Adding another email account takes three steps: open Settings, tap Mail, and select Add Account

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down and tap Mail. Then tap Accounts, and you'll see Add Account at the bottom of the list. Tap it, and you'll be asked to choose your email provider — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, or "Other" if your email comes from your workplace or a smaller provider.

Once you pick your provider, enter your full email address and password. iPhone will verify the account and add it automatically. If you use two-factor authentication (a security code sent to your phone or generated by an app), you may need to enter that code instead of your regular password — your email provider's website will tell you which one to use.

After the account is added, you'll see it listed under Accounts in the Mail settings. You can now send and receive email from both accounts in the Mail app.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account and choose your email provider from the list.
  • If your email provider uses two-factor authentication, you'll need a security code or app-generated password instead of your regular password.
  • Once added, both accounts appear in your Mail app and you can switch between them when composing or reading messages.
  • You can delete an account later by going to Settings > Mail > Accounts, tapping Edit, and selecting the account you want to remove.

What happens if your email provider isn't listed

If you don't see your email provider in the list — for example, if your email is through your company or a smaller service — tap Other. You'll need to enter your email address, password, and the incoming and outgoing mail server addresses. Your email provider's support page or your IT department can give you these server addresses.

This is more work than selecting a major provider, but it's the only way to add accounts that don't appear in iPhone's preset list. If you're not sure whether your provider is listed, try typing your email address first — sometimes iPhone recognizes the provider even if it's not shown as a separate option.

Managing which account sends your email by default

When you compose a new email, iPhone defaults to whichever account you set as primary. To change which account is primary, go to Settings > Mail > Default Account and pick the one you want. This is the account that will be selected when you start a new message.

You can still send from your other account on a message-by-message basis. When you're composing an email, tap the From: field at the top and you'll see both accounts listed. Select whichever one you want to send from that time.

Turning off notifications for one account while keeping the other

If you want to receive notifications for one email account but not the other, go to Settings > Notifications and scroll down to Mail. Tap the account you want to mute, then turn off Allow Notifications. You'll still receive emails in that account — they just won't alert you when they arrive.

This is useful if one account is for work and you don't want to be interrupted during personal time, or if one account gets a lot of promotional emails and you only want to check it manually.

Removing an email account from your iPhone

To delete an account, go to Settings > Mail > Accounts. Tap Edit in the top left corner, then tap the red minus sign next to the account you want to remove. Tap Delete to confirm. The account will be removed from your iPhone, though your actual email account remains active — you can add it back later if you need to.

Removing an account from your iPhone does not delete any emails you've already received. Those messages stay in the Mail app unless you manually delete them first.

Syncing your accounts across devices

If you use iCloud and sign in with the same Apple ID on multiple Apple devices, your email accounts will sync across them. Add an account on your iPhone and it will appear on your iPad and Mac automatically. This happens because the account information is stored in iCloud, not just on one device.

If you don't want an account to sync, you can add it only to your iPhone by not signing in with the same Apple ID on your other devices, or by removing it from those devices individually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add more than two email accounts to my iPhone?

Yes. You can add as many accounts as you want by repeating the steps: Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account. Each one will appear in your Mail app and you can switch between them when reading or composing messages.

What's the difference between a password and an app password?

An app password is a separate, longer code that some email providers generate for security reasons. If your email provider uses two-factor authentication, they may require you to use an app password instead of your regular password when adding the account to iPhone. Check your email provider's security settings to see if you need one.

Will adding an email account to my iPhone delete anything from the original account?

No. Adding an account to your iPhone only reads your existing emails — it doesn't change anything on the email provider's servers. Your emails stay where they are, and you can access them from any device.

What if I forget which password goes with which account?

Go to your email provider's website directly and use their password reset tool. Once you've reset it, go back to Settings > Mail > Accounts, tap the account, and update the password there. You don't need to remove and re-add the account.