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Level 1

25 points

iPad Mail Troubles - Saved Drafts Disappear, Sent Mail Doesn't Show

I'm having several iPad Mail problems, but they don't happen all the time...
I have finished emails that I want to save as a Draft, I hit Cancel, then Save, and the email appears for a moment in the Drafts folder, then disappears. I can't find it anywhere. And the messages were not in the Trash or Deleted Messages folders nor in any MobileMe folders... just gone. Very frustrating, especially with one very long work-in-progress email.
I have sent several emails from iPad Mail, hear the "swoosh" sound, and there is no trace of them in the Sent or Sent Messages folder and no BCC copy comes through, nor do they appear in MobileMe, but I have confirmed with intended recipients and they did receive the emails. This is not good.
Even more frustrating is the fact these problems only occur sometimes, not all the time. And I can't find anything consistent or make the problems repeat by doing something specific.
Right now I've had to stop using the iPad for any important emails. Any clues on these issues?

MacBook Pro, iPhone4, iPad, TiBook G4, PB 250, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Oct 8, 2010 10:09 PM

Best reply

joey Leone

Level 1

23 points

Posted on Jan 10, 2017 1:18 PM

THANKS! This helped me as well, I normally use my gmail account to send (and it's set as my default iOS mail account) but I could never find SAVED DRAFTS (after clicking cancel , then SAVE DRAFT)

I would go to the mail folders menu in iOS mail, and there was even a Drafts folder under my main gmail account but it only had drafts from my gmail account (i.e. The iOS mail drafts were NOT ever in this folder , nor in any other of my accounts drafts folder nor any other folders at all, { yes, I went through ever folder looking for drafts})

I HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD THOUGH / AN ADDITIONAL , FURTHER FIX that may help others and def. helped me:

Once I went to settings then accounts, I went to my Gmail account and simply changed its name (I added a "_" to the front of the name). After doing this once I went back to the iOS mail app and then the folders view, under my Gmail account there was now a drafts folder at the top of the list! (In addition to the old Drafts folder {that is part of my web based gmail account} further down the list). So after changing the name by simply one character, I have two drafts folders under my Gmail account and when I click cancel then save draft on a new message it properly appears under the newly created drafts folder at the top of the list for this Gmail account.

So if you are experiencing this same issue, try simply modifying the name of your ex ternal account, in Settings -> Accounts

Note, this entire time under my Gmail account (in setting->accounts) the setting for "save drafts to drafts folder" has always been enabled, I just assume through the various major iOS updates at some point iOS mail did not properly apply this setting/feature to my Gmail account so simply changing the name of my gmail account (again, in settings->Accounts , on the Iphone) caused iOS or iOS mail to properly apply this setting and create the drafts folder At the top of my external gmail account's folder list (in iOS mail).

After doing this I simply tested it by making a new message clicking cancel and selecting saved to drafts, and it's properly saved to the new drafts folder under my Gmail account.

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61 replies

Feb 9, 2016 5:29 AM in response to BebLo

BebLo, I thought I should let you know that your reply is the only place on the whole **** internet where this brilliant fix is to be found.

Basically, yes, amazingly, there is the intuitive draft folder that you select from among the mailbox folders, which will have some drafts in it; and then there is this 'other' expanded draft folder that you access by holding the Compose button which contains all of the above *plus* all of your missing vanished drafts in case you were confronted with the vanishing draft phenomenon.

Incredible. One year and a half has passed since your post above, we are now well beyond iOS 9, and this problem still exists.

It gets worse, for me at least. I didn't read your full message in its entirety, and having found the missing drafts, I simply clicked send without copying the content in the clipboard. The email appeared to leave but went into a black hole. It never arrived, it's not in the draft or sent folders. So my joy was short lived and my email is now lost forever. I am so mad at not having copied it in the clipboard in the brief moments after I had recovered it using your suggestion.

iPad Mail Troubles - Saved Drafts Disappear, Sent Mail Doesn't Show