After ios9 update my emails with attachments won't open and say "message not yet downloaded from server". They were there previously. How do I get them back?

Lawrence Finch wrote:

• There is a bug in the iOS 9, 9.0.1, 9.0.2 and 9.1 mail app that does not save messages on the device except in temporary storage.
• This bug affects ALL email account types, not just POP, but it's more serious with POP because that's the only protocol that does sync to saved messages on the server.
• Apple has responded to reports of this bug and said they will fix it.

End of story.

Sir, yes Sir!

Your right, because you are Level 7 User with 33785 Point´s. We are only Level 1 with 0 Points only with much more Problems in our private home business. Our mails are lost and we have to accept this. Thats right. I want to excuse me, for my comments in this thread. Forgot it all.

I talked with a Apple service rep, she acknowledged there was a problem, her suggestion was that I use a third party email program until Apple can get it fixed. We just need to keep making noise until Apple gets it fixed. Everybody post this to your social media accounts, get this publicized!

Third Party Program. Be aware that if Apple ultimately fixes the issue and you decide to delete the third party program, all of the accumulated emails that you sent or received using that program will also be deleted. The solution is email to yourself whatever you want to save and then open it in your iPhone inbox before deleting the program.

Hello,

I phoned to support Apple yesterday : it was the 4th call to support Apple about this probem ; I spoke to iOS Senior Advisor FR Apple Operations Europe.

He told me : the problem is going to be fixed by Apple as soon as possible. It will be fixed by ios 9.2. He did not accept to give me the official day because it not yet official but he said : it will be done "very quickly" because Apple knows the very important problem with pop accounts.

He asked me to confirm by email to him the resolution of this problem as soon I will test ios 9.2 official on my phone.

It seems to be before december 2015 ... in few days ...

Have nice day,

Thank you so much for the information and update joëlfrombergarac!

Thanks for this info. It appears the number of reports is growing from people who have spoken to Apple and received acknowledgement that there is a problem.

In terms of PR, it would be nice to think Apple could be more consistent with their responses - I'm sure it would reflect far more favourably with their unhappy customers.

I might chime in. I am so disapointed having installed iOS 9. Especially because of mail. Downloeded mails show as not yet downloaded a couple of days later and if you are offline like on an aircraft and you want to shoe a specific e-mail pertaining to reservation details to an FA, its gone... HUGELY annoying. And there is no way to get back iOS 8 that didn't have this bug.

Good that Apple is (slowly) reacting!

I agree, so disappointed with the Mail Not Downloaded from the server message. I want to scream every time I see that message.

When will this be sorted!

Probably when iOS 9.2 is released.

I think : " I made a dream " .... : Apple should be glad by giving ios 9.2 to day or tomorow for all users damaged by the big bug with pop mail accounts ... and then ... if neccessary give 9.2.1 ... 9.2.2 for next problems .... ...

Have nice day ....

Probably isn't good enough. We've been hearing "probably" for two months! They knew about it with IOS 9.0 but subsequent updates have done nothing. To go two months with buggy email is not acceptable. I would think they would announce something since the much-touted IPad pro runs on IOS 9.1. If folks shell out 1k for a device with buggy email the howls will make this thread seem minor, especially with the holiday buying season coming up.

Spewer22 wrote:

"Probably isn't good enough. We've been hearing "probably" for two months! They knew about it with IOS 9.0 but subsequent updates have done nothing. To go two months with buggy email is not acceptable. I would think they would announce something since the much-touted IPad pro runs on IOS 9.1. If folks shell out 1k for a device with buggy email the howls will make this thread seem minor, especially with the holiday buying season coming up."

While it is not part of Apple's DNA to make announcements on bugs prior to releasing a fix it does seem counterintuitive to introduce iPad Pro running iOS9.1. It's actually closer to bizarre since POP mail users will be irate with the dysfunction after spending $1k +/-. Rectifying the problem is obviously not cookie cutter simple. Hopefully Apple is close to releasing a fix.

I have come to the conclusion that they are not going to do it. Your post helped me to understand why. You said fixing the problem is not cookie cutter. Having written code I started thinking. Pop3 worked in IOS7, so how hard can it be to pull or tweak that code module. Then I asked what major code change happened after IOS 7 that would require rewriting the email section?

So...here is a theory. The one big change after 7 has been how you do upgrades. With 7 and previous upgrades the process could be a pain because you pretty much had to wipe your machine to have room for the install then put everything back. That was an IOS tablet/phone problem that was costing them. As folks have added more apps and the apps have gotten bigger and more complex, upgrades became more of a pain. Apple's first solution was ICloud, but folks aren't using it to the degree they thought. In fact the whole theory of cloud-based computing is starting to resemble a dead end. So with IOS 8+ Apple came up with the brilliant, but flawed idea of being able to make upgrades more painless, especially for apps. The one problem was Pop3 emails. Think of the coding issues: how much space do you allot for Pop3? How can you make sure all sorts attachments, some custom-coded are uploaded? Definitely not cookie cutter. My theory is that their current solution is to limit the space occupied by emails. There are several possible ways to do this. Just like on your IMAP work server they could just limit the size of the email. That probably would have brought even more howls. So my theory is the new IOS has a cap on mailbox capacity. That would explain why the so-called Pop3 problem is erratic. In essence Pop mailboxes have become too much for IOS.

The limitations of IOS and the Pro put Apple at an interesting crossroads. If the Pro really is going to compete with Microsoft and Google in this market IOS does not cut it, as numerous reviews have pointed out. It needs a real OS. I am wondering if with the new chipset whether Apple will eventually do that. THAT would be a game breaker if they put it out some time next year. The very real problem is programming it to run with legacy IOS apps. They have faced the equivalent of this when chip architecture went from 32 to 64 bits. Apple did the right thing. Windows screwed up which is why a lot of folks switched. Now Apple has a chance to change the game again. I would say a new OS for tablets and phones could bring a market share uptick of ten points or more! especially if they could have robust links to Apple TV. Good luck Apple! A lot of us are pulling for you.

Spewer22 wrote:

"My theory is that their current solution is to limit the space occupied by emails. There are several possible ways to do this. Just like on your IMAP work server they could just limit the size of the email. That probably would have brought even more howls. So my theory is the new IOS has a cap on mailbox capacity. That would explain why the so-called Pop3 problem is erratic. In essence Pop mailboxes have become too much for IOS."

Two points: (1) at one point I deleted all messages that had the not downloaded from server dialogue and was down to no more than 2-3 emails still on my phone. That's a total between Inbox, Sent and Trash mailboxes. While the remaining emails were short and text only messages that were less than 1MB combined, the next 2 emails that I received showed the not downloaded from server message within 24 hours of arrival. That behavior does not seem to be consistent with your theory of an allocation for email. (2) there have been posts from iOS9.2 beta testers reporting a successful remedy for the POP mail issue in 9.2

I agree with Rontu.

IT's just a bug! Plain and simple! Why did it become a bug? Who knows. Software bugs happen all the time in the industry! The bug evolves around improper memory management/allocation of the Apple mail app. Why is it taking so long for Apple to fix this bug? Another unknown! Do we know when this bug will be corrected? The answer is very soon, from what the beta testers are saying about 9.2 beta build....I'm hoping for a late November realease of 9.2.....just a guess though.