Sometimes, trying to send or receive an email from the Mail app on your iPad will elicit the dreaded: “cannot verify server identity iPad error.” While this error is prevalent with iPads, it can occur on any device that uses an operating system from Apple, including iPhones, iPods, and Macs.
There are many reasons your iPad may be unable to verify the server identity to authenticate emails. For one, it may be unable to create a secure connection to the server of the email provider. In simple cases, your spotty internet connection might be the reason for the error.
In this article, I’ll show you how to solve the problem when next it pops up on your iPad. Since I can’t physically access your device to find out why it’s outputting this error, I’ll list every possible scenario and their solutions to get your mail app working perfectly again.
How to Fix Cannot Verify Server Identity iPad
Before moving on to solve the problem, you should know why an iPad may output that error in the mail app. The reason is straightforward, and it applies to any email client, regardless of the operating system, although the content of the message might differ.
When you try to send or check an email, your iPad will try to make a secure connection to the mail server. To create a secure connection, it must fetch an SSL certificate, which usually signifies security in the online world.
If the certificate appears to be expired, doesn’t match the supplied domain, is unsigned, or worse still, inaccessible, your iPad will be unable to authenticate the connection. Since it couldn’t verify that you’re making a secure connection, it outputs the “cannot verify server identity” error.
When that happens, you want to diagnose why there’s a problem with the verification process and try to find a solution. With that said, here are some top suggestions on what to do when your iPad outputs the error message when you try to send or check an email.
- Check your internet connection
For your iPad to fetch the required certificates for the authentication, it needs a connection to the internet. If your internet connection is down by any chance, you’ll almost certainly receive this error message when trying basic functions on the Mail app on your iPad.
To ensure the problem isn’t with your internet connection, consider opening your browser and trying to load a few web pages. If all the pages load perfectly, your internet connection is working just. Otherwise, you may want to fix the problem with your Wi-Fi first.
Talking about Wi-Fi, some users reported that the problem only occurs when they try to access their emails via Wi-Fi. If you’re trying to email connection requests only on Wi-Fi, you may want to consider switching to a cellular network to see if the problem disappears.
Some other things you could try to correct your internet connection include connecting to another Wi-Fi network or enabling Airplane Mode and disabling it again. Doing all that should solve the problems with your mail app.
- Remove your email account and add it again
If your iPad has stored a cache of the error message for a specific email server, there’s very little you can do. One of the recommended solutions to try is removing the email account associated with the error message and adding it back again afterward.
You should note that deleting your email account from the Mail app doesn’t delete any of the emails you’ve received over the years. It will only clear the temporary cache and data related to the email account, starting on a fresh slate when next you log in.
To delete an email account from the iPad Mail app, you’ll have to head over to the Settings app. When you get there, scroll down until you find the Mail app and press it to open its settings. On the resulting page, select Accounts to bring up a list of every email account connected to the app.
From the accounts, select the one that’s associated with the error message and tap the “Delete Account” option on the next screen. After a couple of seconds, your iPad should be free of that email address and all the emails associated with it.
When you’re sure that has happened, you can add the email to your iPad again. On the same Settings app, select the same Mail option and tap Accounts when you see it. Instead of selecting any of the accounts listed, simply select the “Add Account” option to begin the process of adding a new email account to your iPad.
On the next screen, you’ll be asked to choose your email service provider from a plethora of options. There’s also a custom option in case your email provider isn’t listed among the options. Then, you can proceed to follow the on-screen instructions to continue logging into your email account.
Note that there’s still a chance of your iPad outputting the “cannot verify server identity” error. If that happens again, you can contact your email service provider to explain the downtimes associated with your email.
- Restart your iPad
One piece of advice you should never forget is to restart your iPad each time you make a significant change. For instance, removing your email should warrant a restart before you attempt to add it back. That gives your device some breathing space and enough time to apply the changes.
Conclusion
When your iPad keeps outputting the “can’t verify the server identity” error, you know there’s a problem. Like every other problem on your iPad, there’s a fix for this too, and it only requires knowing the origin of the issue.
If you’re finding it hard to discover its origin, you can simply try out all the fixes outlined above. From restarting your iPad to correcting your internet connection, you don’t know what might fix your problematic mail app.