Mail practically unusable after 18.2 - is it possible to revert update?

iOS List view, minor improvement through Accessibility Setting. Adjust text size down. Now able to occasionally read Sender ID in list view without opening potentially hazardous spam, phishing etc., only works if sender has a short name. Still playing Russian Roulette everyday and wondering why Mail was brutally attacked by insiders, it’s still practically unusable for me. Apple please bring email previews back to my iPhone!!

Thanks for the clear steps. Yours is an example of contribution to the community, not complaining, just a simple shift back to the existing set up.

Going one step beyond your answer, I had found that the categories did not accurately assign emails. But I could not find (yet) a way to simply correct that. I can see that this could be a useful feature. But not in the present form....

When there are things working correctly and everything is running smoothly, Apple thinks “hey let’s mix things up!” This is ongoing with every single update (that are also ongoing and ongoing and ongoing). Before you install a new update it always says it’s a security feature. Well, there is no way I believe this new change to our email has anything to do with security. It has to do with Apple wanting to use this new ridiculous AI.

i hate to bring up a possible sour subject but when Steve Jobs was alive the only time there were updates were when updates were actually needed.

Im so fed up with Apple!!!!

DorianR wrote:

Thank you for the information. Yes, the update to iOS has rendered the mail app hot garbage. I'm glad I know how to turn on list view, but THAT should be the default.

When Apple adds a feature they frequently enable it be default, because if they didn’t the 99% of users who never read release notes (such as all of those who posted in this thread) wouldn’t know the feature existed. When you update there is a link to release notes like this one→What’s new in iOS 18 - Apple Support, which clearly describes new features and how to disable or modify them. I suggest that when the next update comes out you might consider spending a few minutes to read the changes included in the release. And there will be some significant changes.

Repeating:

To remove the icons in the list view:

• Open Settings
• Tap Apps
• Tap Mail
• Turn off Show Contact Photos
• Optionally, turn off Summarize Message Previews

This helped I advise people do what this guy Lawrence finch sez, feels like it was 👍

I have & it feels like it was.

To remove the icons in the list view:

• Open Settings
• Tap Apps
• Tap Mail
• Turn off Show Contact Photos
• Optionally, turn off Summarize Message Previews

To turn off Categories:

• Open the Mail app
• Tap on an inbox
• Tap on ⋯⃝ in the upper right 
• Tap to check List View

These 2 steps will return the Mail app to the way it previously worked.

Oh, that’s all? Those are option settings:

To remove the icons in the list view:

• Open Settings
• Tap Apps
• Tap Mail
• Turn off Show Contact Photos
• Optionally, turn off Summarize Message Previews

To turn off Categories:

• Open the Mail app
• Tap on an inbox
• Tap on ⋯⃝ in the upper right 
• Tap to check List View

These 2 steps will return the Mail app to the way it previously worked.

I used to use the Mail app on my iPhone for email before the "upgrade" also. I see how much more aesthetically pleasing the screen looks without the words (the rich black emptiness is stunning in dark mode!) but really Apple, the words sent to me via email are much much more important than the glossy profile picture of the sender. There should be an option to see words for old school email readers like myself who still find words meaningful. I'm only experiencing 99% loss of functionality, as you can just open each email to see what it's about and then use the 'mark as unread' function until you get to an important one, then simply read it as you ordinarily would have. Make sure you have lots of extra time to waste, though. I tend to not have a lot of extra time to waste, which is why I used to read email on my phone, it was a productivity application for me. I was literally able to get more accomplished when I had my email available on my phone too. Now I have a pretty vacant Mail app. Not impressed by what the geniuses of Apple Intelligence are up to.

Hundreds of emails a day to many inboxes. Apple Mail was a powerful tool on iOS. Need a replacement that can do what Mail was capable of on an iPhone asap! Anyone know of an app that can do what Mail used to do? I need preview text not a screen full of identical logos or the odd contact’s profile picture. What is the subject line? The first sentence? Email 1 and Email 2 up to Email 200 is what I get as preview! Algorithms dictate that the important emails get hidden now on iOS and the spam prioritization is sick business so if I can’t get to my desktop I’m puking by the time I get 1% through. Soon this will happen on MacOS too?

MagsBKW wrote:

The new iOS downloaded last night! It’s dreadful!! A complete pain effectively searching for mail that has arrived!! Why change something that doesn’t need changing? As others have said, I want to sort my own mail and not be told what is important or relevant. Now going to see if there is a way of reverting!!!

The step to revert it has been given repeatedly.

Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner and change the view to "List".

Its awful. Even in “list view” the icons take so much space that you cannot easily peruse your mail. Too time consuming. I dont even bother looking at email on my phone anymore. Might as well delete the app and go through icloud on the browser.

I didn’t realize my mail had been categorized differently until I was anxiously awaiting medical results. Turned off categories and I discovered 29 important messages I’ve needed to reply to! And not one notification for them because they were categorized wrongly as social/ subscriptions. Medical results as social or subscriptions!

I want my emails in order of receipt. Always. Read, unread, doesn’t matter. In one inbox. I may have to switch to my Google account after having this Mac account for 26 years. I can’t use it if it doesn’t work 🤷🏻‍♀️

Nobody here has to be mad. Nobody has to feel put out. Apple has tried something new, and for all those of us who don't like it, there are lots of folks who haven't written in to this forum who do like it.

So, how to deal with it positively?

Lawrence Finch in this thread has pointed out exactly how to change the settings so you can go back to the old style Mail. That works fine. Thank you very much Lawrence Finch!!

There are all kinds of other tutorials out there to give even more info, even Youtube videos like this kinda weird one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnP2njcG1kU

Don't everyone just freak out and complain. If I can fix it, you can fix it.

Thought you read your email and lost a job, spouse, kid? The lack of foresight is very worrying for someone who has benefited from buying into the Apple ecosystem, like getting reliable email to iPhone, etc. The week or two it took to figure out I was no longer receiving email on my phone made me appear unprofessional, unresponsive, aloof or disrespectful. I am still angry and if you were hurt by the break it fast kids who have the categoricalizable life this innovation was designed for but no insight into how everyone else on the planet lives, I encourage you to express your frustration or it will keep happening. After you fix your settings and catch up on your email, that is!

Barrbarrtoo wrote:

It doesn’t help the problem of missing emails. Having to constantly use the search function to find emails received and read only a few days before is no use. Why can’t you admit there is a problem?

I’m a user like you. I don’t have a problem, and I have seen very few posts about your specific issue. The focus has been on the UI change, not missing emails, so that is most likely an issue specific to you. Have you changed the settings as recommended in this thread to switch back to list view?