Change sent, draft and deleted folders on an iPhone

Applies to:

On occasion messages can appear to vanish when using multiple devices to check your IMAP email account. This can sometimes be fixed by changing a few settings on the phone.

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll to Mail and open it.
  3. Select your email account
  4. Select the displayed IMAP account
  5. Scroll down and tap Advanced
  6. Under Mailbox Behaviors make ensure the following are set:
    1. Drafts Mailbox: Drafts on my iPhone/iPad
    2. Sent Mailbox: Sent Items on the Server
    3. Deleted Mailbox: Deleted Items on the Server
    4. Archive Mailbox: Archive on my iPhone/iPad
  7. Under Move Discarded Messages Into:
    1. Ensure Deleted Mailbox is selected
  8. Under Deleted Messages:
    1. Choose a time-frame that appropriate for you.  The recommended setting is one month.
  9. Tap < Account
  10. Tap Done
  11. Tap < Accounts

You may wish to login you your web mail account and move items from Deleted Messages to Deleted Items, etc.