5 best methods to fix the error “Cannot Verify Server Identity” in iPhone & iOS

Are you stuck with the error ‘cannot verify server identity iPhone’? It indicates that the mail server’s certificate is rendered illegitimate by a device and throws this error through the iPhone mail app. This error won’t allow you to send or receive emails on your iPhone.

At Hiremyadmin.com, our tech support team will assist you in resolving this error issue efficiently

Cannot-Verify-Server-Identity-[Recovered]

What are the causes for the error 'cannot verify server identity’?

The iPhone will fetch the ‘SSL certificate’ of a server and check its reliability while connecting with the mail server securely. 

When a certificate is found to be expired or not signed up with a well-established organization or does not match with a domain name, it will be marked as unreliable. The iPhone or iOS devices will display a network security alert can’t verify the server’s identity if a secure connection fails

We at Hire myadmin consider this error when:

  • Creating a new account on iPhone, or
  • Changing the certificate of a mail server, or
  • After migrating an account.

When any mail server is used, an error could appear that would show with mail servers such as imap.gmail.com, eas.outlook.com, etc. Sometimes, this error could be caused due to wrong email settings and iOS bugs also

How to fix the error ‘Cannot verify server identity iPhone’?

The format of a mail server’s certificate is ‘mail.server-name.com’, however, mail servers come with the name ‘mail.website-name.com’ when provided by the hosting companies, and they’re configured by the users as such on their phones. iPhone fetches the certificate and retrieves the name as ‘mail.server-name.com’, hence, considering ‘mail.website-name.com’ as unreliable

 

Match Domain Name and Server Name

We fix the error in three different ways, such as

  • Setup a free dedicated certificate: The certificates will be set up from Let’s Encrypt, which is a valid CA that provides free SSLs for VPS users who didn’t utilize a valid certificate.
  • Fix mail configuration: We help the users to make changes in the settings of a mail server for an iPhone to ‘mail.server-name.com’ rather than ‘mail.website-name.com’ if they’re using shared hosting. 
  • Change a name for the mail server: The server’s name is changed in such a way that it matches with the certificate name when a hosting customer has a VPS account

Delete the Email Account and add it again

Apple performs multiple validations for ensuring the security of a certificate. The error will remain if the certificate name of a server or the MX name of a mail user can’t be changed. In case of an error appearing after changing a certificate of a mail server, we assist the users to add the SSL certificate of a server to the ‘Trusted’ list. For this, go to the ‘Details’ button, which shows in the error message, and click on the link ‘Trust’ on the next screen

This ‘Trusted’ list option is not available for advanced iPhone and iOS versions like 10.x+. In such cases, we follow these steps:

  • Delete the mail accounts related to your domain. For that, click on Settings → Accounts & Password → [Account Name] → Delete Account. 
  • The above steps will delete all outgoing mail server accounts through settings. 
  • We add mail accounts back. 

To resolve the error, adding and removing all email accounts on the iPhone would be a great option. Still, facing the same issue, follow the below steps to tackle this error

 

Change SSL Settings

Based on our experience, we suggest you disable SSL to fix the error ‘cannot verify the server identity iPhone’.

The below-mentioned steps are considered for changing SSL Settings, such as: 

  • Go to the Settings app and search for Password and Accounts.
  • Open the Mail App that causes the problems.
  • Then, choose the account that was registered.
  • Tap on advanced settings and confirm the disability of the Use SSL feature. 

It’s important to make a note that sending emails in non-secure ways causes a risk to your critical data

Reinstalling Certificates for Gmail or Outlook Mail Servers

Hire myadmin’s dedicated engineers fix the error through the reinstallation of a certificate if a customer reports cannot verify the error of server identity in Outlook. 

Three different security warning options–’ Yes’, ‘No’, and ‘View Certificate’ will be received at the user’s end. We tap on the button View Certificate and go to Install Certificate. Then, leave the selected Current User and go to the next button on the import wizard and choose the automatic selection of a certificate store according to the certificate type. Finally, tap on the ‘Finish’ button

 

Factory Reset iPhone

We recommend the users follow a factory reset to deal with this error occurrence in iPhone. The factory reset will delete everything from the phone that will fix the issue of causing server identity errors. The below steps are considered for Factory Reset on iPhone:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Choose General.
  • Click on Transfer or Rest iPhone.
  • Choose Erase all Content and Settings.
  • Enter the passcode for a device.
  • Reset your iPhone by following on-screen instructions.

It’s very essential to reset the iPhone as new to delete the previous settings as they may cause potential issues. You have to ensure that the credentials and other settings are incorrect configurations when setting up an email. Check out whether the Mail app works properly or not

Conclusion

Due to the strict verification of mail server certificates, the error ‘Cannot verify server identity’ is caused. Although it is quite simple, it’s a frustrating error when doing some serious professional work. Usually, the error could be resolved by a simple restart of the mail app or the iPhone. If you’re still facing the issue, get assistance from our support engineers, who will fix the error by following different technical solutions like disabling the SSL encryption or deleting and adding back the email account