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Why do emails deleted on my Mac continue to appear in the inbox of my iPhone?

This has not been an issue until two days ago. My primary email is a Gmail account which I routinely access from my iPhone, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro. All three devices previously synced the read/unread status, deletion, and folder location of all emails just fine. Yesterday, I read and deleted about sixty emails on my MBP and they still appeared on my iPhone in the inbox as unread. I have not changed any settings on either device. Both have a solid internet connection.

iPhone SE, iOS 14

Posted on Jun 12, 2021 4:09 AM

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7 replies

Jun 13, 2021 8:02 AM in response to acnomad

Hi acnomad,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities! We're glad you've reached out for help with this email behavior you're seeing. Let's get to the bottom of it together.


To start, please let us know a bit more about what's going on. Is this behavior only affecting your Gmail account? Does this issue go in both directions? For example, have you noticed if deleting a message on iPhone deletes off of Mac?


Which version of macOS have you got installed on your Mac, and which version of iOS on your iPhone? Do the messages you deleted on your MacBook Pro remain present on your Mac mini as well?


You mentioned that both devices have a reliable internet connection. Have you had a chance to restart both since noticing this behavior? If not, please do so now, as this will help refresh the network connection the next time the Mail app is opened on each.


Here's a guide with the recommended steps to perform a standard restart on Mac:


Log out, sleep, wake, restart, or shut down your Mac - Apple Support


And here are the steps for iPhone:


Restart your iPhone - Apple Support


Let us know if you've got any questions whatsoever.


Have a great day!

Jun 13, 2021 9:45 AM in response to acnomad

Hi acnomad,


Got it, thanks! In that case, will it be possible to join your Mac to a different Wi-Fi network to verify if the issue persists? This can help to isolate the root cause to your network connection.


If it's no longer occurring on another Wi-Fi network, we can recommend restarting your previous Wi-Fi router, then joining that network again to test further.


If it's still occurring on another network, you may opt to delete your Gmail account from the Mail app, then add it back. This process verifies the correct mail account settings, so it may resolve unexpected issues if some account setting has changed on the service provider's side.


This guide explains how to remove and add a mail account:


Add or remove email accounts in Mail on Mac - Apple Support


We're here for you if you've got questions.


Take care.

Jun 13, 2021 12:52 PM in response to acnomad

Hi acnomad,


Thanks so much for clarifying. Since the issue persists after deleting and adding your account back, you'll want to test in safe mode to see if there's some installed login item that is interfering with the Mail app. Safe mode prevents login items from loading, so it's a great way to isolate software issues.


Here's a guide with the recommended steps to test in safe mode:


How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


If the issue is no longer occurring in safe mode, you'll want to restart your Mac once more to start up normally, and test again. If the issue returns, this helps to isolate it so some incompatibility with a login item. Follow the steps in this guide to test your login items:


Remove login items to resolve startup problems on your Mac - Apple Support


We're here for you if you've got any questions, or find that the issue persists in safe mode as well.


Have a great day!

Jun 13, 2021 11:32 AM in response to jcasapple

The problem occurs on various WiFi networks as well as when connected to the iPhone's hotspot. I did as you suggested and deleted the Gmail account from the Mail app on the MBP. After adding it back, the problem persists. I tried reading, deleting, and moving various mail messages, but none of that activity is reflected either on my iPhone nor when I view the email account via a browser. The issue appears to be occurring entirely within the Mac Mail app.

Why do emails deleted on my Mac continue to appear in the inbox of my iPhone?

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