User profile for user: trevenwith57
trevenwith57 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Mail inbox greyed out

I have iphone 5S running IOS 12.4.6. Recently, I have been unable to access my mail inbox as it is greyed out. If I add a new email IMAP account, new messages appear in the "All accounts" inbox and all inbox messages remain available - including those from the account that would not display. These are the steps I have taken:


Delete the problem account from the iphone.

Delete the Mail app.

Do the same on my IPAD

Also delete the problem account from my laptop (running Outlook 365)


Thus, in effect, the only place my account is running is on the IMAP server.


Backup phone and do a factory reset

Restore the system from Itunes (having checked it is the latest version)

Restore the backup


Add the problem account again

Open the app

Inbox shows 8 messages but is still greyed out and not accessible


iPhone 5s

Posted on Apr 6, 2020 4:00 AM

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18 replies
User profile for user: Axel Foley
Axel Foley
User level: Level 10
151,242 points

Apr 6, 2020 4:41 AM in response to trevenwith57

Hello Treven,

Just to double check, have you looked at the restrictions that may be set in Screen Time?

Open Settings ➔ Screen Time ➔ Content & Privacy Restrictions ➔ Account Changes and then ensure that it is set to ALLOW.

If the above is set correctly then I recommend that you update your iPhone to iOS 13.4 if you have not already and then check again.


Axel F.

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User profile for user: Axel Foley
Axel Foley
User level: Level 10
151,242 points

Apr 9, 2020 6:45 PM in response to trevenwith57

iPad and iPhone do NOT Directly sync with each other. They are independently synced and in your example it is the BTinternet server. Space left on your iPhone is low however that doesn't have anything to do with your email account at this point. Your iPad is experiencing the same. The issue appears to be focused around at the BTinternet and Outlook Mobile app if that is what you are using for your mail. Not sure if you mentioned above but the behavior is the same even if you add that email account to the mail app that comes stock with your iPhone and iPad correct? In other words, if this issue occurs across two different mail apps and two different platforms (iPhone and iPad) then I would consult BTinternet for advice.


Axel F.

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User profile for user: Axel Foley
Axel Foley
User level: Level 10
151,242 points

Apr 7, 2020 12:22 PM in response to trevenwith57

Hi Treven,

Yes I agree that your troubleshooting results point directly to Outlook 365 and that particular mail account. A couple of additional things come to mind and they are as follows-

  1. Is this mail account a personal account or is it assigned to you but managed by another organizations such as your place of employment etc.?
  2. If the above is the case and the account is not your personal email account then did you have a profile downloaded on your iPhone which may be a requirement by that organization?
  3. If points 1 and 2 are true then the administrator of that mail account may have the answers.

If none of the above apply then keep pushing Microsoft Support to get us the necessary answers.


Axel F.

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User profile for user: Axel Foley
Axel Foley
User level: Level 10
151,242 points

Apr 10, 2020 8:59 AM in response to trevenwith57

You have discovered two inboxes no her webmail and both also exist on her iPhone. We are getting close I believe. What if you delete one of the two inboxes on the website side of things? The thought process here is to delete one of the inboxes on the webmail and then see whether it syncs and duplicates the folders on your iPhone and finally make the inbox available. But, the question is which one to delete? If we delete the wrong one, for example, then it will end up in the trash folder and then we can bring it back to active if necessary. Want to try that? How about starting with the inbox that has the bulk mail (also greyed out) and deleting it on the website? Then check on the iPhone and see which results that creates. You may already thought of this I have a feeling.


Axel F.

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User profile for user: Axel Foley
Axel Foley
User level: Level 10
151,242 points

Apr 6, 2020 8:51 AM in response to trevenwith57

I saw that you are using iPhone 5S and somehow got into mind as an iPhone SE. Sorry about that. You are right that your iPhone will not be able to update to iOS 13.

You have taken the right steps in troubleshooting the Mail app issue. You have deleted the App, reinstalled the app. Deleted the accounts and reinstalled the accounts. You did a factory reset and then restored from backup.......

I can't think of anything else Treven. You have been and remained ahead of the curve on this one.

Is this mail account a Microsoft Outlook based account? You mentioned Outlook 365. I use that as well and when I run into issues (Not like yours) then I generally prefer to work with settings on the Office 365 mail account webiste. There are much more robust options to work with on there rather than the builtin settings options in our mail programs. You may have approached their support site as well however if you have not then it may be worth the time.


Axel F.


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User profile for user: trevenwith57
trevenwith57 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Apr 10, 2020 8:16 AM in response to Axel Foley

You must be getting as tired of this topic as I am frustrated! I contacted BTinternet support and they asked me to check settings, which were all ok. As a last resort, someone suggested changing the e mail account password, which I did, but still the same problem.


Clutching at straws now, but my partner uses the same BTinternet provider as me. When I look at my IMAP folders on webmail, they are pretty much standard I think: Inbox, Drafts, Sent, Junk, Trash, Archive, Deleted Messages. The same on my iphone. However, on my partner's webmail, she has: Inbox, Unread, Starred, Drafts, Sent, Archive, Spam, Deleted and then Inbox (again), then loads of sub folders including Spam, saved Mail, Junk, Sent, etc.


On her webmail, the two inboxes have the same content and are readable. Her iphone has the same folders in the same sequence (as one would expect), but the two inboxes are greyed out. It may not be significant , but below the second inbox, there is a sub-folder Bulk Mail which is the only other folder greyed out. It is also on the web mail, but is called Spam and is empty.


Sorry, this all must be quite confusing to follow. I am wondering if the IMAP folders are duplicated and/or corrupted as I can't understand why there should be two inboxes.

Jim

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User profile for user: trevenwith57
trevenwith57 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Apr 6, 2020 8:14 AM in response to Axel Foley

Thanks Axel. The Account Changes setting is set at ALLOW. Regarding iOS 13.4, the phone doesn't allow it. I assume because it is an early model (Iphone 5s).


I should have mentioned that, if I delete and reload the IMAP account, the mail app shows the inbox content initially, but as soon as I move to another folder, everything disappears and it is greyed out. However, if I open another folder and search "all folders" for a message that I know was in the Inbox, I can find it and it says it is in the Inbox folder.

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User profile for user: trevenwith57
trevenwith57 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Apr 6, 2020 9:12 AM in response to Axel Foley

Thanks Again Axel. Yes, I have spent quite a long time talking to Apple support on two occasions and some of the things I have done were suggested by them. I did try to download the Outlook 365 mail app, but even when I put the exact settings from my laptop 365 account it says it can not connect to server. I am wondering if this is an 'old iphone' issue too! I may try again though, just in case I made a mistake.

Jim

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User profile for user: trevenwith57
trevenwith57 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Apr 7, 2020 2:37 AM in response to Axel Foley

I contacted Outlook support but they have not replied yet. Meanwhile, I have some suspicions about Outlook 365, as I only installed this about 2 weeks ago and the problem started after that. I have noticed that Outlook 365 on the laptop does not always display the same recent messages as the mail provider's web e mail (Btinternet). If I have Outlook open on the laptop and emails open on the web as well, I can see more recent messages on the web, even if I do a send/receive on Outlook. I have checked and double-checked the Outlook settings and I don't think I have missed anything.


Another piece of info that might help is that if I turn off my iphone and turn it back on, the inbox is accessible, but goes back to greyed out and inaccessible as soon as I move away from it.

Jim

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User profile for user: Axel Foley
Axel Foley
User level: Level 10
151,242 points

Apr 9, 2020 7:24 AM in response to trevenwith57

Hi Teven,

I use Microsoft Office 365 as you know and use the Outlook app on my iPhone and also on my Mac. I also have personal and business accounts setup in my configuration. In my example, ALL of my accounts, including their subfolders, are available on the devices (when offline) and also on the web access.

You mentioned Btinternet. Need to clear something. Is the email account in question an account provided by Btinternet or is the email account an account provided by Microsoft?


Axel F.

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User profile for user: trevenwith57
trevenwith57 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Apr 9, 2020 7:49 AM in response to Axel Foley

Hello Axel

The email account is provided by BTinternet, which is our broadband provider.


However - I now have to apologise (because I don't use the internet mail page normally) I have just noticed that to see the whole mailbox and all the subfolders, I have to hover over the inbox and click a right arrow. So all the folders are there on webmail and the inbox can be accessed.


I wondered if it was a capacity issue on the iphone, but there seems to be enough left. It is 16GB and there is 2.06GB free. In any case, the inbox problem is the same on the iPad. Do the iPhone and iPad sync with each other for mail or just with the e mail server?

Jim

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