Troubleshooting

Solutions to common problems.

Decryption Problems

“No matching private key found”

The message was encrypted to a key you haven’t imported.

Solutions:

• Ask the sender which public key they used to encrypt the message
• Check that you have the corresponding private key imported in iPGMail
• If you have multiple keys, the sender may have used an old or different key

“Bad passphrase”

The passphrase you entered doesn’t match your private key.

Solutions:

• Passphrases are case-sensitive — check Caps Lock
• Watch for common typos: 0 vs O, 1 vs l, etc.
• Try typing the passphrase in a notes app first to verify it’s correct

“Invalid or corrupt PGP data”

The file or text isn’t recognized as valid PGP data.

Solutions:

• The file may have been damaged during transfer — ask the sender to resend
• It may not be a PGP-encrypted file at all
• If copying from email, ensure you copied the entire block from -----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE----- through -----END PGP MESSAGE----- exactly
• Check for extra whitespace or line breaks that may have been added

Key Import Problems

“Invalid key format”

The key file isn’t in a format iPGMail can read.

Solutions:

• Ensure the key is in ASCII-Armor format (.asc extension)
• The file should start with -----BEGIN PGP PRIVATE KEY BLOCK----- or -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
• Binary key formats (.gpg) are supported but must be valid PGP data
• Re-export the key from your original PGP software with ASCII armor enabled

Key doesn’t appear after import

You imported a key but can’t find it in your keyring.

Solutions:

• Check both Private and Public tabs — the key may be in the other section
• Pull down on the key list to refresh
• If importing a private key, the public key is extracted automatically — check the Public tab

Can’t find a key on keyservers

Searching keyservers returns no results.

Solutions:

• The person may not have uploaded their key to a public keyserver
• Try searching by email address, key ID, or name
• Ask them to share their key directly via email or AirDrop
• Check if they use Keybase instead — try the Keybase search option

Sending Problems

Emails not sending with custom SMTP

Messages fail to send when using a custom mail server.

Solutions:

Recipient can’t decrypt my message

You sent an encrypted message but the recipient can’t open it.

Solutions:

• Confirm you encrypted to the correct public key
• Ask them to verify their key fingerprint matches what you have
• They may have multiple keys — ensure you’re using their current one
• Their key may have expired — ask them to send you an updated key

App Problems

Forgot app PIN

You can’t access iPGMail because you forgot the 4-digit PIN.

Solution:

• Delete and reinstall the app
• You’ll need to re-import your keys from backup

iCloud sync not working

Keys aren’t syncing between your devices.

Solutions:

• Ensure iCloud is enabled in iPGMail settings on all devices
• Check that you’re signed into the same iCloud account on each device
• Go to iOS Settings → Your Name → iCloud and verify iPGMail has iCloud access
• Try toggling iCloud off and on in iPGMail settings

App crashes or freezes

Solutions:

• Force quit the app and reopen it
• Restart your device
• Ensure you’re running the latest version of iPGMail from the App Store
• If the problem persists, contact support with details about what you were doing when it crashed

Still Need Help?

If your problem isn’t listed here:

• Check the FAQ for more answers
• Contact Support for personalized help