IMAP mail fails on iPhone/iPad after iOS 26.2 update

Who is your email provider? Many now are restricting access to third party Mail clients and require you to authorize them first. An OS update may appear as a different device on your Mail providers server.

I know that is the case for Xfinity email accounts where you need to go to their Web Mail portal and under the Security tab in Settings there is a checkbox that you must allow access to a Mail client. Others can use an Authenticator app that must be used first to allow access.

Hey there,

Check is whether a VPN is enabled.

VPNs can interfere with IMAP syncing after ios updates. Try turning the VPN off completely, restart the device, and then refresh Mail to see if the inbox starts syncing again.

Force your iPhone to restart:

1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo (this might take longer than 10 seconds).

If that was too difficult, then simply ask Siri: "Restart".

Need more help?

• Call 1-800-APLCARE.
• Contact Support.
• iPhone Support.
• iPhone User Guide.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

momtopj wrote:

I'm not sure if this had anything to do with it, but I simply left all the email accounts open last night on my laptop, my phone and my ipad and the issue seemed to resolve itself overnight. I'd like to say I found a fix, but it may just be a communication with the imap client that is to blame. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Problem solved and sometimes that is all we need, with the reason not always known. Thank you for your update.

momtopj wrote:

I did that and it didn't seem to help, but the issue has resolved itself this morning after all email was left open on all devices overnight.

Thanks for the update.

For future reference, you can always check ▶︎ System Status.

Smiliñ 😎 Brian