Phantom unread emails: Mail shows 5 unread messages, but there are none...

Three years later (October 2, 2015) and your solution still solves the problem.....who knew. Thanks!

This SIMPLE solution is: go to settings, then open "Mail, Contacts, Calendar", touch and open "outlook". The first box should be Mail and green should be showing. Turn it off.....wait a couple minutes and turn it back on. That will do it. No recreating mail etc., etc. waaayyyyy too complicated. This is simple and it works.

Regards all......

The following worked for me.

Go to Settings

Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars

Go to your email account

Turn off Mail

Reboot your iPad/iPhone

Go back and turn on Mail.

Perfect worked for me I had 2 phantom messages for weeks. I turned just mail off for my exchange account and then closed the mail app and when back into setting, mail and turn mail for that account back on and that forced a sync. Fixed!

jsiddo (response from page 2) - Three and a half years later it worked for me! (sending email to myself using account showing unread message) Thanks! 🙂

Worked Perfect!!!

This worked on my 4s as well...

Nflatte

My phone doesn't seem to have the option to turn on/off email in mail, contacts, calendars. Anyone got suggestions? I've had 1-2 unreads showing up on the front screen ever since I updated my operating system. Grrrr.

And I've tried setting everything as read, and then unread. They disappear for a few moments and then come back.

Worked!!!!

I am working on this problem with a friend and his iPhone. He deleted the email account, readded it. Still one mystery unread email. We tried marking all unread, then marking all read, still one unread email. Tried force quitting. Can't upgrade, already at current iOS.

I Did this on my iPad mini, didn't need to turn the whole thing off. It worked! Phantom unread email be gone!

When you go to mail, there is absolutely a green button you turn off. then restart your phone, then go back and turn the green button on.

all your phantom emails will be gone.

When I select Mail, Contacts, Calendars, it gives me the option of "Hotmail" only. If I select that it just lists the email account and gives no option to turn it off. If there's something I'm missing please point it out to me.

Thanks so much. When I read your suggestion it seemed too easy. I was up to 38 unread phantom emails and the second I did as you said and opened the test email from my account to myself - they were all gone! Brilliant. Thanks so much

Worked for me on my iPad. Thanks!

this worked for me also - but I didn't have to shut down phone.

Just turned email off and then back on.

Thanks,