Delete outgoing mail server on iphone

Easy solution. Tap on the outgoing mail server that you want to delete (i.e. smtp.talktalk.net). The just add any random letter to the end (i.e. smtp.talktalk.netko). It will eventually prompt you to save. Once you have saved it you should be able to simply delete it. (I just deleted six identical ones which were annoying me!!!)

On 10.3.1 this worked for me:

1. Have the preferred smtp server as a primary smtp server on one account
2. On the account with the wrong and undeletable smtp server, change the info of the primary server to the preferred smtp server. Yes, this will create a duplicate, don’t worry. Also, in the list of other smtp servers toggle the preferred smtp server ON for this account.
3. Go back back to the first account and see that the duplicate smtp server in the list of other smtp servers no longer has the warning ‘This server cannot be modified because it is the primary outgoing server for the account blahblahblah’
4. Change the Host Name to an invalid server name and save (Tap Done, OK on the warning, Done again and Save)
5. The now broken duplicate smtp server has a Delete Server button on the bottom of its page

I moved email providers and despite removing the old SMTP server from the iphone settings mail wasn't being sent and kept complaining about the old SMTP server even though it was not referenced anywhere!

I then added a new, 2nd SMTP server and bingo! the error went away.

Delete the mail account, then re-add it.

Thank you AnimalFreeride! That too has been bothering me forever and your solution worked! Now if I could only get my work email to work on my iPhone again...thanks again!

Ok, I have a variation on this problem. I keep getting a message that mail can't be sent using an smtp server I once used. This smtp server is not even listed in my smtp list though, so how do I delete?

iPhone 5 running iOS 6.01 with iCloud linked to one mac with Mountain Lion and another running Lion plus 2 iPads.

I was able to fix incoming mail hang by deleting all email accounts, adding them back but with iCloud as the last one

Thank you so much. Did as you said and it worked.

Awesome! It worked. Thanks for your reply 🙂

AnimalFreeride is 100% correct! I had about 20 "unused" outbound servers just sitting there with the same name.

Presumably, the sub-par programmers that made the entire mail app on the iphone (no spam handling, IMAP doesn't search, blah blah) decided to use the server name as the "unique" key to figure out which entry to delete.

When they search and find more than one entry, they just don't show the delete button. Classy. That's immensely lazy code, "I don't want to solve this, so I'll just make it so you can't do it."

In any event - when you do what AnimalFreeride (God Bless you, AnimalFreeride!) pointed out, and add a few letters -- your target entry is now "unique" and presto -- the lazy coder's Delete button reappears.

I just added this entry to show that it still is a problem years later, and also to explain to "nervous nerds" that it's a safe way to clear the list.

This solution worked for some but not others. Any other issues I need to address. How do I just start over from scratch???