How to manage important email notifications on an iPhone or Android

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Email is one of the most used means of communication in the modern world. However, it’s also a safe haven for marketers and advertisers who spam our inboxes on a daily basis. With all the unimportant messages, it’s increasingly difficult to keep track of the most important ones.

Fortunately, you can modify your phone and email app settings to mark certain message senders as important and receive notifications from them immediately. Here’s how you can update your iPhone or Android device so you never miss an important email again.

How to manage important email notifications on an iPhone or Android

Both iOS and Android allow users to set notifications using different apps. For example, Apple users can use Gmail or the built-in Mail app to receive notifications about important emails. Likewise, Samsung users can use Gmail or Email, the phone’s built-in email service.

In the steps below, we describe the easiest and most popular steps by device. Feel free to check out the Gmail option later in the article if this is your favorite email service.

Use the Mail app (iOS 11 and above)

iPhone and iPad devices have a default email app called Mail. Users can configure Mail to receive emails from all leading email providers such as Yahoo, Gmail, or Microsoft Outlook. If you haven’t set up your mail app yet, here’s how you can do it:

1. Launch the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
   
2. Go to “Accounts” and then “Add account.”
   
3. Choose the email service or choose “Other” to add an email manually.
   
4. Follow the on-screen instructions depending on the service. Most of the time, you just have to enter your email and password followed by a short description (Work, Personal, etc.)
   
5. Open your “Mail” app and sign in to the email account to verify that it is synchronized.

When everything is set up, you can create a VIP list in the Mail app. You will receive a special sound notification whenever an email from this list arrives. Here’s how to add email addresses to your important list:

1. Launch the Mail app on your iPhone.
   
2. Find the sender you want to add as a VIP.
   
3. Tap your email address.
   
4. Press “Done” to “Add to VIP”.
   

You can also add senders to this list by following the alternative steps below:

1. Open the Mail app and tap “VIP” if there are already contacts in this list.
   
2. Press the “i” icon next to the VIP p.
   
3. Tap “Add VIP.”
   
4. Choose a name from your contact list.
   

Now that you’ve set up the Mail app and added contacts to the VIP list, it’s time to enable notifications in your phone’s settings.

1. Open your iPhone’s Settings app.
   
2. Go to “Mail” and then “Notifications.”
   
3. Tap “Customize notifications.”
   
4. Select VIP and choose the alert style you want.
   
5. Click “Sounds” to set vibration and ringtone.
   
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete setup.
7. You can also create a custom vibration by going to “Vibration” and then scrolling to “Create new vibration.”
   

Additionally, you can set specific times when you want notifications from the Mail app to arrive. For example, you may want to receive important email notifications regardless of the time of day. Or maybe turn them off after the workday ends at 5 p.m. You can modify this setting by going to “Settings” and then “Notifications” on your iPhone.

Use the email app for Samsung devices

All Android phones have a built-in email app called Email. This app allows users to manage multiple accounts from a single unified platform. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Open the email app from your phone’s app list and open the “Menu” p.
   
2. Tap “Settings,” which is represented by a gear icon.
   
3. Add a new account by entering your email and password.
   

Now that you’re logged into the app, here’s how to set up VIP contacts.

1. Navigate to the app’s “Settings” and select “Notifications.”
   
2. Make sure VIP sender notifications are turned on.
   
3. Press “Notification Sound” and then “Vibrations” to modify the alert type.
   
4. Return to the center menu and press “VIP.”
   
5. Press the “+” button.
   
6. Enter the email addresses of important senders or select people from the Contacts address book.
   

That’s all. The next time you receive an email from the designated VIP sender, you’ll see a notification on your phone.

For other Androids: Try the Gmail app

Gmail is arguably the most popular email provider out there. The app is packed with features and allows users to create filters for important emails. Users can also automatically tag and highlight emails that come from specific people. It is then possible to receive phone notifications whenever an email from a particular tag category arrives.

Please note that it is impossible to set important emails as automatically tagged on phone devices. You will need to use your desktop to perform the following steps.

1. Gonna www.gmail.com and sign in to your Google account.
   
2. Open the message from the email address you want to mark as important.
   
3. Click on the “3 dots” next to “answer.” You can find this button at the top right of the window.
   
4. Choose “Filter messages like this” from the drop-down menu.
   
5. A new form will open where the sender’s email will be auto-filled. Press the “Create Filter” option at the bottom of the form.
   
6. Make sure the “Apply label:” box is checked.
   
7. Choose “Choose Label” and then “New Label.”
   
8. A new box will pop up. Choose a name for the label and press “Create.”
   
9. The page will redirect you to the “Apply Label” box. Press “Create Filter” at the bottom of the box to confirm your settings.
   

There is also an alternative way to label emails that you may find easier:

1. Press the “gear” settings icon in your Gmail inbox and go to “See all settings.”
   
2. Open the “Filter and Blocked Addresses” tab, then “Create a new filter” at the bottom of the list.
   
3. Enter the email address you want to bookmark and press the “Create filter with this search” link.
   
4. Press the “Apply label:” box and then “Choose label,” then “New label.”
   
5. Name the tag in the new pop-up window and press “Create.”
   
6. You’ll see the “Apple the Label:” box again. Press “Create filter” to finish.
   

Finally, you must modify your Android settings to receive a notification every time an email arrives from the label you just created.

1. Go to the Gmail app on your Android device.
   
2. Open “Settings” from the top left corner.
   
3. Click on the email address from which you received important emails.
   
4. Check “Notifications” and then scroll to “Manage Tags.”
   
5. Find the label you just made and press it.
   
6. Allow the system to sync your mail and select “30 days” from the list of sync options.
   
7. A notification screen will appear once synchronization is complete. Tap “Tag Notifications” to customize vibrations and sounds.
   
8. Make sure there are no notifications configured for other tags (if you have them).
9. Finally, go to your main inbox and turn off the “Tag Notifications” p.
   

Get control over important email notifications

Sorting through email lists to find important messages is an exhausting and time-consuming task. Fortunately, iOS and Android systems offer flexible solutions that allow you to limit phone notifications to important emails or set custom vibrations and ringtones for specific senders.

The above steps should work for all iPhone, Samsung, and Android device users. Please note that as a Samsung user, you can choose between setting up the Gmail or Email app. Apple users can also follow Gmail’s lead if this is the email platform they prefer.

What types of emails did you mark as important? Do you prefer to completely block all other notifications or did you just add a new ringtone style for your important mail? Share your experience in the comments p below.