Compose a New Email With iPhone Email

iPhone & iPod

Updated May 18, 2019

The iPhone is preconfigured with settings for email services, including iCloud, Exchange, Google, Yahoo, AOL, and Outlook. As a result, you can easily set up the Mail app so you can access the email from all your accounts in one place. After you add your email accounts to your iPhone Mail app, you'll want to do more than just read messages — you'll want to send them, too. Here's what you need to know.

Instructions in the article apply to iPhones running iOS 6 through iOS 12.

How to Send a New Email on iPhone

To send a new email message from the Mail app:

Tap the Mail app on the iPhone Home screen to open it.
In the bottom right corner of the screen, tap the Compose icon, which is a square with a pencil in it. This opens a new blank email message.
Enter the email address of the person you're writing to in the To field in one of three ways:
- Begin typing the recipient's name or address, and if the person is already in your address book, options appear. Tap on the name and address you want to use.
- Tap the + icon at the end of the To field to open your Contacts list and select the person there.
- For recipients who are not in your Contacts list, type the full email address in manually.
Next, tap the Subject line and enter a subject for the email.
Then tap in the body of the email and write the message.
When you're ready to send the message, tap the Send button in the top right corner of the screen.

Email providers that aren't preconfigured on the iPhone can be added to the Mail app manually. However, you must provide information that you can get from the provider, including the hostname and incoming and outgoing mail settings.

Using CC and BCC in iPhone Mail

Just as with desktop email programs, you can CC or BCC people on emails sent from your iPhone. To use either of these options, tap the Cc/Bcc, From line in a new email to expand it to three fields.

Add a recipient to the CC or BCC fields in the same way that you add the original recipient in the To line.

If you' have more than one email address configured on your phone, you can choose which one to send email from. Tap the From line, and a list of all your email accounts pops up. Tap on the one you want to send the email from.

Using Siri to Send Email on iPhone

In addition to writing an email with the onscreen keyboard, you can use Siri to dictate an email. To do that, after you have a blank email open, position the cursor in the message area and tap the microphone icon to speak. When you're done with your message, tap the recording screen. Siri converts what you said to text. You may need to edit it, depending on the accuracy of Siri's conversion.

How to Send Attachments in iPhone Mail

You can send attachments — documents, photos, and other items — from the iPhone, just like from a desktop email program.

iPhones running iOS 6 or higher send email with photo or video attachments that are selected directly in the Mail app. To do this:

Begin a new email as usual and type the message. Tap and hold on the message area of the email.
When the magnifying glass pops up, let go.
In the pop-up menu, tap the arrow at the right edge to reveal additional choices.
Tap Insert Photo or Video to open the Photos app. (Later versions of iOS include Add attachment and Insert drawing, which work in the same way.)
Select the photo or video you want to attach by tapping on it.
Tap Choose to attach the photo or video to your email.
Tap Send at the top of the email to send it.

Using Email Provider Apps

If you aren't interested in accessing all your email within the Mail app, you can download apps developed by the email providers and use those instead. Popular email provider apps in the App Store include: