diff --git a/mu4e/mu4e-headers.el b/mu4e/mu4e-headers.el
index c214ce89..92b6dda3 100644
--- a/mu4e/mu4e-headers.el
+++ b/mu4e/mu4e-headers.el
@@ -1432,7 +1432,8 @@ If SUBTHREAD is non-nil, only apply to subthread."
     (mu4e-error "Must be in mu4e-headers-mode (%S)" major-mode))
   (let* ((msg (mu4e-message-at-point))
          (path (mu4e-message-field msg :path))
-         (_exists (or (file-readable-p  path)
+         (_exists (or (file-remote-p path)
+                      (file-readable-p path)
                       (mu4e-warn "No message at %s" path)))
          (docid (or (mu4e-message-field msg :docid)
                     (mu4e-warn "No message at point")))