iPhone Mail Badges Not Showing (Missing) In iOS 16? [Fix!]

Mail badges not available iOS 16

Mail badges not available iOS 16


Are Mail badges not showing after iOS 16 update? Is your iPhone missing email badges altogether? The Badges field isn’t available in Settings, so there’s no way to turn them ON or OFF? Here is what you can do to fix it.

Mail Badge Not Showing In iOS 16

The problem has been reported by Ezra on our iOS 16 RC review page:

“Badges for unread emails not showing for mail app, can’t find them in settings either!”

We couldn’t replicate this issue at the time of writing, but I’ve managed to find a similar complaint on Reddit.

Are you experiencing the same issue? Share it in the comments as we’re still trying to asses how widespread the missing badges in Mail are.

How To Fix Mail Badges Not Available

badges missing from Settings
First, you should open Settings -> Mail -> Notifications and turn ON Badges. However, users affected by this bug, are missing the Badges field, thus not able to enable or disable the feature.

If that’s your case too, we recommend to reinstall Mail using the offloading app technique:
how to reinstall Mail on iPhone

  • In Settings browse for General -> iPhone Storage -> Mail.
  • Tap Offload app.
  • Be patient, and use the Reinstall app option that shows up after the app is removed.
  • Fact: Reinstalling Mail should bring back the Badges option in Settings. Does this work? Share it in the comments.

    Update: Apparently, you have to delete Mail completely, reboot iPhone, install Mail back from the App Store and re-enable your email accounts for the Mail badges to come back. (Thanks David for confirming!)

Update 2: The missing Mail badge seems to be triggered when a new Apple Watch is paired, as confirmed by Kyle.

Are you experiencing any other Mail issues in iOS 16? Use the comments to ask for help.

Related: You might be interested to check out the new Mail features coming in iOS 16:
– How to Undo Send in Mail.
– How to send Mail later.
Email reply remainders to be reminded to reply to handle an email later on.