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How to Pick Folders to Push in iPhone Mail

Sync specific email folders to your iPhone

By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 21, 2022 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section Push Folders With iCloud Mail Push Folders With an Exchange Account Push Folders for IMAP Accounts

What to Know

Go to Settings > Accounts > tap Fetch New Data > iCloud > Push. Select each folder you want to push.For Exchange accounts, go to Settings > Accounts list > Fetch New Data > Push > Exchange to choose folders.For IMAP accounts, your email provider must support the feature. In Gmail for example, go to Settings > Labels. This article explains how to pick folders to push in iPhone Mail. Information applies to iPhones with iOS 11 through 15.

Push Specific Folders With iCloud Mail

If you have an IMAP or Exchange account set up, you have control over which folders are pushed to the Mail app. Changes made to those folders on the server are pushed to your iPhone. In addition, you can select the folders you want to push to your iPhone from your iCloud email account, and set up a schedule for fetching those you don't need to have pushed. When you set up the Mail app on your iPhone, your first mail account was probably iCloud Mail. You can make changes to the folders you have pushed to the phone at any time. Here's how: Tap the Settings icon on the iPhone Home screen. Select Mail > Accounts in iOS 14. In earlier versions of the iOS, tap Passwords & Accounts or Mail, Contacts, Calendars to open the Account list. Select Fetch New Data at the bottom of the Accounts screen. Tap the iCloud mail account in the list of accounts. Select Push in the Select Schedule section.
Place a check mark next to each of the folders in the Pushed Mailboxes section that you want to automatically push to the iPhone. Remove the check mark next to any folder you don't need to be pushed.
The folders you checked sync promptly with the iPhone. You can set the rest of the folders to sync every 15 or 30 minutes, hourly, or manually in the Fetch New Data screen. These folders sync in the background when the iPhone is powered up and has a Wi-Fi connection.

Push Specific Folders With an Exchange Account

If you have an Exchange account set up on your iPhone, you can choose which folders to push to your device from the settings. Open Settings. Go to Passwords & Accounts, or Mail, Contacts, Calendars on some older devices. In iOS 14 and later, the path is Mail > Accounts. Select Fetch New Data at the bottom. Turn on the slider next to Push at the top of the screen and choose the Exchange account you want to edit. Select the folders whose changes you want to be pushed to iPhone Mail automatically. Deselect any folders you don't want pushed to the Mail app. Make sure the folders you want have a check mark next to them. You can't uncheck Inbox.

Push Folders for IMAP Accounts

For you to sync specific email folders on an IMAP account, your email provider must support the feature. Gmail, for example, lets you pick which labels to show in IMAP accounts, meaning that if you hide those labels, they won't show up on your iPhone. However, you can't do this from your phone. Using Gmail as an example, log in to your account in a web browser and access the Labels area of the settings. From there, uncheck labels to prevent those folders from syncing to the Mail app on your phone. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Set Up Push Gmail in iPhone Mail How to Access a Yahoo Mail Account in iPhone Mail How to Search Mail in iPhone Mail How to Send a New Email With iPhone Mail App How to Delete an Email Account on an iPhone How to Sync Google Calendar With iPhone Calendar Make iPhone Mail Check for New Mail Less Often or Never How to Send iPhone Mail From a Different Account How to Sync Yahoo Calendar With iPhone Calendar How to Transfer Your Contacts From Android to iPhone How to Access Gmail in iPhone Mail The 18 Best Tips to Get More iPad Battery Life (Updated for iPadOS 15.5) How to Sync More Emails in Exchange Accounts for iPhone How to Email Undisclosed Recipients in iPhone Mail How to Send Images With iPhone Mail How to Sync Gmail Contacts to an iPhone Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies