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SMTP outgoing mail server settings greyed out - cannot send mail - IPad Pro 12 - iOS 16.6.1

My emails have recently stopped sending on my iPad - rendering it untrustworthy - stuff hangs around in outbox (or doesn’t send at all and disappears). I can’t seem to edit the SMTP outgoing mail server details which don’t have a password (it’s all greyed out for some weird reason and I cannot turn it off). I’ve deleted and reinstalled my gmail account. No dice. I’ve tried adding a server but it tells me my details are incorrect - even though it signed me in when I reinstalled the account so the email and password must be correct- I’m losing faith in apple. Any suggestions welcome.

Posted on Oct 25, 2023 2:45 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Oct 26, 2023 6:24 AM

Begin with updating your iPad to the current version of iPadOS - at time of writing, this being iPadOS 16.7.2, or for supported devices, optionally iPadOS 17.1.


Having updated your iPad, start with initial fault finding:


What happens when you try to receive or send email? Do you see any errors - and if so, what do you see?


If email is failing to send or receive, you are likely to see indicative errors at the bottom of the mail sidebar - the wording of the error usually providing sufficient information to determine the nature of the problem.


Deleting and re-adding your email account is sometimes the easiest way to resolve a problem with a specific Mail account. After deleting the account, perform a forced restart before re-adding the email account to your iPad.


  • Delete account:

Settings > Mail > Accounts > [Your Mail Account] > Delete Account


  • Force restart the iPad:

Force restart iPad - Apple Support


  • Add Mail Account:

Settings > Mail > Add Account



Also be aware that some email providers now require the use of App Specific Passwords when accessing mail over IMAP or POP3. If this applies to your email account, you will need to generate a unique password for your iPad email account - that will differ from your normal Account Password. As examples - AOL, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft all use App Specific Passwords when using anything other than their own email client Apps.


If you need to generate an App Specific Password, you’ll need to log-in to your Mail Providers account management webpage - using a web browser - and generate the Password from the appropriate account security page.


More information about AOL’s App Specific Passwords can be found here:

https://help.aol.com/articles/allow-apps-that-use-less-secure-sign-in?guccounter=1


For Yahoo, more information can be found here:

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN27791.html


For Gmail:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?hl=en-GB


Microsoft:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/using-app-passwords-with-apps-that-don-t-support-two-step-verification-5896ed9b-4263-e681-128a-a6f2979a7944

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2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Oct 26, 2023 6:24 AM in response to Jtm237hlcffshxuc

Begin with updating your iPad to the current version of iPadOS - at time of writing, this being iPadOS 16.7.2, or for supported devices, optionally iPadOS 17.1.


Having updated your iPad, start with initial fault finding:


What happens when you try to receive or send email? Do you see any errors - and if so, what do you see?


If email is failing to send or receive, you are likely to see indicative errors at the bottom of the mail sidebar - the wording of the error usually providing sufficient information to determine the nature of the problem.


Deleting and re-adding your email account is sometimes the easiest way to resolve a problem with a specific Mail account. After deleting the account, perform a forced restart before re-adding the email account to your iPad.


  • Delete account:

Settings > Mail > Accounts > [Your Mail Account] > Delete Account


  • Force restart the iPad:

Force restart iPad - Apple Support


  • Add Mail Account:

Settings > Mail > Add Account



Also be aware that some email providers now require the use of App Specific Passwords when accessing mail over IMAP or POP3. If this applies to your email account, you will need to generate a unique password for your iPad email account - that will differ from your normal Account Password. As examples - AOL, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft all use App Specific Passwords when using anything other than their own email client Apps.


If you need to generate an App Specific Password, you’ll need to log-in to your Mail Providers account management webpage - using a web browser - and generate the Password from the appropriate account security page.


More information about AOL’s App Specific Passwords can be found here:

https://help.aol.com/articles/allow-apps-that-use-less-secure-sign-in?guccounter=1


For Yahoo, more information can be found here:

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN27791.html


For Gmail:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?hl=en-GB


Microsoft:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/using-app-passwords-with-apps-that-don-t-support-two-step-verification-5896ed9b-4263-e681-128a-a6f2979a7944

SMTP outgoing mail server settings greyed out - cannot send mail - IPad Pro 12 - iOS 16.6.1

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