Check out the complete steps to reset the built-in Mail app on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac to troubleshoot problems related to it.
You might want to reset the Apple Mail app on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad when it doesn’t update or receive new emails, or when standard troubleshooting solutions don’t fix the issue. Resetting the Mail app from scratch is almost equivalent to uninstalling and reinstalling it. Resetting also lets you start fresh and set up the Mail app again from scratch.
Also see: 40+ tips for the Mail app on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Reset the Mail app on your iPhone or iPad
You will start by turning off all the added email accounts and after that, delete the app and redownload it. Doing these two things should reset the iOS or iPadOS Mail app.
1) Open the Settings app, scroll to the bottom, and tap Apps. After that, select Mail from the list of apps.
2) Tap Mail Accounts.
3) If you use iCloud Mail, it will appear at the top. Tap it to go to your Apple Account page and then go to iCloud > Mail and turn off the Use on this iPhone switch.
4) Return to the Mail app settings and tap your other added email account like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or some other custom account. Now, turn off the Mail switch from the next screen.
Repeat this process until you have turned off all email accounts from the Apple Mail app. Now, when you open the Mail app, it’ll show the welcome screen, which means no account is active here.
5) Go to the Home Screen, long-press the Mail app, and tap Remove App > Delete App > Delete.
6) Restart your iPhone or iPad.
7) Open the App Store and search for Mail. You can also use this link to redownload the Apple Mail app.
You have successfully reset the built-in iOS and iPadOS Mail app. Now, you can go ahead and re-enable or add the email accounts. Once that’s done, open the Mail app, and it should work perfectly.
Reset the Mail app on your Mac
Unlike iOS and iPadOS, you can’t completely uninstall the built-in Apple Mail app on Mac. Therefore, if Mail isn’t opening on Mac or you aren’t receiving emails here, follow these steps to reset it as new.
Important: The emails will still be available on the mail server (like iCloud, Gmail, IMAP accounts, etc.). But if you have some custom emails that aren’t on the server, please note that they will be gone once you follow these steps.
1) Open the Mail app on your computer and click Mail > Settings from the top menu bar.
2) Go to the Accounts tab.
3) Select an account from the left side and uncheck the box for “Enable this account.” Repeat this for all added accounts.
You can also turn off added email accounts by going to System Settings/System Preferences > Internet Accounts.
4) Next, open Finder and press Command + Shift + G. Alternatively, you can click Go > Go to Folder.
5) Copy this folder address and paste it there: ~/Library/Containers
6) In the search box, type Mail and click “Containers” to see all folders related to mail here. Now, select all and move them to trash.
7) Next, repeat the above process for the folders mentioned below. Go to these locations, search for Mail, choose the “folder name” (not This Mac), and delete things related to the Mail app if you see there.
- ~/Library/Mail
- ~/Library/Preferences
- ~/Library/Application Scripts
Note: Since you’re focused only on the Apple Mail app, if you see some mail file or folder inside another folder named Chrome or having words like mail.google.com, do not touch that. That’s just the mail folders for the account you have logged in to the Google Chrome browser. For ease, click View > Show Path Bar to see the folder hierarchy at the bottom of the Finder window.
8) Restart your Mac
9) You have successfully removed the accounts and the files related to the Mail app. After restart, macOS will automatically create the required files. You can now open the Mail app and sign in to the desired email accounts. Or, go to System Settings > Internet Accounts > select the added accounts, and enable Mail.
Finally, I’m sure you know, but to remind you, if you erase your iPhone or Mac completely, you will get an entirely new machine as far as software is concerned. If you would like to go with this option, here are the guides to help: