This message has not been downloaded from the server.

iphone emails: exchange: This message has not been downloaded from the server.

I am an I.T. admin who also runs the network and email server. This error on the iphone about the messages not being downloaded is bogus.

In the older IOS versions I would get the same error message, however, when you touch and hold the email message, it would preview the entire email because the iphone had in fact actually downloaded the message.

Now in the latest IOS, apple has disabled the preview to hide the fact that the message was actually downloaded.

I did a network packet capture on the mail server using my phone’s IP address while I downloaded email on my phone.

I can confirm 100% that when the iphone did not display a email message, it had already downloaded that message according to the email server logs and also the fact that whenever I would refresh the messages back and forth, switching between messages until the message actually displayed, the iphone never once talked to the mail server before the message was actually displayed.

I was able to reproduce this test over and over again to prove to other iphone users that their iphone never communicated with the mail server again before magically working out how to display the message that has an error message of “This message has not been downloaded from the server.”

This problem is an IOS issue that needs to be solved.

If this problem is not addressed in the next IOS update, the end users are going to see this for what it is.

Don’t simply blame the end user’s non apple / not icloud / email solution / email server / third party email.

It is an strange situation that apple’s own icloud accounts don’t get the same error message.

It is a strange situation that the previous IOS version would allow you to touch and hold the message that could not be downloaded and it would fully display the contents of the message until we let go. It is very strange that the preview feature has now been disabled in the new IOS versions.

Fix the problem and stop trying to make people feel like they should have to use an apple icloud account because their own email solution is inferior to apple’s….

I am interested in sharing my findings with others and with apple.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on Aug 15, 2023 6:10 AM

Top-ranking reply

nige44

Level 1

14 points

Posted on Jun 20, 2024 3:29 AM

I have the same issue on my iPad, which uses Apples own email app. I have two fixes.

On the iPad, select Reply and the message magically appears. It remains visible even after cancelling the reply.
On my iPhone, I use the Outlook email app. In this, I never get ‘not downloaded’.

I think this is appalling behaviour from Apple because in an increasingly digital world we receive many things (event passes, QR codes for parking, flight details) be email that we simply present on the device at the point we need to; check-in, or a concert gate etc. And almost all of these will be booked well in advance.

My own example is that I have booked a holiday to celebrate my wife’s birthday and received QR codes for the car park and the hotel reservation, four events, a restaurant booking and a link to prepay for a gluten free cake three days before we arrive (my wife is coeliac). I have just been to check everything, which I booked in January 2024, and on my iPad “message not downloaded”. I checked my phone…there they are! On the iPad, I clicked Reply and the whole message appeared, codes, QRs and the necessary link. I cancelled the Reply and the email contents remained on screen so I can use the link to pay for the cake. I then went through all the other emails and had to Reply to see them all too.

It must be date-related, but that is very poor from Apple.

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95 replies

LushGirl

Level 1

4 points

Jun 11, 2024 9:01 PM in response to Allan1228

I get the message on both Yahoo & Gmail

Jun 15, 2024 7:31 AM in response to Sipizen

Unfortunately, the situation, which did improve for awhile, has reverted to problem mode – emails simply not downloading.

Butt38

Level 1

8 points

Jun 18, 2024 5:02 PM in response to Sipizen

I can’t download emails on my iPhone.

C4h11P26

Level 1

14 points

Jul 1, 2024 3:16 AM in response to Carliemac

My emails on my iPad says message has not been downloaded from the server

Mar 17, 2024 1:41 PM in response to Sipizen

Try this try to delete as many emails as you can from your yahoo account. I deleted over 1000 and now it works just fine. Go to Yahoo and pick a word that’s associated with lots of emails. I picked the word Macy’s. And then searched then went to edit, and if you put your finger on the upper left-hand corner of your screen and run your finger down to the bottom of the screen and leave it there, it will highlight every single Macy’s ad you’ve received since you’ve had a yahoo account and then delete I deleted 2000 emails and now everything downloads from the server. After you’ve done all those deletions turn your phone off off wait five minutes turn it back on again. It worked and it’s kept working so far for three days.

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This message has not been downloaded from the server.