Tapped the iOS Mail “Archive” button—and the email is gone? Find out here where it went, and how to find archived emails in iPhone Mail.
First, Tunnel’s Vineyard
Some twenty minutes into your train journey from Vienna to the South and in an uncharacteristically flat part of Austria, your train will enter a tunnel.
It was Austria’s first railway tunnel, and from the beginning its necessity questioned. Some argued it was built to preserve precious vineyards; others thought it constructed by engineers as a training ground; still others claimed its raison d’être was amusing the emperor; officially, of course, the Gumpoldskirchner tunnel helped (and helps) make the track a straighter—and faster—way to the South.
Now, want to head straight to archived emails in iOS Mail? There’s a metaphorical tunnel for that, of course:
How to Find Archived Emails in iPhone Mail
Time needed: 2 minutes
To see email you have archived (i.e., moved to the Archive folder) in Mail for iPhone and iPad:
- Go to the Mailboxes screen in iOS Mail.
Here’s how: swipe in from the screen’s left edge until you are at the top—Mailboxes—level.
Tapping: You can also tap ⟨ in the top left corner repeatedly until you are at the top level. - Tap the Archive folder for the account whose archived emails you want to see.
Can’t see folders: If you do not see a list of email folders, tap the account name to expand its list.
A favorite: You can make the Archive folder show up more prominently in your mailboxes list; see below.
- Find listed in the Archive folder your archived emails.
Search: To find specific messages, swipe down to reveal the Search field and select Current Mailbox to only look within archived emails.
Favorite the “Archive” Folder in iPhone Mail
To make the Archive folder more prominent for an email account in iPhone Mail:
- Go to the Mailboxes screen in iPhone Mail.
- Tap Edit.
- Now select Add Mailbox….
- Tap Archive so it is checked.
- Now tap Done.
- Optional: Use the grab handles to move the Archive folder further up the list of favorite folders.
- Tap Done.
How to Find Archived Emails on an iPhone: FAQ
Can I see all archived emails (from all accounts) in one place?
No, not easily.
iPhone Mail does not let you search based on folder name across accounts or set up “smart” folders that use search criteria.
You can, of course, find certain archived mail across accounts:
Where are archived emails with a Gmail account?
Where you can find archived emails depends on how you have set up the Gmail account in iPhone Mail:
- With Gmail added to iPhone Mail using OAuth2, archived mail is in the All Mail folder.
- If you added Gmail using IMAP manually with an app password, the archiving folder is [Gmail]/All Mail.
(How to find archived emails in iPhone Mail tested with iOS 15–17; first published May 2022, last updated June 2024)