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iPhone Unable to Move Message – Cannot Delete Emails – RESOLVED

By on Feb 25, 2009 in iPhone

There seems to be a glitch on the iPhone 3G when it comes to deleting emails. Through one of my IMAP accounts, when I try to delete an email, I consistently get the error “Unable to Move Message”. When the email account was setup on the iPhone, it was already selected to move deleted emails to the local trash folder of the phone. If you are also unable to delete emails on your iPhone, try this. Go inside:

Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Email Account > Advanced > Deleted Mailbox

Then tap on Trash – even though you may already have a check mark beside it. This should allow you to start deleting emails.

Update: Depending on how you setup your email account, you may need to click one extra step to find Advanced:

Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Email Account > Email Account (again) > Advanced > Deleted Mailbox

Then tap on Trash.

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  1. 99 Comment(s)

  2. By Raptor on Jun 26, 2009 | Reply

    THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

  3. By daniel cox on Jan 14, 2010 | Reply

    Had the same issue and your suggestion worked perfectly. thanks for the help.

  4. By Nick Robinson on Feb 17, 2010 | Reply

    Excellent – worked for me after a very annoying experience. Thank you!

  5. By Theodoor on Feb 18, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks, Great help!!!

  6. By Julie on Mar 1, 2010 | Reply

    My issue is similar, I select the emails to be deleted in my Hotmail account, the phone flashes black goes back the icon window, and the deleted emails are still there. I even went one at a time and put the emails in the trash. They delete, then once I am back on the main window, the messages are still there. I even deleted the account and re added it, it worked for a day and then back to the same problem.

  7. By Tammy on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    I’m having the exact same problem as Julie. Tried deleting and re-entering the POP3 account several times, tried restoring my phone 4 times, turned it off and on a bazillion times and still nothing works? Really aggravating! Have so many e-mails in there, I’m afraid my phone will implode.

  8. By Dave on Mar 16, 2010 | Reply

    Thank you. Your fix solved my problem with a new imap account

  9. By Tom W on Mar 16, 2010 | Reply

    Excellent, Thank you very much!! O2 couldn’t fix it but you have!!

  10. By Jennifer on Mar 22, 2010 | Reply

    Julie – did you ever get an answer on this? I’m having the same issue.

  11. By Malcolm on Mar 28, 2010 | Reply

    Am having same problem as julie with talktalk account. Tried doing what was suggested but couldn’t find ‘trash’ item in advanced options under email talktalk.

  12. By Paul on Mar 30, 2010 | Reply

    Awesome! I’ve had this problem with a couple of my mail accounts since I got my iPod Touch. I’ve searched the web numerous times and have always come up empty handed. In fact, I think this may be the only place on the web that has this info. You are the king!

  13. By Paul on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply

    didnt work for me? also i cannot see emails in my inbox unless i use the search function – whats that all about? i use aol

  14. By NIck on Apr 15, 2010 | Reply

    Worked like a charm, much thanks

  15. By James on Apr 20, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks for the solution! Its people like you that make me want to start sharing my tech solutions to help others too!

    James

  16. By Eivind F S on Apr 20, 2010 | Reply

    Wow, thanks! Problem solved. One less headache in my life

    :-)

    E

  17. By Robert G on Apr 28, 2010 | Reply

    Spot on – thanks

  18. By Kim on Apr 28, 2010 | Reply

    Paul–
    I am having the exact same problem. Actually it all started with not able to move messages…then I could not receive messages… and then it showed that I had ### total messages, 0 unreads. But it would not load them for me to see…unless I use the search menu. Been on the phone with ATT and Apple and restoring etc for over 8 hours. Apple is clueless as to the problem over the phone… taking it in on Friday. Did you find an answer??

    Good luck!
    Kim

  19. By Lee on Apr 29, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks for the info. You saved me a lot of frustration with this gadget.

  20. By james on Apr 30, 2010 | Reply

    thank you! Much appreciated

  21. By Dennis on May 15, 2010 | Reply

    And your gift keeps giving, thanks for the tip. Problem solve…

  22. By Dmitriy on May 19, 2010 | Reply

    Perfect!!!

  23. By Katy on May 19, 2010 | Reply

    did you ever find a fix? I am having the same problem.

  24. By steve on May 25, 2010 | Reply

    I am having the same problem but when I get to Advanced there is no trash option. Any ideas what to do anyone?

  25. By steve on May 26, 2010 | Reply

    PS I do not have a deleted mailbox facility either.

    I am having the same problem but when I get to Advanced there is no trash option. Any ideas what to do anyone?

  26. By Ad on May 29, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks man

  27. By Bud on May 29, 2010 | Reply

    Excellent, your page came top in Google for “iphone cannot move to trash” and it works!
    Thanks a bunch.

  28. By Gurmeet on May 31, 2010 | Reply

    Worked !!!! Thanks

  29. By holmqs on Jun 3, 2010 | Reply

    Thank you! It worked!

  30. By boone on Jun 18, 2010 | Reply

    how did you remedy the problem?

  31. By Hans on Jun 23, 2010 | Reply

    tnx dude works like a charm;)

  32. By Jo Ann on Jun 24, 2010 | Reply

    Thank you so very much, worked like a charm!!

  33. By Dave on Jun 25, 2010 | Reply

    Wow, something so simple. Thanks works great.

  34. By Rick on Jun 26, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks, saved a ton of time, works great

  35. By michelle on Jun 28, 2010 | Reply

    Omg you are a life saver… so simple but soo good!!!

  36. By Ayashi on Jun 29, 2010 | Reply

    Wow, that’s it? So simple solution. You are awesome. Thank you!

  37. By Abby on Jul 9, 2010 | Reply

    When I check my mail it says 71 messges total 0 unread. It doesnt give me time to click them and when i do it just goes to no messages in inbox…. PLEASE someone help me…………….

  38. By russ on Jul 12, 2010 | Reply

    hi have followed the instructions above but i don’t seem to have anythinh that says trash. Anybody help plse?

  39. By Karen on Aug 3, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks this worked on my new iphone 4! I hate all the glitches my phone seems to have but this made it all go away.

  40. By Alan on Aug 6, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks – this solved the problem!!

  41. By Trina on Aug 7, 2010 | Reply

    Your solution worked instantly. This fix is so simple! Thank you!

  42. By Joshua on Aug 14, 2010 | Reply

    Wow!! This has been a pain in my side for weeks! Worked like a champ. Thanks!!!

  43. By Carmella on Aug 22, 2010 | Reply

    I was hoping by tapping on trash although it was checked, this would do the magic, since it worked on some others iphone, but I still get the message “Unable to move to Trash” , can someone help me. PLEASE!

  44. By Francis on Aug 29, 2010 | Reply

    worked for me too! thank you!!

  45. By Jonathan on Aug 31, 2010 | Reply

    THANKS!!!!! this worked great!

  46. By pEGGY on Sep 4, 2010 | Reply

    I tried to use this fix, but when I go to settings/mail, contacts, calendars, there is no Advanced. What am I doing wrong. My problem is four old email messages that keep coming back to my phone

  47. By Chris on Sep 7, 2010 | Reply

    Fantastic! That did the trick. Thanks for the help!

  48. By kiwi on Sep 13, 2010 | Reply

    sweet, thanks worked a treat. Pleased my boss no end.

  49. By Matt on Sep 21, 2010 | Reply

    Worked for me too – I had to also check drafts and sent to stay on phone rather than server – but all good!! Thanks heaps

  50. By Mark Petherbridge on Sep 23, 2010 | Reply

    This doesnt work for the same problem with my iPhone4 – any suggestions?

  51. By daz on Sep 27, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks it worked on an iphone 4, well sort of…

    The phone is 2 days old and today it told me that it could not move messages to trash (anymore). BUT now I have two trash boxes. Newly deleted go to the second trash box but I need to delete all of the messages from the first trash box.

    I thought these phones were supposed to work out of the box without needing tweaking!!!

    Thanks again

  52. By Matt on Oct 25, 2010 | Reply

    Thank you so much. was driving me crazy

  53. By David on Nov 3, 2010 | Reply

    iPhone 4.1 (8B117 / Firmware 02.10.04)

    Per above:
    “Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Email Account > Advanced > Deleted Mailbox

    Then tap on Trash – even though you may already have a check mark beside it. This should allow you to start deleting emails.”

    But, ah, how can I tap on Trash? Account is deleted so there is no mailbox with Trash to tap on. Do you mean delete, then re-install and tap on Trash? Otherwise on iPhone 4.1 there is no “Trash” icon.

  54. By advocate on Nov 7, 2010 | Reply

    This resolved deletion issues in IPhone 4. GREAT!! Thanks!

  55. By CJ on Nov 8, 2010 | Reply

    Having the same problem when i deleted emails from my iphone 4 they returned. So I read this blog, deleted the account on my phone and recreated the hotmail account. seems to be working now, or so I hope this fixed it..

  56. By CJ on Nov 8, 2010 | Reply

    I deleted my hotmail account completely from my iphone 4 and redid it and seems to be working now. HOpe this helps.

  57. By ryan on Nov 10, 2010 | Reply

    You saved me so much time and frustration. Thank you for this.

  58. By Fawzi on Dec 9, 2010 | Reply

    1- thanks for the hint, it worked fine
    2- the most important thing for this fix to work is that after you tap the trash , u need to exit gracefully instead of clicking on the home button on ur iPhone. What I mean by that is that u need to backtrack by clicking on arrows at the top of ur screen . Do that twice and then you’ll see a “done” button. Click on that and keep backtracking…. That is how it worked for me after two failed attempts.
    3- for those who could not find “advanced” make sure u scroll to the bottom of that page

  59. By Greg on Dec 10, 2010 | Reply

    Thanks alot!!! Appreciate the help! This answer works for iPhone 4 as well. Guys in the Apple store didn’t even know the answer to this one. You made my day!

  60. By Greg on Dec 10, 2010 | Reply

    As a clarification for iPhone4 if it already checked marked on Trash – On My IPhone, you need to instead check Trash – On the Server.

  61. By Teejay Ryan on Dec 13, 2010 | Reply

    OMG! so simple, thanks so so

    SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!

    your the best. I’ll DJ at ur next party for free lol.

    thankkkssss

  62. By Gina on Dec 20, 2010 | Reply

    I don’t have the “advance” button either. Did you ever get the problem fixed? If so, how?

  63. By Chiefs on Jan 1, 2011 | Reply

    Worked perfect. Thank you!!!

  64. By Dick on Jan 2, 2011 | Reply

    This works for me…somewhere on your PC in your deleted mail there are partially downloaded emails (saved or in your trash) permanently delete them. I can’t give you a technical answer for this but it’s haunted me for awhile on my aol acct and this works for me.

  65. By Ken on Jan 9, 2011 | Reply

    Thank you so much! Looks like I was not the only one!

  66. By Virginia on Jan 10, 2011 | Reply

    Worked perfectly! Thanks!!

  67. By Craig on Jan 11, 2011 | Reply

    Thanks for that Fawzi, after clicking on “trash” as advised & backing up until you see (& press) the done button! That is the key!
    Cheers

    Craig

  68. By ron on Jan 15, 2011 | Reply

    thank you!!!!!!!! my family life saved!!!!

  69. By Chris on Jan 19, 2011 | Reply

    Doesn’t work for my setup. No “Advanced” tab in account settings. Hotmail account is setup using MS Exchange so my Calendar and other mail folders can be downloaded as well. Any other suggestions?

  70. By Kristina Cusick on Jan 23, 2011 | Reply

    Thank you so much for your help! This seems to have worked perfectly :)

  71. By Alan Rose on Jan 26, 2011 | Reply

    Sweet man, thanks!

  72. By Gianni on Jan 26, 2011 | Reply

    YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER. THANK YOU. THE PROBLEM WAS REALLY GETTING TO ME AND YOUR SOLUTION DID WORK. WELL DONE.

  73. By Glen on Feb 10, 2011 | Reply

    Worked for me also! Ended many of sleepless nights of feeling incomplete! THANK YOU!!!!

  74. By Terri on Feb 17, 2011 | Reply

    Fawzi – thank you I was trying to get it to work but I was hitting home. Using the back arrows and done worked. Thank you

  75. By anon on Feb 19, 2011 | Reply

    thanks for the tip, it worked

  76. By Paige on Mar 2, 2011 | Reply

    You are awesome I have been trying to get that dang email off for days!!!!

  77. By Jackie on Mar 11, 2011 | Reply

    Thank you. This worked perfectly!!!!

  78. By jenny on Mar 21, 2011 | Reply

    UGH! Thank you!! :D

    THis was driving me nuts. What a weird glitch!

  79. By sSabrina on Mar 21, 2011 | Reply

    In my Advanced I only have “Deleted Messages w/ options when to remove) and Delete from server.

    ?? Nothing with Trash!? I’ve been having this issure for weeks and I’m fed up! Can someone help!?

  80. By Paul on Mar 25, 2011 | Reply

    You are the man!!!
    Love you..mean it!!!

  81. By robertC on Mar 27, 2011 | Reply

    CLICK “DONE”
    I was having difficulty making this change.
    Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Email Account > Advanced > Deleted Mailbox

    Then tap on Trash – even though you may already have a check mark beside it. This should allow you to start deleting emails.
    YOU GOTTA GO THE EXTRA STEP TO CLICK THE “DONE” button to make the trash change stick!

    Thank for the tip, though. It got me there pretty quickly once I figured out the obvious click on Done.

  82. By Josh on Mar 31, 2011 | Reply

    Had a hard time finding the “advanced section” myself…they are all leaving out a step, for those who are having a hard time finding it…Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Email Account > email acount(again) > then advanced….you should be able to figure it out after that….

  83. By Dana on Mar 31, 2011 | Reply

    THANK YOU!!!!

  84. By CP on Apr 5, 2011 | Reply

    To Robert C,

    There is no “Done” button to click after you tap on the “trash” button.

  85. By Alex Ward on Apr 7, 2011 | Reply

    Thanks very much – worked a treat! Was getting very frustrated with not being able to delete my mail!!

  86. By Nonya B. on Apr 14, 2011 | Reply

    THIS WORKED, THANKS!

  87. By Miguel on May 29, 2011 | Reply

    Works really well for iPhone 4. What a strange clitch,,,

  88. By Andy on Jun 9, 2011 | Reply

    Just to reiterate all the thanks above – Thank you! SImple solution to an annoying problem!

  89. By Paul on Jun 15, 2011 | Reply

    Excellent worked like a dream. Get a job at iphone!

  90. By david on Jun 22, 2011 | Reply

    works perfectly…just remember to back out of mail settings and hit the “done” button or the changes won’t take place…

    MANY THANKS

  91. By ruth on Jul 2, 2011 | Reply

    I have an i-phone 3 and I did not have the option they talked about after I went to advanced, etc. I had 1 email that I could not put in the trash. I went to inbox on my mail then edit, there is an option to delete. I tapped the one I wanted deleted and it was removed.

  92. By Warren on Aug 13, 2011 | Reply

    Thank you, it worked for me too!! :)

  93. By BobbitMathews on Oct 21, 2011 | Reply

    thanks bro

  94. By Jeff on Oct 25, 2011 | Reply

    Thanks man! Easy fix!

  95. By David on Dec 1, 2011 | Reply

    Thanks!!!

  96. By GRNID on Dec 5, 2011 | Reply

    I too was having problems finding advanced – wasn’t on my phone. I tried marking all the old messages as unread and magically they all were removed from my inbox. Hope this helps.

  97. By Vihann on Dec 30, 2011 | Reply

    thank you!! great help!!

  98. By Erin on Feb 6, 2012 | Reply

    Finally an answer somewhere to this issue! Thank you very much!!!!

  99. By Cathy on Feb 8, 2012 | Reply

    I also didn’t have an advance option. What worked in my iPhone 3Gs is going into the inbox on the phone and marking all the messages that won’t delete as “read”. You can do that by tapping “edit” at the top right of the phone, selected the messages that are giving you problems, then tapping “mark” which is on the bottom right. They magically all disappear for me.

  100. By Jay on Mar 13, 2012 | Reply

    Cathy thank you, that worked for me. Edit then “Mark”

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  2. Jul 14, 2010: How do I get rid of these? (iPhone related) - Cell Phones and Smartphones - City-Data Forum
  3. Nov 5, 2010: sitewerks.net » iPhone Unable to Delete Email – RESOLVED

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