Encountering crashes or freezing and blank screens when trying to open the Mail app on your iPhone? You're not alone.
Apple users across the internet have complained of poor functionality with Mail and other apps, and the culprit appears to be the latest iOS 18.5 update, at least according to disgruntled customers.
While Apple's support System Status page showed all services were online on the afternoon of Friday, June 6, users on Apple Support Communities threads, Reddit, and other social media platforms and forums continued to report issues with functionality.
The crux of the complaints began around June 4, nearly a month after 18.5 was released on May 13. It is unclear why the issue would arise so long after the release, but it appears to impact iPhones of all ages and varieties, making the update the only common denominator. Some posts have indicated that the owners only recently downloaded 18.5, despite it being available for weeks.
Some users complained about other hiccups since downloading iOS 18.5, including slow app loading, crashes, and misaligned visual assets. The posts appear to indicate that models older than the iPhone 16 are encountering the most issues.
Apple did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment or more information on June 6. The tech giant has not acknowledged the reported issue publicly on its website, in support community posts or on its official social media accounts as of late Friday afternoon.
How to fix your Apple Mail app
While Apple has not yet released an official fix to the issue, some users have discovered a few workarounds.
One user said a local Apple support representative advised resetting network settings to temporarily relieve the issues. You can do so by following this path on your iPhone: Settings > General > Transfer or Reset [Device] > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
Other users reported success using the suggested network reset method.
Some others reported that changing autocorrect and keyboard settings temporarily improved Mail functionality, though this could be coincidental more than anything. If you'd like to try it anyway, follow these steps: Settings > General > Keyboard > then disable features including "Auto-Correction" and "Smart Punctuation."
Others said that going into the App Store and manually starting an update of their Mail app fixed the issue, while some did the classic restart or delete and redownload. However, relief was reportedly short-lived for some of those who did initially see improvement after force restarting their phones or the app.
It is unclear when Apple will issue an official fix or send out another software update; nonetheless, users seem to be making do with the workarounds shared online.