When you set up a new iPhone, Apple forces you to use their own Mail application by default. This means whenever you tap on an email address link on a website or inside a text message, the Apple Mail app will launch automatically.
However, if your company strictly uses Microsoft Outlook, or if you personally prefer the interface and search capabilities of the Gmail app, you are no longer locked into the Apple ecosystem. You can permanently change the default mail client on iOS, ensuring that all email links open in your preferred application.
How to Change the Default Mail App
Before proceeding, ensure you have already downloaded your preferred email application (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, or Spark) from the App Store and logged into your account.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- You cannot change this setting from a central “Defaults” menu. Instead, you must scroll down significantly until you find the alphabetical list of all your installed third-party apps.
- Locate and tap on the name of your preferred email app (for example, scroll down and tap on Gmail).
- Inside the app’s specific settings menu, look for the option labelled Default Mail App. (If this option does not appear, the developer of the app has not updated it to support Apple’s default app feature).
- Tap on Default Mail App.
- You will see a list of all capable email clients installed on your device, with a blue checkmark currently next to the Apple “Mail” app.
- Tap the name of your preferred application (e.g., Gmail) to move the blue checkmark.
Testing the Change
The change takes effect immediately. To test it, open the Safari browser, navigate to a company website, and tap a “Contact Us” email link. Instead of the familiar Apple Mail compose sheet sliding up, your iPhone will instantly switch over to your new default app (like Outlook) and open a blank draft pre-addressed to the recipient.
Note: If you ever delete your new default email app from your iPhone, the system will automatically revert the default setting back to the native Apple Mail app.