Apple Mail freezing after updating to iOS 18.5? Here’s a fix you can try

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Are you bumping into any problems with the Apple Mail app on your iPhone since updating to iOS 18.5? If so, you’re not alone. A host of people are complaining of technical troubles with the app since installing iOS 18.5 on their phones.

Some say that Apple Mail is freezing or failing to respond. Others report that the screen goes blank or white. People affected by the glitch have been chiming in on several forums, including Reddit, MacRumors, and Apple’s own discussion community.

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The issue apparently affects different iPhones, so it’s not specific to any one model. The only common thread is that the trouble apparently started after applying iOS 18.5. Oddly, the reports are all recent, just from the past day or two. Yet Apple released the latest flavor of IOS almost a month ago on May 12. If the glitch was introduced by iOS 18.5, why are people encountering it just now?

How to resolve the issue

Whatever the cause, many of the affected users say that closing and reopening the app resolves the issue, but only temporarily. Even restarting the phone is a band-aid at best since the issue invariably returns.

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On Apple’s discussion community, one person said that they spoke with an Apple support rep who advised them to force restart their phone. After taking that advice, the person said that Apple Mail had been working fine for four hours and counting.

Though many people are impacted by the bug, it’s likely not widespread at this point. I tried using the Mail app on three different iPhones with iOS 18.5 but didn’t run into any issues.

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I asked Apple to comment on the problem but haven’t heard back yet. Until the company acknowledges the issue and provides a fix, affected users should contact Apple support for help.

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