Fix “Cannot Get Mail: The Connection to the Server Has Failed” Error

Experiencing the frustrating “Cannot Get Mail: The connection to the server has failed” error on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? This common issue can disrupt your daily communication and productivity. This guide provides comprehensive steps to troubleshoot and resolve this problem, ensuring you regain access to your email.

Understanding Why the Connection to the Server Might Fail

Before diving into solutions, it’s helpful to understand why this error occurs. The “Cannot Get Mail: The connection to the server has failed” message indicates that your device is unable to communicate with your email provider’s server. Several factors can cause this, including:

• Internet Connectivity Issues: A weak or unstable Wi-Fi or cellular connection is the most frequent culprit.
• Server Downtime: Occasionally, your email provider’s servers might be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance or outages.
• Incorrect Email Account Settings: Wrongly configured incoming or outgoing server settings, ports, or security protocols can prevent a successful connection.
• Password Problems: An incorrect or outdated password can block access to your email account.
• App-Specific Password Requirements: Some email providers now require app-specific passwords for third-party email applications like the Mail app on iOS/iPadOS.
• Software Glitches: Temporary software glitches on your device can sometimes interfere with email functionality.

Troubleshooting Steps to Restore Your Email Connection

Follow these steps in order to diagnose and fix the “Cannot Get Mail” error.

1. Check Your Internet Connection

Ensure your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is properly connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or cellular data.

• Wi-Fi: Verify you are connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. Try opening a webpage in Safari to confirm internet access. If your Wi-Fi is weak, try moving closer to your router or restarting it.
• Cellular Data: If using cellular data, make sure it is enabled for Mail in Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options and that Mail is toggled on under “Cellular Data.”

2. Verify Mail Server Status

Before making changes to your device, check if your email provider’s server is experiencing any known issues. You can usually do this by:

• Visiting your email provider’s website and checking their support or status page.
• Searching online for “[Your Email Provider] server status” (e.g., “Gmail server status”, “Yahoo mail server status”).
• Checking social media for reports of outages.

If there is a server outage, the issue is likely not on your end, and you’ll need to wait until your provider resolves the problem.

3. Delete and Re-add Your Email Account

This is a surprisingly effective solution for resolving many email connection problems. Deleting and re-adding your account can clear out corrupted settings and re-establish a fresh connection to the server.

Steps to Delete Your Email Account:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
2. Tap Mail.
3. Tap Accounts.
4. Select the email account experiencing issues.
5. Tap Delete Account.
6. Confirm by tapping Delete Account again in the pop-up.

Force Restart Your Device:

Before re-adding the account, perform a forced restart. This can resolve temporary software glitches. The method varies slightly depending on your device model:

• iPad with Face ID: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the top button until the device restarts.
• iPad with Home button, iPhone 6s or earlier, or iPod touch (6th generation) or earlier: Press and hold both the Home and the top (or side) buttons until you see the Apple logo.
• iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the side button and the volume down button until you see the Apple logo.
• iPhone 8 or later, iPhone SE (2nd generation or later): Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo.

Steps to Re-add Your Email Account:

1. Open Settings again.
2. Tap Mail.
3. Tap Accounts.
4. Tap Add Account.
5. Select your email provider (e.g., iCloud, Exchange, Google, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com). If you don’t see your provider, tap Other.
6. Enter your name, email address, password, and a description for the account.
7. Tap Next. The Mail app will attempt to automatically find your email settings.
8. If prompted, enter the correct server settings (incoming and outgoing mail servers, username, password). You can usually find these settings on your email provider’s help website by searching for “[Your Email Provider] email settings”.
9. Choose the information you want to sync (Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Notes).
10. Tap Save.

4. Use an App-Specific Password

For enhanced security, many email providers like AOL, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft now require the use of app-specific passwords when accessing your email through third-party apps. If you have two-factor authentication enabled for your email account, you likely need an app-specific password.

To generate an app-specific password:

1. Using a web browser on your computer or another device, log in to your email provider’s account management website.
2. Navigate to the security settings or account security section.
3. Look for options related to “App passwords,” “Third-party app access,” or “Less secure apps.” The exact wording varies by provider.
4. Generate a new app-specific password. You might be asked to name the app (e.g., “iPad Mail”).
5. Copy or carefully note down the generated password. This password is unique and different from your regular email account password.

When re-adding your email account or updating your password in the Mail app, use this app-specific password instead of your regular password.

• AOL App-Specific Passwords: AOL Help – Allow apps that use less secure sign-in
• Yahoo App-Specific Passwords: Yahoo Help – Generate and manage third-party app passwords
• Gmail App-Specific Passwords: Google Support – Sign in with app passwords
• Microsoft App-Specific Passwords: Microsoft Support – Using app passwords with apps that don’t support two-step verification

5. Double-Check Email Settings

If automatically adding your account doesn’t work, or if you suspect incorrect settings, manually verify your incoming (IMAP or POP3) and outgoing (SMTP) server settings. You can typically find the correct settings on your email provider’s help pages. Key settings to check include:

• Incoming Mail Server (IMAP or POP3): Server address, port number, security type (SSL/TLS).
• Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): Server address, port number, security type (STARTTLS or SSL/TLS), authentication requirements.
• Username and Password: Ensure these are correct. Username is often your full email address.
• SSL/TLS Encryption: Most providers require SSL/TLS encryption for security.

6. Update Your Device Software

Ensure your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS. Software updates often include bug fixes that can resolve email-related issues.

Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for and install any available updates.

Still Cannot Get Mail?

If you’ve tried all these steps and are still encountering the “Cannot Get Mail: The connection to the server has failed” error, consider contacting your email provider’s support or Apple Support for further assistance. They may be able to provide more specific troubleshooting based on your account and device configuration.