What to Do If Your Mac Mail Is Corrupted

The Mac Mail app may not be as popular as online email services like Gmail, but is seems that nowadays, more and more users prefer it over the traditional web-based email solutions. In case you are wondering why, the answer is simple. With it, users can enjoy more features. They can have offline access to contacts and emails. They can also integrate it with various software applications. Then again, as with other desktop apps, it’s also vulnerable to issues.

True, troubleshooting Mac Mail issues may seem like a challenging task. However, Apple has provided a few handy troubleshooting tools that work to get your Mac Mail app up and running, even without the help of an expert. Yes, you read that right. You can repair Mac Mail issues by yourself.

Although these tools are designed to fix some of the most common Mac Mail app problems, it is worth noting that there are still other issues that such tools can’t diagnose. So, you might need to go through a series of trial and error to find the best solution.

How to Fix a Corrupted Mac Mail App

Now, if you feel that your Mac Mail is corrupted or if you are unable to open your Mac Mail, do not lose hope. We have collated all the possible solutions to Mac Mail problems and listed them down below.

Fix #1: Restart Your Mac.

A complete restart might just be what your Mac needs to fix the problem. Just press the Power button and hit Restart. It’s that easy! Alternatively, you may press the Apple key on your keyboard and select Restart.

Fix #2: Check Your Internet Connection.

If your Mac Mail app does not launch, it is possible that the problem is with your internet connection. Restart your router and see if it resolves the problem. If not, contact your ISP and ask whether they are currently experiencing problems with their servers.

Fix #3: Use Mac Mail’s Built-in Troubleshooting Tools.

The Mac Mail app is easy to set up and use. In fact, the process is quite straightforward. Apple made sure to provide convenient guides to help users through the process of setting up and creating accounts and drafted a few handy troubleshooting guides to help users in the event that something does not work.

Three of the main troubleshooting tools of the Mac Mail app are the Activity window, the Mail logs, and the Connection Doctor. Learn how to use these three below:

The Activity Window

This window offers a quick way of seeing what’s going on. It provides you with every piece of information you might need, including the SMTP server refusing connections, timeouts, and incorrect password attempts. To access the Activity window, simply open the Mac Mail menu, navigate to Window, and select Activity.

Though this window does not offer a way to correct issues, the status messages on it will give you a better idea on what’s going on. It will even send you alert messages if something goes wrong with the service.

The Connection Doctor

The Connection Doctor can diagnose issues with Mac Mail. It works by confirming whether your device is connected to the internet or not. It also checks each mail account you have added and ensures they can send and receive mails.

To access the Connection Doctor, open the Mac Mail app and go to the menu. Click Window and select Connection Doctor. The utility should then launch and start the scan. Once it’s done, the results for each account is displayed.

Any mail account with a red status is diagnosed to have a connection issue. To find out more information about it, you simply have to view the details by following these steps:

1. Scroll down to the bottom of the window.
2. Select Show Detail to open the contents of the logs.
3. Check through the logs to find any issues and detailed explanations.
4. Hit the Check Again button to rerun the Connection Doctor utility.

The Mail Logs

The Activity window may provide you with real-time data about what’s happening while you send and receive mails, but the Mail Logs is a bit ahead as it keeps records of every event.

To view your Mail logs, here’s what you should do:

1. Go to the Mail menu bar and select Window.
2. Next, click Connection Doctor.
3. Select Show Logs to open a Finder window that contains all individual logs for each of your Mail accounts.
4. Double-click on a log to open it.

You can now use this log to figure out the problem. Here, you will know whether it’s the use of a wrong password that is keeping you from using the Mac Mail app or the app’s server itself that is causing the problem.

Fix #4: Transfer Your Mac Mail to Another Mac.

Migrating Mac Mail data to another Mac might not seem an ideal solution for many as they think that the process requires a lot of time to complete. But with all the available tools and utilities today, the process can now be done in a matter of minutes.

You have a few options to initiate the move. Among all, the easiest and most recommended method is the use of Apple’s Migration Assistant. It works most of the time, but there is a drawback. When it comes to transferring data, this utility is generally all-or-nothing. You can just select from a few basic categories and that’s it.

You see, moving your Mac Mail data is pretty easy. But before you try that, you might want to clean up your new Mac first. Keep it free from unnecessary stuff like cache files, junk, and temporary files, as these files only consume valuable memory space and affect your Mac’s performance.

One way to get rid of the unwanted stuff is through the use of trusted Mac repair tool. Download and install one, perform a quick scan, and your Mac should be all set.

Fix #5: Rebuild Your Mac Mail App.

Rebuilding your Mac Mail app means forcing it to re-index each message and updating the message list to display all the current messages stored on your Mac.

To rebuild your Mac Mail app, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Mac Mail app.
2. Choose a mailbox by clicking its icon.
3. Go to the Mail menu.
4. Click Rebuild.
5. Wait for the process to be completed.
6. Once it’s done, repeat the process for another mailbox.

Fix #6: Seek Help from Experts.

When all else fails, your best and last resort is to seek help from an expert. Take your Mac to the nearest Apple Center and have Apple geniuses diagnose the problem. Better yet, reach out to Apple’s online support team.

Conclusion

It is a pain to encounter problems with a corrupt Mac Mail app, especially if you have an urgent email that needs to be responded to. However, with the fixes above, we hope that you are able to draft a quick reply to that message or save your job.

We hope that you find this article helpful. Do you know other fixes that we can try? Do you have questions about the fixes above? Share them in the comments!