Apple’s Mail app is highly useful for centralizing and managing emails from various service providers. You can add all your email accounts on the app, so you don’t have to log in every time you need to check your email. If you set the Mail app to automatically run during startup, your inbox will be loaded as soon as you boot up your Mac and your new emails are ready to be read.
However, recent Mail app crashes in High Sierra and Mojave have brought inconvenience to a lot of users. The Mail app keeps quitting unexpectedly on High Sierra and Mojave that users are not able to load their inboxes. For most users, the crash happens immediately after launching the app, while others were able to click a few times before the app closes. There are also users who are not able to launch the Mail app at all.
Fixing a frozen app: Why Mac OS apps freeze. There can be a few reasons why apps freeze on Mac. First, sometimes an app freezes on its own, and sometimes it takes down the whole Mac with it. Here's what could be happening: Apps freeze in the background. This could mean there are some apps running that you didn't open, they opened themselves. Manual reindexing of Mail messages is the only way to go if the application has become so unresponsive it barely works at all, search is not functioning correctly or the app won't launch. Updated your Mac to the latest macOS and now the Mail App isn't working? Is your Mail App slow or not responding? Learn how to troubleshoot your Mail App.
There are different reasons why the Mail app quits unexpectedly on MacOSX High Sierra 10.13.6 and other macOS versions. It is likely that a recent update has broken the Mail app indexes, causing it to crash. Too many emails can also affect app performance, resulting in network hang-ups characterized by the spinning color wheel. It is also possible that the application itself is corrupted.
This article will show you what to do when Mac Mail keeps crashing in High Sierra or other versions of macOS. The methods below cover most of the common causes of Mail app crashes and all you need to do is find one that works for you.
How to Fix Mac Mail That Keeps Crashing
Before you try anything else, it is important to do some basic troubleshooting first to see if this will resolve your Mail app problem. Close your Mail app by clicking Mail > Quit Mail. Use a Mac repair tool to delete cache files and perform routine maintenance cleanup, then restart your computer. Launch Mail again to check if you are able to load the app successfully. If it still crashes, follow the solutions we listed below.
Solution #1: Launch the Mail App Safely.
Sometimes crashes occur because of a problematic email message. When you open the mail app, messages are loaded automatically and one of them could be causing the crash. To find out which messages are causing the app shutdown, launch Mail then hold down the Shift key immediately to prevent the contents of your mailbox from being loaded. Next, determine which message is causing the error and delete it immediately.
Solution #2: Clean Up Your Mail.
The Mail app receives and sends out lots of emails every day. As those messages accumulate over time, your mailboxes become bloated and suffer problems such as freezing or crashing. To improve the app’s loading time, clean up your mail by regularly deleting everything in your Spam and Deleted Items folders. Go through your emails one by one and get rid of those that you no longer need. Removing all these junk can significantly improve your app’s performance and hopefully resolves this issue.
Solution #3: Rebuild Your Mailboxes.
If your Mac Mail keeps crashing in High Sierra, you need to rebuild each mailbox to reset its settings. To do this:
- Launch Mail by clicking the icon from the Dock.
- If you have multiple email accounts added to the Mail app, choose the mailbox you want to rebuild.
- Click Mailbox in the top menu, then choose Rebuild.
- Do this for all your mailboxes.
The process may take a while to finish, depending on the size of your mailbox. If you notice some performance lag, wait for the rebuilding to finish before using your computer because this process consumes a lot of system resources.
Solution #4: Re-Index Your Messages.
If Mail still fails to launch or you’re still having issues with it after rebuilding your mailboxes, the next step is to re-index your messages. Whenever Mail detects a problem with any of the mailboxes, the app attempts to automatically re-index the messages by default. But if Mac Mail keeps crashing in High Sierra and you can’t access the mailboxes, re-indexing manually is the best option.
To manually re-index your messages, follow the steps below:
- Click Mail > Quit Mail to close the app.
- Go to your Desktop, then hold down the Option key. Click Go > Library.
- In the search bar, type in the following address: ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData.
- Once the folder opens, copy all the contents of the folder to your Desktop as a backup, then delete all files that have Envelope Index in its name.
- Close the folder and relaunch Mail.
The app will build new envelope files when launched and this process can take a long time, especially if you have a lot of messages to re-index. If everything goes smoothly and Mail no longer crashes, you can delete the backup of the envelope index files you previously copied to your Desktop.
Solution #5: Reset Apple Mail Preferences.
When the preferences file for Mail is corrupted, the app won’t be able to load properly and would keep on crashing. To fix this, you need to clear the app’s property lists and allow Mail to generate a new one. Take note, though, that resetting you Mail preferences will remove all your account settings and other customizations. You will need to log in to all your accounts and set them up one by one all over again. Your downloaded messages, however, will remain intact.
To refresh your Mail preferences, follow these instructions:
- Quit Mail if the app is open.
- Go to Finder and hold down the Option key, then Go > Library.
- Copy and paste this in the address bar: /Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Preferences.
- Look for the com.apple.mail.plist file inside the folder.
- Drag the file to the Trash to delete it.
- Close Finder and launch Mail.
You’ll find that the app will start the way it did when you first launched it. Run the setup wizard and set up all your mailboxes again. This should resolve most Mail app errors. If not, you still have one more solution to try below.
Solution #6: Rebuild Address Book Database.
Another possible reason why your Mail app keeps quitting unexpectedly on High Sierra is a corrupted Address Book database. If this is the case, you will need to rebuild your Address Book to fix the issue. To do this:
- Create a backup of your Address Book by choosing All Contacts > File > Export > Address Book Archive.
- After saving all your contacts, quit Address Book and search for the /username/Library/Application Support/Address Book/ folder in Finder.
- Cut all the contents of the folder and copy them to the Desktop.
- Launch Address Book again and check to see if the contacts are still there. If not, import them from your archived backup.
- Launch the Mail app again to see if this solution worked.
![Macos Macos](/uploads/1/3/4/2/134280718/716376649.png)
Summary
If your Mac Mail keeps crashing in High Sierra, checking your emails becomes a hassle, especially if you’re using different mail services. You have to log in to each one of them just to check your email. If you’re experiencing issues with your Mail app, such as performance lags or persistent crashing, you can apply any of the fixes above to resolve these problems.
If you’re running into errors and your system is suspiciously slow, your computer needs some maintenance work. Download Outbyte PC Repair for Windows, Outbyte Antivirus for Windows, or Outbyte MacRepair for macOS to resolve common computer performance issues. Fix computer troubles by downloading the compatible tool for your device.
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After summer comes macOS. This long-standing tradition started by Apple is the most exciting moment of the year — seeing your Macs improve and gain new bells and whistles. In 2019, we're welcoming Catalina, the 10.15 version of macOS named after Catalina island in California. Apparently, it's hot.
The operating system boasts a whole lot of new macOS features like Sidecar, iOS apps porting, and major Photos update. To try the features right away, you can install Catalina from the Software Update tab.
However, be prepared for some troubleshooting. The acquaintance with the new macOS doesn't always go smooth — and with macOS 10.15 deeming support for lots of software, many things will not go smooth. We've collected the key macOS Catalina issues you may encounter, along with the ways to fix them.
macOS 10.15 Catalina problems and their fixes
Giving up Catalina is a decision you can choose to make. But before rolling back, ensure you use every bit of advice as to how you can fix the common problems. Sometimes, a quick fix can solve your concerns.
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Beta or not, you can safely install any version of the new macOS. Setapp and its 150+ apps will solve every Mac concern you have.
Problems with macOS Catalina you can solve:
macOS 10.15 Catalina won't install
This is the classic problem that arises with every macOS release: The installation won't start or you face the 'Catalina installation stuck' problem — when it freezes and you see no progress on the install. No matter how many times you start over, you keep getting an error trying to install Catalina.'
How to fix:
- Apple recommends to reset SMC. Shut down your Mac, and hold Shift + Ctrl + Option + Power button for about 10 seconds, with your cable plugged in. Click on the power button and wait for your Mac to start up.
- Try resetting NVRAM or PRAM. Shut down your Mac, and hold Option + Command + P + R for about 20 seconds. Wait for your computer to restart.
- Reinstall from macOS recovery. Hold Option + Command + R to reinstall. Once you see the startup screen, start the installation again.
- Some users reported they were prompted to enter administrator password several times to complete the installation. So it might be something for you to try as well.
- In most cases, macOS Catalina cannot be installed on Macintosh HD, because it doesn't have enough disk space. If you install Catalina on top of your current operating system, the computer will keep all the files and still need free space for Catalina. So the easiest fix would be to clean up your system with CleanMyMac X before upgrading. All the system junk, app leftovers, and unneeded files will go away in a minute.
- Backup your disk and run a clean install. This will wipe away your current system files, leaving space for macOS Catalina — so yes, this option is for the brave. If you use a solid backup solution, you'll keep your data safe, though. Get Backup Pro is a nice way to do it — unlike Apple's Time Machine, the app allows running bootable backups.
Say you've cleared up and backed up your disk. But your Mac still gets stuck at the installation and shows 'not enough space' error, so you can't get out of the cycle. In this case, there's another fix you can try:
- Reinstall Mojave. No worries, this won't delete your disk. Reboot your Mac and hold Command + R to enter the Recovery Mode. Click Reinstall macOS.
- Restore from your backup. If you have a Time Machine backup, enter the Recovery Mode again and select 'Restore from Time Machine Backup.' Select the backup from the list and restore your files. Check out how to use apple time machine.
Some users also report they tried to reboot into Safe Mode and take the installation from there; the others used a newly created admin user — but most attempts have been unsuccessful.
We must agree that macOS 10.15 is one of the slowest systems in terms of installation. But if you use the hacks described above and have a little patience, you'll be able to get to the 'Catalina installed' point.
Find more information about how to update mac os the right way.
If you can't login after upgrading to Catalina
There's a known problem of failing to login after the installation. Unfortunately, the only way to fix it — at least for now — would be to roll back to Mojave:
- Clean up your Mac with CleanMyMac X and backup your data.
- Save passwords to ensure you don't lose license keys and settings.
- Create a bootable installer of Mojave (after Catalina goes public, you can download Mojave here).
- Delete macOS Catalina: Apple menu > Restart > Command + R > Disk Utility > your startup disk > Erase.
One of the things Mac users are particularly excited about is the new Sidecar feature. It comes as a handy solution for those wanting to expand their workspaces. You can either mirror your Mac's screen to iPad or use your iPad's screen as an extension of a Mac. Mac book pro cannot use numbers app.
If the only reason you're here is because you want Sidecar, we have to warn you it might not work with your new macOS. Reddit is full of user reports about the feature unavailable on macOS Catalina. Most likely, this is the issue of compatibility.
![App App](/uploads/1/3/4/2/134280718/817066616.jpg)
How to fix:
Here are the ways to fix Sidecar problems:
Windows Mail App Won't Open
- Get the new iPadOS 13. Unfortunately, macOS Catalina doesn't work with iPadOS 12. So basically, you have to use the recent operating systems if you want to try Sidecar.
- Make sure your Mac is one of the compatible devices. Sidecar works on:
- 2019 Mac Pro
- Late 2018 Mac mini +
- Late 2018 MacBook Air +
- 2017 iMac Pro
- Mid 2016 MacBook Pro +
- Early 2016 MacBook +
- Late 2015 iMac +
- Try connecting your iPad with a cable. With Sidecar, you should be able to connect your iPad wirelessly. If this doesn't work, the cable might solve the issue.
Battery drain on macOS Catalina
Many of the previous macOS releases were known for battery life concerns — greedy apps, Safari and Chrome draining battery, or power-saving not working. There has been no major battery drain issues reported by the Catalina users so far.
How to fix:
Just to make sure you don't encounter the problem as well, here are a few precautions:
- Check for apps that use significant energy. For a quick insight, check Apple's in-built Activity Monitor. It shows the 'Energy impact' for every application — calculated based on CPU, network usage, and other factors.
- Have a solution for battery health monitoring. iStat Menus is a perfect fit if you need detailed analytics on disk activity, CPU usage, battery life, memory load, and much more. The app shows all the data right in your menu bar. Plus, you can customize what's being monitored flexibly.
- Use Screen Time to limit the use of apps. This is the brand-new app on macOS Catalina, which helps you live a healthier Mac user life. Set time limits for the use of specific apps or app categories and schedule downtime. The main goal is to track how much time you spend on the computer, but you can also use it to optimize battery life on Mac.
Apps not working on macOS Catalina
In the attempt to speed up your Mac's performance, Apple is killing 32-bit app architecture with the release of Catalina. This means you have to switch to 64-bit, for good. You might see the messages like this when trying to launch an app:
The chances are it's one of the oldies.
How to fix:
CleanMyMac X can pretty much solve every app problem on macOS Catalina.
Uninstall all 32-bit apps in a click
No more digging through the settings. Download CleanMyMac X and batch uninstall every outdated app on Mac.
- Use Updater to search available app updates. Maybe the app is not working, because it needs upgrading. If you've missed the update notification, you won't know about this. To solve the issue, CleanMyMac X will show you the full list of apps with available updates from developers. The best thing is you can run a batch update right in the app.
- Uninstaller gives you an easy way to reset or get rid of 32-bit apps. The Apple way of checking for 32-bit applications is quite easy: access About This Mac > System report > Applications. However, once you find apps with the outdated architecture, you'll have to go and uninstall each of them separately. The Uninstaller feature in CleanMyMac X simplifies things for you — filter by 32-bit and get rid of each of them.
- If there's no particular reason an app misbehaves, try resetting it. Guess what, CleanMyMac X has it covered too. In Uninstaller, click on the arrow button next to the app and choose Reset. As easy as that.
While app notarization takes time, you can expect many apps being unavailable after the release of Catalina. This doesn't mean they are gone for good, though. Contact developers or follow official developer announcements to find out about compatibility plans.
OneDrive client problems on Catalina
Due to Catalina's new security settings, Microsoft's OneDrive may have a problem accessing your drive — even if you allow a full access. This is because macOS 10.15 comes with two disk volumes by default.
How to fix:
There are no surefire fixes just yet, but you can try to troubleshoot OneDrive by setting it up from the very beginning. This worked for some users, according to the Reddit discussion:
- Unlink your account and quit OneDrive.
- Remove OneDrive client from your Mac and delete the folder.
- Set up OneDrive again and make sure you allow full disk access in Security & Privacy.
iCloud problems on macOS Catalina
The most common issue with iCloud is that users are unable to download their folders. You can try downloading iCloud files separately — but that's going to be a pain if you have an extensive library.
How to fix:
The best fix would be using Forklift app for your file management. The app is Catalina-ready and allows connecting local drives, Dropbox, iCloud, and tons of other storage sites.
My Apple Mail Won't Open
If you're setting up iCloud, there might be another issue standing in your way: Not being able to agree to the Terms and Conditions. The window will just keep popping up on your screen. An easy way to fix this would be to access System Preferences > Internet Accounts and then click on the iCloud icon. You'll see a static Terms and Conditions window — click Accept and you're good to go.
Replacing iTunes on Catalina
The new macOS 10.15 brought along the end of iTunes and the birth of the new Music app. Basically, it looks the same — but with music-only content. There's a huge difference for people who rely on syncing Apple Music with third-party apps. The new app doesn't support XML file support, which makes playlist syncing impossible across many apps. So if you use Apple Music for DJing, you'll definitely have a problem.
How to fix:
The only fix to suggest here would be to stay away from Catalina if you need your XML apps to work with iTunes.
Music library issues
New Music app keeps freezing
There have been reports about the new music app freezing on Mac. Well, it's the first splitting of iTunes, so it's no wonder it doesn't go smooth. In most cases, your Mac will keep showing the 'library updating' status.
How to fix:
- Create a backup of your entire music library.
- Move your music out of the music folder.
- Go to ~/Library and remove every file related to 'Music' and 'iTunes.'
- Delete music caches in ~/Library/Caches.
- Restart your Mac and try to access the library again. It should be working now.
Memory usage problems with Apple Music app
Another problem you may come across is the Music app eating too much of your space. One user wrote the app used over 30GB of memory on his Mac.
How to fix:
What is the best app to edit photos on mac like paint. Apparently, the problem is related to the memory management of Album Art. It is getting better, though. According to user reports, memory usage goes back to normal after restarting the app.
Mail search is broken
According to forum posts, your mailbox might get pretty messy after the upgrade — with no search functionality whatsoever. So if you try searching by keywords or recipient/sender name, the app will keep showing the numerical number of results. The reason could be the new Spotlight integration.
How to fix:
- Open System Preferences > Internet accounts and remove your mail account.
- Restart your computer and once again add your mail account to the app.
- Try searching through your emails — it should be working now.
There have also been some early reports about emails missing from the Mail app — so you might want to wait for it to get fixed before upgrading, especially if you rely on Apple Mail.
Slowing down and overheating macOS Catalina problems
So here's the thing: macOS Catalina should be faster than Mojave. 32-bit architecture was one of the things slowing an operating system down. It's gone, and so are the issues with slow apps. Unfortunately, you can expect your Mac go slow and overheat anyway.
How to fix:
- Too many login items often cause your Mac to go slow. To eliminate the problem, disable apps from launching at startup. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items. Check the apps you don't want to run at startup and click on the minus button.
- Reset SMC. This is a universal fix that helps solve the issues with overheating, battery life, slow Mac, and more. The process is pretty simple and doesn't impose any risks of losing your data. To reset, shut down your Mac, but leave a charger plugged in. Hold Shift + Ctrl + Option + Power button for about 10 seconds. Click on the power button and wait for your Mac to start up.
Dock disappearing on macOS Catalina
On the Apple forum, people mentioned Dock disappearing from their screen after upgrading to Catalina. The nature of this mistake is unknown — some users connect it to PRAM resetting, the others say they had the issue when trying to work across two screens.
How to fix:
Try Option + Command + D. If it doesn't work for you, do the following:
- Go to Settings > Dock
- Change the Dock's size so that it starts flickering
- Change the hide/show settings
- Customize the Dock's position on screen (you can do it randomly).
- Close the window and check whether it's working now.
Internet not working after upgrading to Catalina
If you're putting macOS 10.15 over your current system, you're likely to encounter Internet connection problems.
How to fix:
The radical way would be to clean install macOS Catalina — it's healthier for your Mac and will probably fix the issue. If you're not ready to take a risk, try rebooting your Mac.
There has been a user report saying that Sophos caused the problem of network connection. So uninstalling it may be a fix as well.
Bluetooth not available on macOS Catalina
Microsoft Mail Won't Open
Well, that's a problem. Definitely a huge one if you use AirPods. Deleting your Bluetooth.plist files might be the way to solve this.
Macos Mail App Wont Open Source
How to fix:
- Open Finder > Go > Go to Folder
- Type Library/Preferences
- Find a file with the name 'com.Apple.Bluetooth.plist' and delete it.
Safari extensions not working
While Apple is trying to transition to iOS-compatible extensions, it gradually deems support for many web extensions formats. On Catalina, you'll face the problem with .safariextz files not working.
How to fix:
Just like with 32-bit apps, there's no way to fix the missing extensions. If you can't find a good alternative, you can switch to Chrome or another browser.
Storage filling up too fast
If you notice unusual storage filling up progress, this might mean your Mac captured too many redundant files during the Catalina installation. In most cases, these are APFS files and Time Machine backups.
How to fix:
If you can use a good Time Machine alternative like Get Backup Pro throughout the upgrade, do it. Otherwise, you can remove Time Machine leftovers after installing Catalina with CleanMyMac X. In the Maintenance tab, select 'Time Machine snapshots thinning,' and run a cleanup.
To remove snapshots manually, use the following Terminal commands:
- To view the list of snapshots:
tmutil listlocalsnapshots / tmutil listlocalsnapshots /System/Volumes/Data - To delete snapshots:
deletelocalsnapshots
Here's a quick review of all mentioned fixes, which you can take with you:
Is macOS Catalina stable?
The short answer is yes — if you use it right. So before you decide to downgrade back to Mojave, make sure you've done the following things right:
- Backup your Mac with Get Backup Pro or any other reliable tool before running an installation.
- If you still need some of the Mojave functionality that won't be available in Catalina, install the new macOS on partition.
- Make your Mac as clean as possible before upgrading.
- Get iPadOS 13 if you want to use the Sidecar feature.
- Get rid of 32-bit applications, even if this means killing your darlings.
- Backup your Music and then empty the folder along with music-related Library caches. The new Apple Music app is still pretty much unpredictable, so you need to ensure you don't lose your playlist.
- CleanMyMac X is a solution for many Catalina issues, so you need it — badly. To cut the cost, you can get it through Setapp and receive extra tools like Get Backup Pro and Endurance.
If you want to dive more into macOS Catalina bugs fixed, check out the Reddit discussion.
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Mail App Won't Open On Macbook
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