Mobile AppsiOS @AppleiOS AppsiPhone

S/MIME / smime.p7s attachments can block the Mail app on iPhone

For some time, something at least strange has been happening on many iPhone smartphones, when a message with the attachment "smime.p7s" is received on the Mail application. It is about the native application, found on all iOS operating systems.

Problem Data: 

An e-mail message is received on the iPhone to which a document file accompanied by a certificate is sent smime.p7s. After receiving this message, when trying to download it in the background, the iOS Mail application is unusable or closes suddenly.
Delete the message from the iPhone (if this is possible) is not a solution. Deleted e-mail messages will automatically go to a "Trash" folder, where the encrypted file download will continue to be attempted, and the problem will persist.

What are S / MIME attachments (smime.p7s)

When you receive a mail document from an institution or a bank, it is very likely that it is accompanied by a smime.p7s file. you will not torture to open this file because you can not. S / MIME (Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) provides added security for messages sent from an account Exchange ActiveSync.
S / MIME contains two main components: digital signature si encryption.

Electronic signature, check if the email was sent by the sender. This avoids sending messages by viruses from an email address. To send these e-mail messages, a single electronic certificate for each user is installed.

encryption is a way to secure the information so that it cannot be read unless the message is brought to a decryptable state. This is also the role of the smime.p7s file. This encryption key provides security for the message when it is in transit or when it is stored.

It is very possible that iOS does not understand this type of e-mail messages sent encrypted from Exchange on the Mail application of the iPhone, and as a result the error appears that leads to the sudden closing of the application.

How to solve the problem of the sudden closing of the Mail application on iPhone / iOS

If you have received such a massage by e-mail, accompanied by an encrypted S / MIME file and the Mail application no longer works, it is best to go to the web interface (webmail) or another mail client where you can access the account of the e-mail you received the message and delete it from "Trash" / "Trash". Of course, not before saving important messages from the message on your PC / Mac. Usually, this type of file accompanies attached documents, in PDF or .DOCX format.
After you delete the message, close and restart your iPhone, then open the Mail application. It is possible that it will close suddenly once more, after which everything will return to normal.

As far as we are concerned, we have been facing this problem for a very long time with all the messages received from Raiffeisen Bank.

stealth

Enthusiast of the Apple universe, I gladly write tutorials and articles, both about the iPhone and about Android smartphones. I will help you solve the problems you encounter in the Android or iOS settings, solve errors and find the best tricks and applications for your phone.

Leave a Reply

Your email address Will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button