This Message Has Not Been Downloaded From The Server Error Fix

You often end up receiving and sending mails from your iPhone. But, a specific mail is causing some problems. Whenever you try to open that email message, your iPhone displays a message- “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server”!

You may think why does my iPhone say this message has not been downloaded from the server? Quite annoying, isn’t it? Well, not more after you read this article.

Here you will get the best solutions to reload an email message properly with expert-recommended methods!

What Does “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded” Mean?

This message has not been downloaded from the server is an issue that your email client hasn’t successfully retrieved the complete email content from the email server. This could be due to various reasons, including poor internet connection, outdated software, or server-side problems. To resolve this, you might need to check your internet connection, restart your email client, or manually download the message. In some cases, contacting your email provider’s support might be necessary.

Why Are My Emails Not Downloading From The Server?

According to the technical experts, the issue related to why your email is not updating or not loading, can happen due to different problems:

• One of the main reasons behind this problem is the bugged software. The software issue is not related to your mail service (whether Gmail, yahoo, or Rediff mail). It is all about the app you are using on your iPhone. The software became buggy and lagged if the app was not updated to its latest version. In such cases, you may not be able to download the message from the mail app.
• If the app you installed was not installed properly, you might not receive or even download a message. It happens because the app becomes corrupted due to defective installation and does not have a proper connection with the source, resulting in this issue.
• The unstable internet connection can also force you to experience the issue- “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server.” Low data bandwidth or unstable data connectivity prevents the app from fetching messages properly.
• Sometimes the anti-spam filter becomes a reason behind the failed download problem. The filter may interfere with the app and change the email sender’s name, the address, or the message format- making that incompatible with your device. Hence, you may not be able to download the email message.
• Sometimes, outdated phone iOS may be the reason behind the failed message loading error. The outdated iOS can cause the app to malfunction.

How To Fix “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded From Server”?

1. Enable Fetch In The Phone’s Settings

The push or fetch method can solve the problem. While with the Push method, you get a new mail notification on the app; your mails are stored in the mail provider’s server with the Fetch method. The client continues to ask for the mail repeatedly, and hence you always get the mail notification.

Your iPhone comes with the Push feature enabled. But, sometimes, the mail app may not be able to execute the push function properly, leading to the message “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from Server.” In such cases, enabling the Fetch email mechanism lets you directly get the mail from the server.

Here is how to do this-

• First, Open “Settings” on your phone.
• Go to the Mail, Tap on it.
• Next, Go the “Accounts” from the available menu.
• Now, Choose “Fetch New Data”
• After that, navigate to the Push button. Turn it off.
• Now, Tap on iCloud and select the “Fetch” option
• Now, set the option to automatically mode.
• If you are using multiple email accounts, you may need to select Fetch for each account separately.
• After that, save your changes and exit from Settings
• Now, restart your iPhone and check if the issue is resolved.

2. Turn OFF Mail Privacy Protection

This solution is best suited for users who have tried the basic troubleshooting steps and suspect Mail Privacy Protection might be interfering with downloading emails.

• Open the ‘Settings app’ on your device.
• Navigate to ‘Mail’ option.
• Scroll down to the ‘Privacy Protection’ section.
• Toggle ‘Protect Mail Activity’ to off.

Important Note: Disabling Mail Privacy Protection exposes your IP address to senders, potentially compromising some privacy.

3. Update The iOS Of iPhone

Outdated iOS of your iPhone may be a reason behind you experiencing the error “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server.” Probably you forgot to update your device, and the outdated iOS started to interfere with the app, which did not allow you to receive email messages.

So, first, try updating the IOS once. It will offer your phone a fresh start and automatically solve all the issues. Before you start the IOS update, ensure your phone is charged to its full limit or keep it plugged into the wall charger. On top of that, ensure that the internet connection is stable, as an update will require a stable data connection for successful execution.

• First, visit the “Settings ” menu.
• Next, open “General Settings“.
• Now, navigate to the ‘iPhone Storage’ option.  Click on it.
• Updates section to check if any latest iOS update is available. If that is available, tap on the Download and install.
• Wait till the update is complete and your phone restarts.
• Check if the issue is resolved. If you face the same error, try the following hacks.

4. Enable “Keep The Copy On The Server” Settings

Most email service providers allow you to delete or copy messages from their servers. They usually keep the emails for you for some time, and after you retrieve your mail, the server deletes it.

If you have deleted a mail from your iPhone, the mail will also get deleted from the server. If you try to retrieve the mail in the future, you will get this message.

Hence, enabling “Keep the Copy on the Server” is a better Solution. After this the server will have a saved copy of the mail. That means you can retrieve that once again from the server even if you delete the mail. Since you are saving the mail on cloud storage; you do not need to worry about the mail status.

Here is how to do this-

• First, open your mail app.
• Next, navigate to the “preferences ” tab
• From here, open the account in which you desire to make the change. Alternatively, you can also click on the user icon on your mail app’s upper right screen to open the desired email account.
• Now, open the “Accounts tab.”
• From the available options, navigate to “Remove Copy from Server after Retrieving Message.” Uncheck the box beside this option to disable the feature.
• In some mail provider apps, you may see a pop-up box after unchecking. Here select “Leave a copy of messages on the server.”
• Save your changes and again try to open the mail. If you still get the message “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server,” move on with the following method.

5. Reset Or Reinstall The Mail App

If nothing happens, try reinstalling the mail provider’s app. reinstalling the app allows you to start afresh without any bugs or software issues, which may even solve this problem.

• First, press the mail app till a small pop-up box appears in the upper left corner of the app. From the box, select “Uninstall“/”Delete the app“.
• After the un-installation procedure, restart your phone.
• To restart the iPhone, press together the two volume buttons and the side button till you see the power –off slider
• Drag your slider and stop for 30 seconds until your iPhone turns off.
• Now, press and hold the button on right side of your iPhone untill you get the apple logo appearing on the screen. Wait till your device is functional again.
• After that, open the app store and search for the mail app you use.
• Click on it. In the new screen, click on “Install.” Wait till the installation procedure is complete.
• Now, set up your mail account with your email credentials.
• After setting up and logging in, check if the mail opens. If you still get the message, then try any other method.

6. Re-launch The Mail App

You have tried reinstalling the mail app, but the issue with “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server” continues to bother you. Let’s try re-launching the app.

Probably, the app went through a sudden failure. Re-launching it will force close the app and may solve the issue.

• First, Press the home button for ten seconds or until the mail app closes, and you are directed to your device’s home screen.
• Next, long press the home button
• After that, open the mail app again. Close the app by following the first two steps if the error persists.
• Now, turn off the data connection you are using. If you are using a Wi-Fi network, disconnect your device from it and turn on Mobile data to get data connectivity from your call provider. If you are using g mobile data, switch to a stable Wi-Fi connection.
• Now, again open the mail app and check if you can retrieve the message.

7. Enable “Recent Mode” In Gmail

If you are using Gmail and constantly getting the message “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server,” you can try enabling the “Recent Mode.”

With this mode, the Gmail server will offer you all the received mails, even if you have retrieved those in the past.

• First, open settings, and from there, navigate to Mail
• Next, in the new tab, open “Gmail.”
• Under this tab, open “Account Settings.” Wait till the POP and IMAP Account Settings box appears.
• In the ‘your name’ box, type- “recent:” before typing your email ID.
• Click Next.
• After that, click on “Done” to save the changes.
• Now, restart your device and check if the error is resolved.

8. Enable “Download Complete” In Group Settings

Often you get the message “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server” because the mail-providing client only retrieves a part of the message. If you enable “Download Complete,” the provider will always retrieve the entire email message.

Here is the step-by-step guide:

• First, the outlook app and then open the “File” menu option
• Next, open “Options.“
• From the available options, navigate to the “Advanced tab.”
• Now, open the “Send/Receive section.”
• Select “All accounts” from the new screen or the email account you see. ‘
• Now, from the left panel, click on “Edit.“
• From here, go to “Receive Mail Items.”
• Under this tab. select “Download Complete Items Including attachments for subscribed folders.“
• Save your changes and re-launch the app.

9. Set 5 Lines Mail Preview

Often the mail providing agents only download the mail header. The whole email message is downloaded only when you click the mail open. The message “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server” may appear in such cases.

One clever hack is enabling the five lines mail preview to ensure the provider downloads the whole mail instead of the headers to prevent the message loading error.

• Follow these steps to enable the five lines preview-
• First, open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Next, open “Mail” from the available options.
• Now, open the “Preview” menu under the mail settings.
• After that, select “5 lines” from the available options to enable the five lines preview mechanism.

10. Re-Add Email Account To Mail App

If nothing works, it is time to delete and re-add your email account on the mail app.

Here is the step-by-step guide for this-

• First, open the “Settings” app.
• Next, navigate to the “Mail, Contacts and Calendars” option.
• From here, Toggle the mail switch to off mode to delete the mail account you want. Wait till the mail ID you delete does not appear on your device screen.
• Now, close the settings app and restart your device.
• To restart, first press the side button and the two volume buttons together until the toggle menu appears on the screen.
• From the menu, select power off and wait till your phone turns off.
• Now, press the side button again till the apple logo appears on your screen. Wait till your device turns on again.
• After that, again, visit “Settings.”
• Under the mail section, open “Password & Accounts.”
• Now, add the email account you previously deleted.
• Finally, try opening the mail again to view the email message.

11. Restart The iPhone Or iPad

Constantly receiving the message- “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server”? Then try restarting your device once.

• Long press the volume and side buttons until you see the power–off slider.
• Next, drag the slider and wait for 30 seconds or till your iPhone turns off.
• Now, press & hold the button on the right side of your iPhone till you see the apple logo appearing on the screen.

12. Clear Mail App Cache

Sometimes, accumulated cache data can cause issues with mail downloads. Clearing the cache of the mail app might resolve the problem.

13. Check Email Server Settings

Ensure that the email server settings are correctly configured in the Mail app. Incorrect settings can prevent messages from being downloaded.

14. Disable VPN or Proxy

If you’re using a VPN or proxy connection, try disabling it temporarily as it may interfere with mail downloads.

15. Check Email Storage Space

If your email account is reaching its storage limit, it may prevent new emails from being downloaded. Delete unnecessary emails or upgrade your email storage if needed.

16. Check for Email Restrictions

Some email providers impose restrictions on email downloads, especially for security reasons. Make sure your email provider doesn’t have any restrictions that might be causing this issue.

Check Network and Related Services

To fix the “this message has not been downloaded from the server” email error, check the network related issues:

1. Check Internet Connection

While trying other solutions, try once to check the internet connection you are using. An unstable internet connection may often lead to the error “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server.”

First, open the browser on your iPhone. Here, try searching for something or visiting a website you prefer. If you find that the site takes a long time to load, you probably have an unstable internet connection.

2. Enable And Disable Airplane Mode

If you cannot view or read any email message, try disabling and then enabling airplane mode on your device. When you enable airplane mode, your device disconnects from the active cellar network and starts afresh when you disconnect the airplane mode. It may allow you to get better network coverage and solve the email message issue.

• First, open the settings menu, and from there, navigate to Airplane Mode. Turn it on. Alternatively, down-swipe your home screen. From the appearing widgets, click on the airplane icon to activate it.
• Wait for a minute. Then, follow any of these same methods to disable airplane mode.

3. Reset Wi-Fi Modem

Do you use a Wi-Fi network to surf the internet on your iPhone? You probably need to reset the Wifi modem. It can help you to start with a fresh new network that offers better and stable internet connectivity.

• First, locate the reset button on the back side of the router to reset the Wi-Fi network. Now. Press it. Alternatively, you can disconnect the Wi-Fi router from the electricity plug.
• Wait for a few minutes. Now, again press the button or reconnect the plug to the socket.
• After that, set up the Wi-Fi network and reconnect your iPhone to the Wi-Fi network.

4. Reset Network Settings

If nothing works out, reset the network settings on your phone. It may solve the problem. Here is how to do this-

• First, open “Settings.”
• Under Settings, click on “General.”
• Now, in the new screen, select “Reset Network Settings.”

5. Toggle Cellular Off And On

If you continue to get the message “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server” while trying to open a mail, check out the cellular data. Those who use cellular data may get a solution by this method.

First, turn the cellular data off. Again turn it on after waiting for a few seconds.

If none of the above solutions work, contacting your email provider’s support team can help diagnose and resolve any server-side issues that may be causing the problem.

Conclusion

Many iPhone users have reported the email error- “This Message Has Not Been Downloaded from the Server”. The problem can happen due to software bugs, outdated apps or IOS or even due to internet settings. You can follow the above-stated methods to solve the email properly messed loading issue.