Trash Not Emptying Properly in Airmail

<h2>Problem</h2><p>When you try to empty the Trash folder in Airmail, the messages remain or the "Empty Trash" option doesn't work.</p><h2>Solution</h2><h3>On macOS</h3><ol><li>Right-click on the <strong>Trash</strong> folder in the sidebar</li><li>Select <strong>Empty Trash</strong></li><li>If it doesn't work, try selecting all messages in Trash (Cmd+A) and then pressing Delete</li></ol><h3>On iOS</h3><ol><li>Open the Trash folder</li><li>Tap <strong>Edit</strong></li><li>Tap <strong>Select All</strong></li><li>Tap <strong>Delete</strong></li></ol><h3>Troubleshooting</h3><ul><li><strong>Multiple accounts</strong>: Airmail shows a unified Trash. Try emptying each account's trash individually by expanding the account in the sidebar and right-clicking on that specific account's Trash</li><li><strong>Sync delay</strong>: After emptying, it may take a few seconds for the server to process the deletion. Pull to refresh or wait and check again</li><li><strong>IMAP accounts</strong>: Some IMAP servers have "purge" settings. The messages may be marked for deletion but not actually removed until purged. Check your email provider's settings</li><li><strong>Re-add account</strong>: If the problem persists, try removing and re-adding the email account in Airmail</li></ul><h3>Known Issue (iOS)</h3><p>After certain iOS updates, the "Empty Spam" and "Empty Trash" buttons may stop working. Make sure both Airmail and iOS are updated to the latest version. If the issue persists, please contact support.</p>

Updated on: 03/28/2026