Instead of filing emails neatly in folders, you rely on search to get to the messages you need when you need them? Find out here how to search email with iPhone Mail, even precisely using search operators.
First, Take Everybody Else
Be yourself. Everybody else is already taken.
Who knows
Is it any wonder that this oft-cited quote about staying true to yourself is itself commonly attributed to a person who probably never wrote it?
Speaking of self-reference, let’s take a look at the advice itself: if you are admonished to be yourself, you are purportedly (trying to be) somebody else. Why would that be true only of you and not at least one other person as well, perchance… the one you’re trying to be?
Then, I guess, feel free to be that person.
Now, how about searching for others, attachments and perhaps ourselves in emails?
How to Search Email in iPhone Mail
Time needed: 2 minutes
To find emails on an iPhone using Apple Mail search:
- Open any folder in iPhone Mail.
- Swipe down on the list of messages to show the Search field.
Only in folders: On the mailbox list overview, Mail does not offer Search.
- Type what you are searching for in the Search field.
What you can find: You can search for senders, dates, subject lines, text in the body, attachment type or name, and more; see below.
- Choose whether to search across folders (All Mailboxes) or just in the current one (Current Mailbox).
- Pick an auto-complete entry or search operator category or tap Search.
Tapping “Search”: Use search without picking a suggestion to search broadly within your emails for the term or terms (including partial matches).
- Refine your search if warranted.
Names and email addresses: Select From or To to find emails sent from or to the contact.
Dates: Choose Date for emails sent or received on the date, and Before or After for emails exchanged before or after the date respectively.
iPhone Mail Search Operators
Person
A name or email address to be found as the sender or recipient
Examples:heinz@ladedu.com
Heinz from La De Du
ladedu.com
Subject
Search within the Subject field
Example:La De Du
Date
Search for any date and time, both absolute and relative. iPhone Mail will accept many ways to refer to either.
Examples:yesterdayOctober 25
2pm
last November
Attachment Type
Search for the file extension or application name for an attached file.
Examples:PDF
Pages
JPEG
Word
Attachment File Name
Search within attachment file names
Example:La De Du
Message Criteria
Search for message attributes such as unread or flagged, or for messages that contain any type of attachment.
Examples:unread
flagged
read
attachment
How to Search Email in iPhone Mail: FAQ
Can I combine multiple search criteria?
Yes.
To combine search criteria in iPhone Mail search:
- Select the first search criterion’s suggestion.
- Tap in the Search field.
From the top: You can tap the looking glass to focus the search field for input. - Type to get another suggestion.
(How to find emails with iPhone Mail search tested with iOS 17; first published September 2023, last updated August 2024)