How To Delete Email Stuck In Outbox On Iphone

Fix Stuck Email in Outbox of iPhone or iPad

Have you ever gone to send an email in iOS only to have the message get stuck in the Mail app outbox of iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? You'll know when this happens because at the bottom of the Mail app in iOS, the status bar shows "1 Unsent Message" in iOS, or perhaps even more unsent messages if multiple emails are stuck in the outbox.

If you find yourself with email stuck in the outbox of iPhone or iPad, you can use a few simple tricks to quickly fix the problem and send the email on the way..

Fix the Stuck Outbox Message in Mail for iOS with a Reboot

The good news is that most stuck outbox emails can be unstuck by simply rebooting the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

The easiest way to force reboot an iPhone or iPad is to hold down the Power Button and Home Button concurrently until you see the Apple  logo on screen.

Once the iOS device has powered back up again, be sure there is an active wi-fi or data connection, then re-open the Mail app. The Mail message should send on it's own.

Re-Send a Stuck Outbox Email in iOS

If the email message is still stuck after you have rebooted the iPhone, try resending it. This is easily done through the iOS Mail outbox on the iPhone or iPad:

Open Mail app and go to "Mailboxes" then choose "Outbox"

Choose the Outbox to resend the stuck message

Tap on the stuck message in the outbox (usually signified by the stuck email message having a little red (!) icon next to it, or a perpetually spinning status indicator)

Send email stuck in outbox of iOS

Tap on the "Send" button to attempt to re-send the stuck email message

This usually works to push along a stuck email that is sitting unsent in the outbox of iOS.

Delete a Stuck Unsent Email Message in iOS

The other option is to simply delete the stuck outbox email message. This is what you'll want to do if none of the above tricks work (and they should). Keep in mind if the email is important, you'll want to copy and paste the email body content into a new message otherwise you will lose the stuck unsent email:

Open Mail app and go to "Mailboxes" then choose "Outbox"
Tap on the "Edit" button in the upper right corner and choose Trash to delete the email message that is stuck in the outbox

Delete a stuck email in outbox on iPhone or iPad

Tap on "Done"

You can also use a swipe-left gesture on the stuck Outbox email message to delete it manually and directly.

Confirm Login Info for Send/Receive Mail Servers

Some users have found that while an incoming mail servers has a password, the outgoing mail server does not. If this is the case, you'll simply need to authenticate with the outgoing mail server as well. You can check Mail settings per account by doing the following:

Open Settings and go to "Mail" then to "Accounts"
Tap the account having issues
Tap on the email address
Confirm all email account data is accurate

Some users have noticed this happens randomly after a software update, where apparently the Settings lose the mail server information.

Why Does Email Get Stuck Unsent in iOS?

Why this happens depends, but typically it is because an email message is trying to be sent when an internet connection is either inactive, or inadequate. Sometimes that is the cellular connection itself perhaps in a low service area, or sometimes it is the remote mail server that is not responding.

Know of another trick to fix a stuck email in the iPhone outbox? Do you know of a better way to force along an unsent message from iOS Mail app? Let us know in the comments below!