Apple Mail makes it easy to find and fix email issues. If your problems are with receiving or sending mail, try the following.
- Open Mail, click the Window menu and choose Connection Doctor.
- Wait for the tests to complete. There should be a green light next to each item in the list; a red light means the test failed.
- You’ll see an explanation of any problems and what to do. Double-click the error message.
- Trouble with the IMAP or POP? You might not be able to receive mail. Check the incoming serveruser name and retype the correct password for that account. Close the window and save.
- Problems with SMTP? This can interfere with sending mail. Click Advanced and make sure the user name contains your complete email address, including the part after the @ sign. Then click OK and close the Accounts window. If you still have trouble, double-click the error message and retype the password. You might also check the port number, SSL then click Account Information and the outgoing server.
- In Connection Doctor, click Check Again. Fix any other issues until you get a green light.
- When everything is ready, close Connection Doctor. Then click the Mailbox menu and Take All Accounts Online.
If these steps don’t solve your problem, you may remove the email account from your Mac and add it again – see instructions. All your messages will be downloaded again so you won’t lose anything… provided your email does NOT use the old POP protocol. If you see POP in your Connection Doctor window, do not remove your email account. Try restarting and following the steps again.
See a list of common email servers and settings.
Fixing email search & missing messages
Can’t find an email when you look in the inbox or click the search box, even though you know it’s there? You may need to reindex the email.
- Quit Mail.
- Click the Finder (desktop). Hold the Option key, click the Go at the top of the screen and choose Library.
- Open the Mail folder inside, then open the V2 folder and MailData folders.
- Look for any files that start with Envelope Index. Drag them to the trash.
- Open Mail again. It may take a few minutes for Mail to reindex your email but soon it should find messages properly.
- Tip: Mail usually searches in the selected mailbox (folder). If you don’t see the messages you need, click Search: All at the top of the window under the buttons. And you can choose an option below the search box, such as people, subjects, etc.
Learn more about email & iCloud.
