Best Ways to Fix Mail Application Keeps Crashing on Mac.
Are you experiencing regular crashes when using the Mail app on your Mac? This can be caused by errors or glitches, corrupted settings, or broken mailbox indexes.
Read:how to fix if Windows 10 Mail App Not Working?
This guide will show you what to do to prevent Mail from crashing on Mac. We recommend that you work through the fixes below in the order in which they appear.
If you continue to experience similar issues on iPhone, check out what you can do to fix the iOS version of Mail.
Force-Quit and Retry
If the Mail app on your Mac freezes or crashes on startup, try quitting it completely before trying to open it again. Otherwise, the crash can continue indefinitely.
1. Select the Apple logo from the top menu and select Force-Quit.
2. Select Mail.
3. Select Force Logout.
4. Press Force-Quit again to confirm.
Restart Your Mac
Then try restarting your Mac. This usually fixes technical glitches in system applications such as Mail.
1. Open the Apple menu and choose Restart.
2. Uncheck the box next to Reopen windows on logon.
3. Select “Restart” to confirm.
Delete Mac Mail Preferences
The Mail app stores your preferences in a PLIST (short for Property List) file deep inside your Mac User Library folder. It might be corrupted, so try deleting the file and see if it has changed.
1. Close or force close the Mail app.
2. Control-click or right-click the Finder icon in the Dock and choose Go To Folder.
3. Copy and paste the following path into the Go to Folder field and press Enter:
~ / Library / Containers / com.apple.mail / Data / Library / Preferences /
4. Move the Mail settings file to the trash:
com.apple.mail.plist
5. Restart your Mac.
6. Restart the Mail app.
Delete Application State
Your Mac saves the state of the Mail app for quicker resume after shutdown or restart. However, related files can become corrupted and cause freezes and crashes. Therefore, the next fix includes removing the app state for the Mail app.
1. Force close or close Mail.
2. Control-click or right-click the Finder icon in the menu bar and choose Go To Folder.
3. Copy and paste the following path into the Go to Folder field and press Enter:
~ / Library / Containers / com.apple.mail / Data / Library / Saved Application State
4. Move the saved Mail folder to the trash:
com.apple.mile.savedstate
5. Restart your Mac.
6. Try to open Mail and check if the problem persists.
Rebuild Your Mailboxes
Damaged mailboxes are another reason for the failure of the mail application on Mac. Apple knows this, so you have the option to restore your mailboxes.
Note. If the Mail app crashes right after launching, skip to the next fix.
1. Open the Mail app.
2. Select Mailbox> Restore from the menu bar.
3. Wait while the Mail app finishes re-downloading your messages. If you are using IMAP or Exchange accounts, you may not see your messages for a while.
Reindex Your Mailboxes
The next fix includes re-indexing of mailboxes in Mail. To do this, you need to delete the envelope files using the Finder.
2. Control-click or right-click the Finder icon in the menu bar and choose Go To Folder.
3. Copy and paste the following path into the Go to Folder field and press Enter:
~ / Library / Mail
3. Navigate to VX> MailData.
4. Find and move to the trash the following files:
Envelope index-wal
Envelope index
Index-shm envelope
Remove and Re-Add Account
Mail failures can be related to incorrect account configuration. Try removing and adding it to your Mac again.
1. Force close or close Mail.
2. Open your Mac’s System Preferences.
3. Select Internet accounts.
4. Select each account in the sidebar and uncheck the box next to Mail.
5. Open the Mac Mail app.
6. Reactivate each email account through the Internet Accounts screen one by one until the Mail app crashes. Then use the Minus button to remove the problematic account from your Mac. If you are using iCloud Keychain, select Remove from All to confirm.
6. Restart your Mac and reopen the Internet Accounts plane. Then click the Plus button to re-add the account.
Update Your Mac
Applying any pending system software updates for your Mac will often resolve known bugs and issues that are causing the Mail app to crash.
1. Open the System Preferences app and select Software Update.
3. Wait while your Mac searches for the latest macOS for your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac mini.
3. Select Update Now.
Note. The above instructions only apply to macOS Mojave and later. If you’re using macOS High Sierra or earlier, use the Mac App Store to update your operating system.
Enter Safe Mode
Safe Mode is a stripped-down environment capable of fixing persistent errors and crashes on Mac. If Mail keeps crashing, try loading it.
Intel Mac
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Hold down the Shift key and turn it back on.
3. Release the key as soon as the login screen appears.
Apple Silicon Mac
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Turn it back on, but keep pressing the power button until the startup options screen appears.
3. Hold down the Shift key and choose Macintosh HD> Continue in Safe Mode.
Safe Mode
In Safe Mode, you can re-run the above fixes or follow additional troubleshooting steps to fix common macOS issues. For detailed step-by-step instructions, see this guide on how to sign in and use Safe Mode on Mac.
Reset NVRAM
The NVRAM (which stores system settings such as time and date, as well as startup parameters) can become corrupted and cause the mail application to malfunction. If you are using an Intel Mac, you can reset it.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Hold down Command + Option + P + R and turn it back on.
3. Release the keys when you hear the Mac beep twice. If there is no call, release the keys after 20 seconds.
If resetting PRAM doesn’t work, try resetting your Mac’s Storage Management Controller (or SMC).
Clear Mac Cache
An outdated Mac app or system cache can also cause the mail app to crash. Onyx is a free third-party maintenance tool to help you deal with this issue.
1. Download and install Onyx on your Mac.
2. Open Onyx and enter your administrator password.
3. Select “Open System Preferences” and allow Onyx to access the “Full Disk Control” and “Files and Folders” privacy categories.
3. Click the Maintenance tab.
4. Leave the default settings unchanged, but select Spotlight Index, Mailboxes in Mail, and Rebuild Index.
5. Select Run Tasks.
6. Wait while Onyx clears the cache and rebuilds the mailbox indexes on your Mac. In the meantime, it will reboot.
The Postman Is Back in Town
If the Mail app continues to crash even after you complete the above fixes, contact Apple Support or your email service provider for further assistance. You can also reinstall macOS from scratch.
Best Ways to Fix Mail Application Keeps Crashing on Mac
Best Ways to Fix Mail Application Keeps Crashing on Mac