The issue is mainly reported on the Apple ecosystem (iPhone, iPad, or Mac, etc.) and in some cases, on Windows with Microsoft Outlook. For some users, the issue occurred after an OS update, whereas, others reported seeing the issue when emails were moved between the folders. The issue is not limited to a particular email provider (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). The Mail app might show the message download issue mainly due to the following reasons:
Relaunch the Mail App After Force Closing it
A temporary glitch between the iPhone’s Mail app and the email server may cause the message downloaded issue. Here, relaunching the Mail app after force closing it may solve the problem.
Update the iOS of Your iPhone to the Latest Build
If the iOS of your iPhone is not updated to the latest build, it may have compatibility issues with the email server, resulting in the issue at hand. In such a case, updating the iOS of your phone to the latest build may solve the problem. Before updating, make sure to create a backup of your iPhone (if the update does not go well or has bugs).
Set the Mail Preview to 5 Lines
Many Mail apps only download the email headers and when the email is opened, the remaining message is downloaded. If due to a glitch, the mail app cannot properly download the header or the message, it may trigger the message download issue. Here, setting the Mail preview to 5 lines may force the Mail app to download the header and message at once, thus may solve the problem.
Enable Fetch in the Phone’s Settings
Emails are delivered to a user’s device through Push or Fetch methods. In the Push method, the server informs the client of the new emails whereas, in the Fetch method, the client application repeatedly requests the server for any new emails. By default, iPhone uses the Push method but the email server, due to a glitch, may have issues in pushing the emails to the device, resulting in the issue at hand. In this scenario, setting the iPhone to use the fetch email method may solve the problem.
Enable Download Complete in Send/Receive Group Settings
If your Mail client is configured to only download a part of the email message (e.g., without attachments), then it may fail to completely fetch the message. In this case, enabling the complete downloading of the email message in the Send/Receive Group settings may solve the problem.
Enable ‘Recent Mode’ of Gmail
If you have set up multiple email client applications like MS Outlook on a PC and Mail on iPhone, then each of these clients will check Gmail servers every 15 minutes, and the one who firstly checks an email before the other clients may hide the email from the other clients, resulting in the message downloaded issue under discussion. In this scenario, enabling the Recent Mode of the Gmail may solve the problem as in this mode the Gmail server pushes the last 30 days’ mail to all the connected email clients, regardless of the email was previously downloaded by any of the clients.
Enable ‘Keep the Copy on the Server’ Setting
Nearly every email client allows a user to remove the message copy from the server after retrieving the message. If you have more than one client configured to retrieve the email messages like iPhone and iMac, but if one of them is configured to delete messages from the server after retrieval, then that may cause the message download issue on the other device. In such a case, enabling the option of keeping the message copy on the server may solve the problem. For illustration, we will discuss disabling the mentioned setting on a Mac. Keep in mind that after enabling this setting, if you delete a message from the Delete folder on your phone or computer, then that email message may be removed from the other device as well and if you tried to access that message on the other device, that may cause the message download issue.
Disable Anti-Spam Product of Your Device
Many email clients firstly download the email headers and afterward, download the message when required. If your anti-spam or security product is filtering the email headers that are not compatible with your email client, then the email client may show the message download issue. In this context, disabling the anti-spam or security product of your device may solve the problem. For illustration, we will discuss the process of disabling GFI MailEssentials. Warning: Proceed at your own risk as disabling the anti-spam or security product of your system/ device may expose the system to threats like viruses, trojans, etc.
Re-Add the Email Account to the Mail App
The Mail app may fail to download the message from the email servers due to a temporary communication glitch or corruption of the email account on the device. In this context, turning off/on email or re-adding the email account to the Mail app may solve the problem.
Turn Off and Turn on the Email Account
Re-Add the Email Account
Reinstall the Mail App
The Mail app may show the downloaded message issue if the Mail app’s installation or configuration is corrupt. Here, reinstalling the Mail app may solve the problem. If none of the above did the trick and you are using an Exchange server, then check if enabling Active Sync in the server solves the problem. Also, make sure the Accepted Domain settings in the Exchange server are properly configured. Keep in mind if you are using a wildcard (*) in the accepted domain field, then it may cause the issue at hand, and removing it may clear the issue. For a common user, if the issue is still there, then the user may have to use a 3rd party app (like Outlook on iPhone) or restore the device to the defaults.
Workarounds
If you do not want to use a 3rd-party app or restore the device, then check if using any of the following workarounds temporary solve the problem:
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