Examples described herein include systems and methods for performing email synchronization in situations where mobile-device connectivity is lacking. The mobile device can send an SMS message to an email notification server requesting email synchronization and the email notification server can request synchronization with the email server associated with the user's email account. After receiving an email from the email server, the email notification server can encrypt the email and break it into various chunks, with each chunk including a header having identifying information. The chunks can be transmitted as SMS messages to the mobile device. The email application can retrieve the SMS messages, decrypt them, and reconstruct the email. The email application can then display the email for the user.