You may have noticed that starting with iOS 18.3, that your email is all messed up. And by all messed up we mean that it seems Apple is trying to copy Gmail’s wildly unpopular tabs (folders) “feature”. So now Apple, by default, when your iPhone or iPad updates to 18.3 or later, sorts your email into four tabs, Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. Like we said, copying Gmail’s tabs, even though people time and again go back to Gmail’s default inbox. And even though wanted mail is shunted into the Promotions tabs on both Gmail and now iOS mail, where it rots. Here’s how to undo it.

 
 

How the new iOS inbox looks – yuck ptooey!

 
 

Now, you may actually like this setup, and may choose to keep it. And that’s of course up to you, however be aware that email that you want will likely end up in one of the non-Primary tabs (transactions, updates, or promotions), and so you will need to check 4 inboxes instead of one.

How to Get Your Old Inbox View Back and Get Rid of Tabs and Folders on Your iPhone and iPad

First, here are the steps. Below the steps are screenshots. The steps are pretty simple, but the screenshots are there just in case you are a more visual person.

1. Open your email app
2. Click on the 3 dots (…) in the upper right-hand corner
3. Select “List View”

After doing this, you will again have one unified inbox. HOWEVER, you will still have the icons on the left side of each email.

To get rid of those icons, so that you have truly restored the old view in your inbox, keep going.

4. Go to the settings on your iOS device.
5. Go to the Apps section (often aaaalllll the way down at the bottom of the settings screen)
6. Go to the Mail settings
7. Scroll down until you see “Show Contact Photos” which Apple has ‘helpfully’ set to the ‘on’ position. Turn it off.

Now go back to your Mail app and say hello to your old friend, a single inbox not cluttered with icons.

Once More with Screenshots

1. Open your email app
2. Click on the 3 dots (…) in the upper right-hand corner
3. Select “List View”

 
 

After doing this, you will again have one unified inbox. HOWEVER, you will still have the icons on the left side of each email.

 
 

To get rid of those icons, so that you have truly restored the old view in your inbox, keep going.

4. Go to the settings on your iOS device.
5. Go to the Apps section (often aaaalllll the way down at the bottom of the settings screen)
6. Go to the Mail settings
7. Scroll down until you see “Show Contact Photos” which Apple has ‘helpfully’ set to the ‘on’ position. Turn it off.