Re: mail app broken for a few dozen people

On Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:42:34 +0000, Tyrone wrote :

- Meh... the Mail app's been broken for years.
- Good luck making push notifications work properly with Gmail.
- Been using a 3rd party app, not even the Gmail app, ever since the
second hour I got my first iPhone over 10 years ago.
- It's a mystery to me as to why so many iPhone users rely on the mail
app to begin with.
 
https://9to5mac.com/2025/06/05/mail-app-bug-ios-18-5/

Hi badgolferman,

Have you noticed that the Apple trolls can't add value?
All they can do is complain that they *hate* Apple has too many bugs, which
is basically what Tyrone did (he *hates* Apple embarrassing him daily).

Anyway, to add further value...

While iOS 18.5 was released last month (May 2025), widespread reports of
this Mail app issue have only surfaced recently (early June 2025). This
suggests a delayed trigger or a cumulative effect.

As of June 6, 2025, Apple has not officially acknowledged the problem.
Their System Status page shows no issues with the Mail app, and there has
been no official communication regarding a fix.

However, Apple usually waits until it has a bug fix roadmap before making
an official statement.

It's a mystery to me as to why so many iPhone users rely
on the mail app to begin with.

Below you can see how difficult it is for an average Apple owner to set up
a MUA on an iOS device (which you and I wouldn't have a problem with, but
they might since the average Apple owner is technically incompetent).

The key for a third-party MUA to work with an Apple account is apparently
that it must support IMAP (for incoming mail) and SMTP (for outgoing mail),
and importantly, it needs to be able to use an App-Specific Password
generated from your Apple ID account if you have two-factor authentication
enabled (which is now required for new accounts).

FWIW, MUA's that work on iOS meeting those requirements are
Microsoft Outlook (the iOS app works well with iCloud accounts)
Gmail (the iOS app can add an iCloud account)
Spark Mail (the iOS app is optimized for iCloud accounts)
Edison Mail (the iOS app also works with an iCloud account)
Canary Mail (the iOS app also works with an iCloud account)
Proton Mail (the iOS app requires paid plans to forward to iCloud accounts)
Airmail (the iOS app also works with an iCloud account)

When setting up your iCloud email in any third-party app, you will almost
certainly need to generate an app-specific password. This unique password
is used instead of your regular Apple ID password when connecting
third-party apps.

You may also need to manually enter the server settings:
IMAP (Incoming Mail) Server:
 imap.mail.me.com (Port: 993, SSL/TLS required)

SMTP (Outgoing Mail) Server:
 smtp.mail.me.com (Port: 587, SSL/TLS required, Authentication required)

Username:
 Often your full iCloud email address (e.g., name@icloud.com).
 Some apps might only require the "name" part of your address.

Password:
 The app-specific password you generated.