Apple Mail Troubleshooting
Contents
Summary
Apple Mail (or Mac Mail) is the default mail application on OS X devices (Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Macbook royale with cheese). It is indicated with an icon resembling a postage stamp on the icon tray (bottom of the screen). There are some unique features and troubleshooting to keep in mind with this program.
Different Types of Accounts
Apple Mail will allow creation of two types of accounts, Mail and Internet. A Mail account is the type you want to create (if given the choice). If an account appearing in Apple Mail sends/receives without error but messages do not reach their destination, it's possible this account is an internet account rather than a mail account. You should attempt to remove this account (ensuring there is backups of emails on the server first of course) and re-add the account. This will ensure it is a mail only account.
SMTP Servers
Apple Mail creates and saves SMTP settings independently of the mail accounts themselves. When editing account settings you will have an option to "Edit SMTP Servers" which will take you to the full list of configured servers. It is a good habit to clear out any SMTP servers that are not associated with any email account. This is because Apple Mail will refuse to save two SMTP servers with the same settings. Each SMTP server listed here will also note which accounts are currently associated with it, make sure an SMTP server has no active accounts attached to it prior to deletion.
PLAN A:
Follow the 1, 2, Punch as depicted below:
Mailbox Menu then "Take All Accounts Offline" Moments later, Mailbox Menu then "Get All New Mail"
(Be sure to allow plenty of time without sleep mode being allowed to occur.)
PLAN B:
Some Host accounts respond well to the "Synchronize" Mailbox Menu command.
Mailbox Menu then "Synchronize All Accounts"
Try this as a routine step, after PLAN A, or on its own.
NOTES:
The re-sync steps can take a long time. So, Open: Apple Mail | Window Menu > Activity window. The computer should not be shut down or allowed to be put to sleep until the sync operations are complete.
For ongoing problems that don't clear, click to choose / highlight each top-level INBOX, one by one, selecting "Rebuild" from the Mailbox Menu for each. Wait for each Rebuild to complete. This routine maintenance option Apple gives us can really help.
Reconstructing a Mailbox
The absolute last resort for any account in Apple Mail. Reconstructing a mailbox will clear all local messages/folders/etc. and resync the account with the server. For an IMAP or exchange account this is the state it should be in anyway, for a POP account this will have major consequences. You should only do this is:
A. An IMAP os Exchange account has a corrupt message causing the whole program to be unable to download messages. B. A POP account mysteriously lost all message and there is still a backup on the server (note of course this will simply re-download all messages).
To do this, simply select the mail account you wish to reconstruct, go to the top menu item "Mailbox", click the option at the bottom "Reconstruct". This will redownload and rebuild all messages and may take a very long time to download.
Mailbox Behaviors and Assigning a Mailbox
With any IMAP capable client your can assign which server folders you would like to use for Trash, Sent, Drafts, and Junk. In general Apple Mail can autodiscover these without issue. If however you find the mail client is not in sync with the server you can adjust this. simple select the folder you would like to assign this functionality to (let's say you want sent messages to go to a folder called "Sent Items"). With said folder selects go to the option "Mailbox" at the top of the screen, then to "Use this Mailbox as" then set the appropriate type (Sent in our example). That assigns the "Sent Items" folder to be the folder which Apple Mail sends sent messages to.
Mail Not Sending, No Error
If Apple mail is sending messages without error, they are not being blocked by the mail server, but are not being received on the other end there is one odd fix that can correct this. Make sure that the "E-mail Address" field in the main Apple Mail account settings is spelled correctly. If this is incorrect it causes email to be sent then disappear without a trace.
