Mail shows paper clip but no attachment icons to open at all

Well, there are 164 more people with the same issue, according to this thread... at least. Even if I'm experiencing this issue for a long time, it's the first time I post something in this thread. And there are more users asking for attachment issues on the iOS mail app on other websites.

This issue is happening (to me) always with some senders (like the Water Company) and some attachments sent by other users, usually PDF files. So... yes, it seems to be a bug.

I had the same issue. No attachment icon. Seems to happen when the attachment is a password protected pdf file.

The following steps fixed it on my iPhone

Open the settings app.

Select "Mail"

Set the "Load Remote Images" to OFF

Hi Marcio,

I have the same issue and worked out that it happens when the attachment is a password protected pdf file. I am guessing this might be the case with your water bill.

The following fixed it for me:

Open the settings app.

Select "Mail"

Set the "Load Remote Images" to OFF

Cheers, Peter.

To modify the settings on your iPhone to allow images:

Open the settings app.

Select "Mail, Contacts, Calendars."

Set the "Load Remote Images" to ON.

I don't use a gmail "app" I just use the gmail account I set up on my iPhone. So how would I fix the same issue since I'm not using an app?

Your issue sounds like something to do with the Gmail app. That is not an Apple app, and you would need to check settings in the Gmail app to see how it displays attachments. I've not received any Gmail that uses an attachment, so I cannot answer that, but I'm going to test this out. It will take a few minutes to construct an email with attachments and send it to my Gmail account and see what happens.

EDIT: When I attached a photo to my Outlook email on the computer and sent that to my Gmail account on the Gmail app, it did not show a paperclip, it showed a small thumbnail of the photo and when I clicked on it, it opened the photo in another page. If you go to the Settings of the Gmail app, on the app itself, it has a setting for Show Sender Images.

Same issue here. It seems it is pretty common when it comes to Gmail on iOS's Mail app.

I was hoping to be able to use mostly Apple native apps, but this is a huge turn off. Outlook for iOS does a really good job and works flawlessly.

So if you are experiencing this issue, you will be better off with Gmail's own app or Outlook if you want to manage Gmail and other accounts in one app (which is what Mail should do).

I have just started to notice the same issue too! Only affects native Mail app on iOS. All other applications show attachments as they should, no changes made to email accounts or passwords or anything like that. Not due to logo or anything else misrepresenting an attachment and the load remote images setting in Settings is always on. So it must be something to do with the application itself.

I too am getting emails on my I products with attachment but no attachments show at the bottom. I can open them in windows and forward the same email back to me and they show at the bottom. Something if funny in appleville.

I'm having the same issue, I have an msn account and a gmail account and a shaw account and all show that there is an attachment but nothing in the body of the text on my iphone 8 ios 11.4, But when I go into my mail on my mac the attachments are all there, this seemed to just start happening after the last iphone update. Would be nice if there was a solution to this, please help

The isssue isn't with Microsoft. I have the same problem with emails sent to me with PDFs from a security appliance I use on my network. Doesn't go through Microsoft. Apple needs to come up with a fix. I can duplicate the issue 100%. Will display and open on all mail clients except for Apple iOS mail.

If an Apple tech is monitoring this, please get in contact with me and I can duplicate the issue.

I am having the same issue and I know it’s an attachment because when I use safari to open my email the attachment is there.

Load remote images is switched on but still I can’t access the attachment using the ios email app with all emails regardless of host but if I use Safari or my laptop I can.

It’s a little annoying-does anyone have any alternative solutions please?

2018 and this issue wasn't solved yet. 2 years, Apple!!!

Some PDF attachments are not showing on the Apple Mail app. It shows the paper clip on the mail list but no attachment inside the message. But there is an attachment, because if I try to forward the message, Apple Mail asks me if I want to include it. One of these attachments is a bill I have to pay monthly. Because of that issue, I have to use Outlook to see my bill.

Well the lack of activity on this thread in two years isn't really indicative of an "issue" - just an occasional failure of attachments opening on some mail clients. Happens from time to time and has done for as long as there's been email. As long as they open on one application or another no-one's going to be that bothered.

I’m having this exact same issue with the Native iOS mail app. No issues when I use the web app or a different client - only iOS. Shows paperclip attachment icon, but nothing in the email. Use a different client - its there as expected.