iCloud Mail not syncing across devices

Mail should be synced between ALL Apple devices not just between iPhone and Mac or iPad and Mac. I don’t own a Mac. I own an iPhone and iPad. This was never a problem before mid 2019. I used watch the notifications disappear from my iPad as I read mail on my iPhone. I should NOT have to go to each one and open the Mail app to clear them. There’s something wrong with iCloud services themselves because the same happens with reminders as well.

I am so glad to know that this is a problem for someone else. However, mine is a little different.

If I read a message on my iPhone, it gets marked read on iCloud.com but not my iPad. If I read it on my iPad, it will get marked as read on iCloud.com but not on my iPhone. If I read it on iCloud.com it will not get marked as read on my iPhone OR my iPad. This is an issue I have had since mid 2019 and iOS 12. I used an iPhone 7 Plus with an iPad 2nd gen. I have used am iPhone 7 Plus with an iPad 6th Gen. I am now using an iPhone 11 Pro with an iPad 6th Gen.

No matter the combination of devices, the only time the Mail app will update is when I open it on BOTH devices which defeats the purpose. So frustrating.

I have been in touch with Support and a Senior Support Rep who was supposedly working with the engineers. Somehow, that communication has fizzled out and the last 2 messages I sent to him have gone unanswered. I have a case number and everything.

For God's sake, Apple - I even have problems notifying you about problems. After 15 minutes, I'm back here again trying to convey what I tried to update:

Mysteriously (without any intervention) my mail is syncing better. This is the second time in a month it's been grossly off, then almost back to normal. I have no faith this has been resolved as I've had too many serious issues lately and Apple seems more and more unreliable.

1️⃣ The first [possible] resolution came by way upgrading to macOS 10.15.6. Problem resolved itself shortly thereafter (later, re-presenting). A legacy Mac user, I am gun shy about initiating updates. I see little benefit these days in new releases; more frustrated with features that are taken away.

2️⃣ The second [possible] resolution came by way of restoring my MBP to power 24/7. I eliminate standby mode completely, only reducing brightness or turning off the monitor (docking station or laptop). The goal is to use my desktop as the primary mail authority (reading, moving, deleting, sending) and let it push to the server and down to mobile devices. By leaving it running, there's no reason why is shouldn't be processing in real-time.

Mail seems to be frequently hung "moving messages." It's also not uncommon to see the status bar (bottom left) waiting to process income or outgoing messages. The past few weeks, I'll receive an error dialog that it failed to move a particular message to a mail box. 🙄

Apple, I try to be a highly organized and efficient professional. You royally make a mess of people's lives when basic, fundamental processes stop working properly.

For no explicable reason my 3 devices using Apple mail are suddenly not syncing mail. Read/delete not corresponding between devices. All software updates, iCloud storage checked, iCloud setting checked, mail deleted then reinstalled on all devices. Have followed all Apple advice still not working 🤔🤔

Hi,

I solved my issue after 2 simple steps :

1/ de-actived and re-actived email sync in iCloud settings => did not fix the problem

2/ de-connected and re-connected iCloud account on iPhone => fixed the problem :-)

Only painful point was that I had to re-activate all my payment cards in Apple Pay.

Hope this helps

Hello JD135,

Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities. I understand that iCloud Mail isn't syncing between your Mac and iPhone, and signing out, then in to your iCloud account on all devices hasn't resolved the issue. I'd like to assist you today.

For this issue, I suggest ensuring that you have enough available iCloud storage. Here's how to check:

Manage your iCloud storage

From there, I recommend ensuring that your devices are fully updated per the, "First things first" section here:

Get help using iCloud Mail

If this concern isn't resolved, contact Apple Support for further assistance: 

Get Support

I hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

Mails are only synced ( mirrored ) between iPhone / Mac when same Apple ID and password are signed in on the same network the Apple ID say should be example1@icloud.com

When ever a mail is deleted from a single device it will be deleted from its hardware address and not deleted from another device it could be Mac / iPhone and moved to bin folder of the web account / and simultaneously in IMAP accounts .

See these https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208661

https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mail/mlhlp1001/mac

Syncing of mails will occur between iPhones / Mac / iPad when Apple ID is signed as example1@icloud.com " only "

If you are using Apple ID created with gmail services the mails will not sync .

When ever a mail is deleted from a device it deletes from its mail application ( it could be Mac or iPhone ) , if you delete mail from iPhone it will be deleted from iPhone and not from your Mac see the articles https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208661

https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mail/mlhlp1001/mac

If you enter www.icloud.com with Apple ID and password using a web browser the mails from all devices are synced as mail application is configured / turned as on https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201320

Same way for Mac , the Apple ID is signed in system preferences > iCloud https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207689

so viewing the universal iCloud.com account for all you devices the mails can be read https://support.apple.com/lv-lv/guide/icloud/mm6b1a0b80/icloud

And deleted from iCloud.com https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/icloud/mm6b1a7ab7/icloud

But that is different mail you read from one device and delete from it will not delete from Mac / iPhone , however you delete the mail from iCloud.com it will be deleted from the server and will be mirrored ( deleted from all devices ) .

Syncing of mails is done with same Apple ID example1@icloud.com , deleting of mails / reading will be from single device .

What are you mail settings ? do you use vpn services see https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204051

What is the version of iPhone do you update the iPhone https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/update-ios-iph3e504502/ios

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204

We are members in this community and as per terms of use can't discuss on their policies the respectful way is to send feedback https://www.apple.com/feedback/icloud.html

https://www.apple.com/feedback/mail.html

If gmail accounts are set up between two devices the mail will not sync , I am back to square one https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mac-help/mchl923c1147/10.15/mac/10.15

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/wi-fi-syncing-mchlada1d602/10.15/mac/10.15

Syncing over Wi-Fi is slower than syncing over a cable. If you connect a device to your Mac while the device is syncing over Wi-Fi, syncing continues over the cable. If you disconnect the device’s cable from the Mac while syncing, syncing stops, even if Wi-Fi syncing is on. Syncing resumes when you reconnect the device using a cable or over Wi-Fi.

If you set up same Apple ID and password on devices say eample1@icloud.com the gmail accounts are to be signed in , they never directly sync .

See this https://support.google.com/mail/answer/4780745?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&hl=en

It's documented that people were no longer able to search their mail following a Big Sur upgrade. The solution was to rebuild the mailboxes and re-index Spotlight.

Perhaps trying to rebuild the mailboxes that fail synchronization might shed light on the issue since Mail.app needs to communicate with Mail server to re-build... thinking somewhat like synchronization. Here's something on the topic https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252495099

Hope proves helpful.

Thanks! That worked and seems to be the easiest solution.

1. I just deleted the Mail app.
2. Then re-downloaded the Mail app from the app store.
3. And then went to settings -> Apple ID -> iCloud to turn Mail on again.

(If you don't do the last part and try to open the Mail app, you'll be asked to sign in and when you do it'll tell you that that account already exists).

This fix worked for my iPhone and iPad Pro, however after a couple of days, both have reverted back. For example, when I mark an email as Read on my iPhone, it doesn’t show up on iCloud, or then the iPad Pro. Same thing applies to the iPad Pro.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Tried this didn't work still does not sync between my iPhone and MacBookPro each using Apple Mail as a email client. Only way to get messages to show as read or as deleted across both devices is to use web mail and directly read and delete from iChloud server. otherwise if I'm reading email on phone and I have to repeat the actions on my Mac. Same is true for other email as well my Google mail has the same issue also using Apple Mail as the email program. So not sure if this is a icloud issue or a Apple Mail issue. anyone else using a different client?