Apple Mail not working? Here's how to fix it

It’s frustrating when an app keeps crashing, freezing, or refuses to load — and Apple Mail is no exception. If you’ve been running into issues like these, you’re not alone:

• Apple Mail crashes after being open for a while.

• It quits unexpectedly.

• It won't open at all.

• Apple Mail keeps crashing repeatedly.

Why is Apple Mail not working? 

Depending on the glitch, here are a few factors that may cause it: 

• Apple Mail quit unexpectedly/crashes repeatedly: Damaged preferences (.plist) files; plug-ins/login items conflicts causing the app to crash; macOS bugs

• Mail does not open: all of the above; a corrupted mailbox database; mailbox database growing too large

• Apple Mail becomes unresponsive/freezes: large mailbox database

• Apple Mail is stuck offline: VPN/Firewall conflicts; network changes

• Mail not receiving new emails: connection issues

• Mail not sending emails: issues with an SMTP server (only if you use a custom email domain)

• Apple Mail not syncing to iCloud: stalled iCloud services; disabled app background refresh; iCloud settings

• Recurring password errors in Apple Mail: 2FA mismatches; keychain glitches

• Messages are stuck downloading: Mail indexing loops; large corrupted messages; or server timeouts

• Search not working: Spotlight indexing failures; Mail database corruption 

Regardless of the issue, try the solutions below one by one to fix Apple Mail not working on Mac and get it back up and running. 

How to troubleshoot Mail problems on Mac

The next couple of tips will require you to follow them in this exact order and test after each step. First off, check your internet connection. Go to System Settings > Wi-Fi and check that you're connected to your network.

Then, open a browser and visit any website. If it does not load, contact your broadband provider.

Also, if it is the first time you use the Mail app or you've recently changed your password, make sure that you've entered the correct password. If the website loads and the login info is correct, proceed with the fixes. 

Let's jump right in.

1. Restart your Mail app and your Mac

The very first thing to do is to restart your Mail app. To do it, press Option-Command-Esc to open the force-quit menu. Select Mail to quit the app. Then, reopen the app and see if the issues disappeared. 

If restarting your Mail app hasn't helped, it's time to restart your Mac: go to the Apple Menu on the top left and select Restart. See if that worked and move on if required.

2. Check Apple System Status

Before diving into more Mail-specific fixes, there is another basic check — System Status page. It shows whether there are any outages. If there are, all you need to do is wait until Apple fixes them. 

To find out, go to the System Status page. Look for iCloud Mail and Mail Drop (letting you send large files). If the dot next to either of them is anything but green, just wait.

If the dot is green, follow the steps below one by one. 

But before you do, we suggest backing up Mail data. In a new Finder window, press Command + Shift + G and paste ~/Library/Mail followed by Return. Send the contents of the folder to an external drive or even just your desktop. If anything goes wrong — more wrong than it was before troubleshooting — you will be able to recover your data. 

Sometimes, the Mail app may fix itself after you move this folder to the desktop.

3. Rebuild Mail

Don't worry; this isn't as daunting as it sounds. Rebuilding your mailboxes might completely solve the problem.

Here is how to rebuild your Mac Mail:

• Open your Mail app.
• Select a mailbox from the left sidebar.
• On the top menu, select Mailbox > Rebuild.

Try this for all your Mailboxes, then close Mail and reopen it. Now, test again.

Worry not — rebuilding won't delete your emails; it simply refreshes the local copy of your messages, meaning that they remain safely stored on the server.

4. Reset Mail app

Use CleanMyMac to quickly and securely reset Mac Mail. It won't delete the program but will get rid of all app-related items to bring the app as close to the default state as possible. 

Here's how to do that:

1. Open the app and select Applications from the left sidebar (get your free trial here).
2. Click Scan.
3. When the scan is complete, click Manage My Applications.
4. Find Mail in your Application list and select the show more arrow.
5. Select all the items except Binaries.
6. Click the main Remove button below.

Why you should try CleanMyMac

• Can remove cache and other junk, too: on average, users remove 10.5 GB of junk files
• Cleans and maintains 51K Macs daily
• Removes over 81 GB of junk every minute

Get your free CleanMyMac trial — see it in action on your Mac (test free for 7 days).

5. Manually fetch new mail 

If you cannot see new messages, but know they should be there, it may be that the Mail app is not receiving them. Apple has a built-in fix for such situations. Just click Mailbox in the menu bar and choose Get All New Mail. It will now force the Mail app to download all newly received emails.

6. Update your macOS

Keeping your Mac up to date is a sure way of working out the kinks. It's obvious but worth a try. How to check if you have the latest update installed:

1. Select the Apple menu top left and go to System Settings > General.
2. Click Software Update to find out if you need a quick update.
3. If there are any updates available, click Update Now and follow the on-screen instructions.

Post-update: delete preferences files

Sometimes, after a macOS update, the Mail app may start crashing. It is because of stricter security standards implemented with each new macOS version and the possibility of the preferences file corruption. To quickly fix it, delete this file. Here’s how: 

1. Open a new Finder window. 

2. Press Command + Shift + G and paste the following path followed by Return in the field that pops up: ~/Library/Preferences/

3. Locate this file and send it to the Trash: com.apple.mail.plist
   If you cannot see the file in ~/Library/Preferences/, go to ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Preferences and check there.

4. Restart your MacBook and open the Mail app so that it re-creates the preferences file.

Test again, and if Mail is still not opening on your Mac, it's time to move to the next tip.

Tip: Mac Mail app not working is just one issue you can experience while using your Mac. Check out other blog articles to learn how to fix Apple mouse not working, Trackpad glitches, and other nasty Mac problems.

7. Disable your email accounts

If you have multiple accounts, it's worth disabling them and then reloading them one by one to try and find if an account is corrupt. It usually helps if the Mail app is not showing new emails.

How to manually disable your Mail accounts:

1. Open the Mail app and go to Settings > Account. 
2. Deselect the checkbox next to Enable this account.

If the Mail app now works, then one of your Mail accounts is causing the issue. To find out which one, turn your accounts back on one by one, following the steps above to find the offender.

Once found, delete the mailbox account altogether. Here's how: 

1. Go to System Settings > Internet Accounts. 
2. Select your account and click Delete Account at the bottom of the window (if it is an iCloud account, you may need to scroll down).

Then, click Add Account and follow the onscreen instructions. It may help fix issues with receiving emails.

Important: If you use a POP account, back up your emails first — POP accounts delete local messages when removed. IMAP accounts are safe as messages remain on the server. 

While in System Settings, check that Mail is actually enabled (if you use iCloud Mail). Go to Apple Account > iCloud > Mail and make sure it is toggled on. It may also fix issues with iCloud syncing.

Tip: Apple’s recent Mail Categories feature automatically sorts your emails into sections like Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions, making it easier to find important messages at a glance. If you prefer the classic look, you can switch back to the standard view with just a click. But if you value your time and love a tidy inbox, it’s definitely worth a try.

8. Remove problematic Mail attachments

Sometimes, Mail does not work on a Mac because of a dodgy email attachment. This can be hard to identify unless Mail immediately crashes when you click on a specific email. 

If your inbox contains a mountain of messages like mine, it can be tricky to pinpoint the corrupt item. It's a lot easier to clean up your attachments with a tool like CleanMyMac. Its dedicated Cleanup module can quickly and safely remove local copies of email attachments and downloads, clearing space and eliminating app crashes. Bonus point: Apple notarized the app, so it’s safe for your Mac.

How to remove mail attachments with CleanMyMac:

1. Open the app — get your free trial here.
2. Select Cleanup from the left sidebar and click Scan.
3. Wait for the Scan to finish.
4. Click Review All Junk.
5. In the sidebar, click Mail Attachments and review the files to remove.

We recommend deleting other preselected files, too: logs, caches, languages files, etc. Why? Because if your Mac is running low on space, the Mail app may stop downloading new emails. Also, check out My Clutter to delete duplicates, similar images, and large and old files. With these two features, you can quickly reclaim gigabytes of storage. 

If you’re more into manual cleanup, go to System Settings > General > Storage and check the categories below the colored graph. To free up space, click an i next to each category and delete what you no longer need. 

9. Use Connection Doctor

If Mail is stuck offline, use another built-in problem fixer — Connection Doctor. It checks your internet connection and verifies the status of your email accounts.

If your inbox isn’t updating or you can't send/receive emails, it identifies which incoming (POP/IMAP) or outgoing (SMTP) servers are failing.

With the Mail app open, go to the Window menu in the menu bar and choose Connection Doctor.

If you see red dots next to any accounts, delete and re-add them in System Settings > Internet Accounts as shown above. 

10. Remove and reindex envelope files

Mail uses an envelope index to catalog and search message headers; these can become defective and cause Apple Mail not to work.

How to manually remove envelope files:

1. Quit Mail and open the Finder.
2. Holding down the Option key from the top menu, select Go > Library.
3. Now, select Mail > V9 folder (depending on your macOS, this could be another number).
4. Now, select the MailData and locate the following files:
   Envelope Index-shm
   Envelope Index-wal
   Envelope Index
5. Copy and paste them on your desktop, deleting the original files in MailData. Then, reopen Mail and test.

If it's working, delete the files on your desktop. 

Don't fancy poking around in your Library folder? There's a quicker way to do this with the app I mentioned earlier. CleanMyMac has a Performance module that can do this in just a few clicks.

How to remove and reindex envelope files the quick way:

1. Open CleanMyMac.
2. Select Performance from the left sidebar and click Scan.
3. When the scan is complete, click View All Tasks.
4. Choose Maintenance Tasks and then select a box near Speed Up Mail.
5. Click Run at the bottom.

Simple!

There is an extra fix — running First Aid using Disk Utility. It can repair file system errors that corrupt Mail's database. Just open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities, select your drive from the sidebar, and click First Aid in the toolbar > Run. 

 

If it did not help, we’ve got more pro tips for you.

11. Use Keychain to fix password-related issues

In case of recurring authentication issues (Apple Mail keeps asking for your password), it may be that the password for your email account is outdated in Keychain — a built-in password manager. Try entering the password manually instead of autofilling data if possible.

If not, open Keychain Access or the Passwords app and find all passwords related to your email account. Remove and re-add them. 

12. Test Mail in safe mode

Safe mode helps to identify whether an issue is being caused by startup software. It also clears the cache and repairs disks — sometimes solving what's wrong with Mail altogether.

To start Macs with Apple silicon in safe mode:

1. Shut your Mac down and wait 10 seconds. 

2. Turn your Mac back on, pressing and holding the power button for 10 seconds.

3. When the startup window appears, release the power button.

4. Now, select your startup disk, then press and hold the Shift key.

5. Click Continue in Safe Mode and release the Shift key.

To start Intel-based Macs in safe mode:

1. Shut down your Mac and wait 10 seconds.

2. Restart your Mac and press and hold the Shift key on startup.

3. When the login window appears, it's time to release the Shift key.

4. You might need to log in again. But you will see "Safe Boot” on either the first or second login window in the top right-hand corner.

Now, open the Mail in safe mode and see if it's working correctly. If the issue is no longer disturbing you, the problem should have been resolved. Now restart your Mac as usual. 

If the problem returns when you boot your Mac normally, disable login items in System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions. Now, enable them one by one, checking the Mail app every time. If any login item is making it crash, disable this one. We recommend disabling all of them except for antivirus software if you use any.

 

13. Delete and reinstall Mail app

If nothing else has worked, it's time to delete and reinstall the Mail app. Since it is preinstalled, you cannot simply drag it to the Trash, but there's still a workaround. The process, though, is time-consuming and requires some effort. 

Note that it will delete all of your data, so you should back up first and then recover your Mac. The easiest way to do it is to use Time Machine.

1. Disable SIP 

All preinstalled apps are protected by SIP (System Integrity Protection), so to delete them, you'll need to disable it temporarily. First, you'll need to boot into recovery mode. Follow the steps below for your Mac. 

Intel-based Mac

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button and hold Command-R.
3. Wait for the Apple logo to appear and release Command-R.
4. You should eventually see the macOS Utilities window.

Mac with Apple silicon 

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold the power button (Touch ID).
3. Keep holding the power button until you see the startup options.
4. Click Options, then click Continue.
5. Enter your admin password, then click Continue.

Once in recovery mode, click Utilities in the menu bar and open Terminal.

Then, follow these steps: 

1. Type in csrutil disable and press Return.
2. If asked, press Y and press Return again. 
3. Enter your admin password and press Return. 
4. Reboot your Mac. 

2. Delete the Mail app 

Now that you've disabled SIP, it's time to delete the Mail app. 

1. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities.
2. Type sudo rm -rf /Applications/Mail.app — this command will delete Mail app.
3. Press Return and type in your password followed by Return if asked. 

3. Enable SIP 

The final step in deleting the Mail app is to enable SIP:

1. Boot into recovery mode following the steps above.
2. Open Terminal and paste this command: csrutil enable
3. Press Return and reboot your Mac. 

4. Reinstall the Mail app 

Finally, you can now reinstall the Mail app. The main problem with doing it is that you cannot simply download it from the internet. You will have to reinstall macOS, and the Mail app will be installed on your Mac with the fresh version of the operating system.

If you're ready to reinstall macOS and have backed up your data, boot into recovery mode once again and click Reinstall macOS. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Note: If you haven't updated your Mac in step 4, try doing it before deleting and reinstalling your Mac app. It may be all you need to do to fix any issues.

Bonus tip: Understanding Mac Mail error codes

Sometimes, the Mail app returns error codes. Here's what they mean and how to fix them: 

Error code	Meaning	Fixes
101	General connection or authentication failure	Check the internet connection Check for service outages Disable VPN/Firewall
201	Authentication or network issue	Check the internet connection Check for service outages Restart the Mail app Delete and re-add your account Update macOS
301	Service outage or incorrect account settings	Check the internet connection Check for service outages Restart the Mail app Update macOS
404	Cannot find the email server	Check the internet connection Check for service outages Restart the Mail app Restart your Mac Update macOS Rebuild your mailbox Disable VPN/Firewall Delete and re-add your account Verify settings (Mail > Settings > Server Settings)

These troubleshooting tips should fix Mail if it's not working correctly on your Mac. If none of the above steps resolve the issue, contact Apple Support at support.apple.com. Consider reaching out if Mail fails across multiple accounts, repeatedly breaks after updates, or shows persistent security or sync errors — these may indicate a deeper macOS-level issue.