There are a handful of reasons why new emails are slow to update on your iOS device. Usually, this issue is caused by slow network connections. 

On the other hand, it can also be due to server-related problems, improper configurations, and outdated software. 

Today, we’ll show you what to do if the Mail app is slow to update your iOS device. 

Let’s jump right in!

1. Restart Your Device. 

Before tweaking your configurations, we recommend restarting your device first. This should rule out any temporary bugs and errors on your system that could be slowing down the Mail app. 

For iPhone X, 11, 12, or later: 

  1. Hold down the Volume Down button and Side button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ prompt appears. 
  2. Now, drag the slider to the right and wait for 30 seconds. 
  3. Press the Side button afterward to turn on your device. 
Restart iPhone

For iPhone 6, 7, 8, or SE: 

  1. Locate the Power button on your device. 
  2. Now, hold the button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ prompt shows up.
  3. Drag the slider to the right and wait for 30 seconds before turning on your device. 
Restart iPhone w/ Home Button

Once done, go back to the Mail app to see if you can view new emails. 

2. Check the Servers. 

If the Mail app is slow to update your inbox, it’s possible that your email provider is experiencing issues. Since you are using an online service, you’ll likely run into errors if the email service you’re using is offline. 

To confirm this, you can use third-party tools like Downdetector to view the status of the mailing service you’re using. 

If the servers are down, the only option you have is to wait for their team to resolve the issue. On the other hand, you can head to the next solution if there’s nothing wrong with your service provider. 

3. Delete Old Emails. 

Leaving old emails around in your inbox can become a huge problem in the long run. Your device will have a hard time loading all your emails at once since your inbox contains thousands of unnecessary emails. 

This is also the case for users who set up their email accounts using IMAP in the Mail app. With this feature, the Mail app directly fetches data from the servers and avoids saving it on your local storage. 

To make things smoother, we suggest deleting old emails from your account to lessen the load on your device when fetching new data. 

Keep in mind that you should do this directly from the mailing service you’re using and not from the Mail app. 

Once done, restart the Mail app and see if its performance improved. 

Related: How to Fix Can’t Delete Emails from Trash Folder

4. Check Your Network Connection. 

A slow or unstable network could also be the reason the Mail app is slow to update your emails on iOS. Since the Mail app needs to communicate with the servers to fetch new data, you’ll need a reliable connection to avoid problems. 

To confirm this, you can use Fast.com to measure your network’s upload and download bandwidth.

Fast.com

If the result indicates a problem with your network, restart your modem to refresh the connection with your ISP’s servers. Unplug your router’s power cable from the outlet and wait for 5-10 seconds before plugging it back in. 

Restart Router

Once done, re-run the test on your network to check if the restart worked. If not, report the issue to your service provider and ask them to fix their service. 

5. Use Email Filters. 

Even after removing old emails from your account, there’s a chance that your inbox still contains a lot of emails. If this is the case, you can take advantage of email filters to sort your inbox and only view the emails you need. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

  1. Launch the Mail app on your iPhone
  2. Now, tap on the Filter icon in the lower left corner of your screen. 
  3. After that, tap on Filtered By
  4. Choose how you want your emails to be displayed. You can tap on ‘Unread’ under Include to view unread emails only. 
Mail Filter

If you wish to go back to normal view, disable the filter by tapping the Filter icon again and restart the Mail app. 

6. Use One Email for Inbox. 

If the Mail app is slow to load new emails on your iOS device, there’s a good chance that you have multiple email addresses connected to the Mail app. If this is the case, the app might struggle to load all your emails at once. 

To solve this, select one email account to view in your inbox. Here’s what you need to do: 

  1. Go to the Mail app on your device. 
  2. Next, tap the Edit button in the upper right corner of your display. 
  3. Select the email account you want to view and remove others. 
  4. Tap Done to apply the changes. 
Mailbox

Now, you should be able to view new emails faster on your device. 

Related: How to Fix iOS Cutting Off Texts of Forwarded Emails

For unexplained reasons, disabling Siri & Search improves the performance of the Mail app. It’s possible that the iOS version you’re using has an issue with Siri and causes your device to slow down. 

Here’s how you can turn off Siri & Search: 

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iOS device. 
  2. Now, tap on Mail
  3. Access the Siri & Search tab. 
  4. Under ‘In Mail’ make sure that Show Siri Suggestions in App is disabled. 
Siri & Suggestions

Once done, relaunch the Mail app and check if the problem is solved. 

8. Refresh Your Account. 

If you still encounter problems loading new emails from the Mail app, we recommend refreshing your account data. Delete your email account from the Mail app and re-add it after 5 to 10 minutes. 

Follow the steps below to guide you through the process: 

  1. Open the Settings app on your iOS device. 
  2. Next, scroll down and access the Mail tab. 
  3. Go to Accounts and tap on the email you want to remove. 
  4. Finally, choose the Delete Account option. 
Mail Slow to Update on iOS

After a few minutes, navigate to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account. Provide your credentials to add your account. 

Try loading your emails again to check if the problem is solved. 

9. Reset Network Settings. 


There might be an issue with your network settings, causing connectivity issues with the Mail app. To rule this out, reset your iPhone’s network configurations to ensure that everything is in order. 

Here’s how you can reset your network settings: 

  1. Go to your home screen and tap on Settings to launch it. 
  2. Now, go to General.
  3. From there, tap on Transfer or Reset iPhone
  4. Finally, choose Reset and tap on Reset Network Settings
Mail Slow to Update on iOS

Wait for the process to complete and see if you’ll still encounter problems with the Mail app.

10. Reinstall the Mail App. 

If the Mail app is still slow to update your emails, we recommend reinstalling the app on your device. This way, you can ensure that the app is installed correctly and there are no issues with its package. 

Follow the guide below to delete the Mail app: 

  1. Unlock your iPhone and go to the home screen. 
  2. Look for the Mail app and hold down its icon. 
  3. Now, choose Remove App from the pop-up menu. 
Mail Slow to Update on iOS

Reinstall the app afterward and see if your emails are loading faster. 

11. Update Your Device. 

The version of iOS you’re using might have an issue related to network connectivity. In this case, try updating your device to patch any bugs or errors on your system. 

Here’s how you can update your iOS device: 

  1. Go to your home screen and launch Settings
  2. After that, go to General
  3. Tap on Software Update and wait for your device to check for updates. 
  4. If there’s an available update, tap on Download and Install
Mail Slow to Update on iOS

During this process, your device might restart several times. Once done, go back to the Mail app and see if the problem is solved. 

12. Contact Apple. 

If none of the solutions above worked, we recommend that you let the professionals handle the situation. 

Visit Apple’s support page and get in touch with their team to report the issue you’re experiencing with the Mail app. Provide the email provider you’re using, the version of iOS running on your device, and other information that can help their team assess the situation. 

Mail Slow to Update on iOS

While waiting for a response, browse the guides on their page and see if you can find solutions not mentioned above. 

That wraps up our guide for fixing the Mail app if it’s slow to update new emails on your iOS device. If you have questions or any other concerns, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them. 

If this guide helped you, please share it.

Author

  • Jake Kovoor

    Jake is the Editor-in-Chief of Saint and an independent software developer, with a Bachelors in Computer Science from Lancaster University, UK. He loves trying out various tech from the Flipper Zero to coding Raspberry Pis for automation. He started Saint back in 2016, having written over 100 posts, with the sole purpose of creating guides for software that had yet to exist back then to help users navigate around their technical problems.

1 comment
  1. Hello. I’ve tried everything you mention, nothing but unfortunately helps. I will allow my iphone to test my patience for a few weeks but if this is not resolved I will just switch to android. For me mobile phone mostly about email. This is how I do my business and earn my money. I don’t care about tens of thousands of millions gazilions emojis and other crap that seems to be important to apple lately… I care about my phone being able to send and receive emails fast.

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