Some iOS 9 users are complaining in Apple discussion forums about having trouble in opening emails with attachments. It sounds like a small group of users are getting “Message not yet downloaded from server” error whenever they attempt to open an email message with an attachment.
According to MacRumors, there is a 22-page thread in the discussion forums with over 200 replies from users who are all experiencing problems in opening emails with attachment using the default mail app. The issue seems to be affecting users with POP email accounts and is causing problems with both old and new email.
I am having exactly the same issue. Many of my old mails on my iPad just saying not yet downloaded from the server. I am using a pop account on both my iPad and windows live mail. I have tried deleting my email accounts and adding back in. Even some emails that were received this morning are now showing as not being downloaded from the server.
Many people have also commented that deleting email accounts and adding them back in does not fix the issue. However, downloading an alternate email program like Outlook from the App Store seems to have worked for many users as a temporary fix. Some users are also claiming that Turning the Wi-Fi off is allowing them to read previously download emails and access attachments, but images are not viewable.
Interestingly, one user claims that an Apple engineer has contacted him suggesting the email issue occurs when an email account has been configured to delete copies of the email from the server. But unfortunately, this solution only works for some and still leaves the sent and trash emails inaccessible. In addition, this solution also defeats the purpose of using POP email accounts.
This issue usually starts if one of the devices/computers that was setup with this email account has been configured to remove a copy of emails on the server. If this is the case, the customer will need to check the settings of all the devices and computers that are running this email account.
iOS leaves messages on the POP3 server by default. iOS never stores email permanently, whether POP3 or IMAP. If they are removed from the server by another device, then this issue can occur.
A test that you may want to do to confirm this is to have the customer produce the error by opening one affected mail on the iOS device, and then locate that specific email on his webmail. If not found, then the device is behaving as expected. If found, please try to forward it to the same mailbox and see if the same issue occurs.
It looks like users have been facing this issue since the launch of iOS 9 in September 16 and has not been fixed in iOS 9.0.1 or iOS 9.0.2. It is also not clear if the upcoming iOS 9.1, the first major update to iOS, fixes this issue. So far, Apple has not given any official statement on whether a fix is planned or when we can expect it and until then we advise users to use a different email program for their needs.
Source: Apple Forums
