How To Fix Apple Mail Keeps Crashing On MacOS?

Many users keep reporting that the Apple Mail keeps crashing unexpectedly. There might be various reasons for the occurrence of this problem. Let us see how to troubleshoot this issue. You can make use of the five solutions given below under the following conditions:

When Apple Mail crashes immediately after starting.
When Apple Mail opens up without any problem, but crashes later on.
Apple Mail opens up without any issue, but then hangs with the display of a spinning color wheel and then crashes.

First, try restarting your Mac. If you find that the restart does not resolve the issue, you can try the following troubleshooting methods. After you complete each of these methods, try to open Apple Mail and check if the issue has been fixed.

Method 1-Updating your Mac:

You have to try updating your Mac and then open Apple Mail. If you update the macOS, Apple Mail will also get updated automatically. To do this task, make use of the steps given here:

Step 1: In case you are making use of macOS Mojave or a later version, you can navigate to System Preferences and then go to Software Update.
Step 2: In case you are making use of macOS High Sierra or an earlier version, you can go to the App Store and then click on Updates.

Check if the problem persists. In case it does, then move on to the next method.

Method 2-Rebuilding your mailboxes:

Rebuilding the mailboxes might not be possible if your Apple Mail keeps crashing. However, try these steps if you can.

Step : 1 First, open Apple Mail on your computer.

Step : 2 Next, choose a mailbox.

Step : 3 Click on Mailbox and then select the Rebuild option.

Step : 4 In case the issue persists, continue with the next method.

Method 3-Deleting the preference files:

Apple Mail might crash if your Mail preference files are corrupted. When you delete the preference files, all of your account settings and preferences will also be wiped out.

Now, you can make use of the following steps to delete Mail preference files:

Step 1: The first step is to quit Apple Mail.
Step 2: Following that, go to your desktop and then press and hold the Option key.
Step 3: While you are still holding the Option key, go to Finder and click Go. Then, go to the Library folder.
Step 4: Now, go to Preferences and locate the following two files:
Step 5: com.apple.mail.plist
Step 6: com.apple.mail-shared.plist
Step 7: Now, move both these files to the Trash.
Step 8: You can now restart your Mac.
Step 9: Try to open Apple Mail and check if it works.

If this method does not fix the Apple Mail keeps crashing issue, try the next one.

Method 4-Removing the Envelope files:

When you remove the Envelope files from your Mac, it will rebuild them automatically. Now, carry out the following instructions to remove and then rebuild your Envelope files:

Step 1: First, quit the Apple Mail app if it is running. You can do this task by going to Mail -> Quit Mail.
Step 2: Next, go to the Finder. While holding the Option key, click Go. Then, go to the Library.
Step 3: Now, it is time to open the Mail folder.
Step 4: Next, open the V7 folder. This folder might be a V5, V6, V7, V8, and so on, based on the version of your macOS.
Step 5: Now, open the MailData folder.
Step 6: You have to search for the files listed here:
Step 7: Envelope Index
Step 8: Envelope Index-shm
Step 9: Envelope Index-wal
Step 10: When you locate the above files, you have to move them to the desktop.
Step 11: Now, you need to open the Apple Mail app and wait for the app to rebuild the new Envelope files.
Step 12: When you find that the Envelope files have been rebuilt, you can delete the ones from the desktop.

In case you find that this method does not solve the Apple Mail keeps crashing problem, move on to the next one.

Method 5-Resetting your NVRAM:

When you reset your NVRAM, it might fix the Apple Mail crashing issue. Resetting the NVRAM will also remove some settings, such as time zone and volume. Now, make use of the following instructions for the reset:

Step 1: First, turn off your Mac.
Step 2: On your Mac’s keyboard, search for the Option, Command, P, and R keys. Just locate them and do not press them.
Step 3: Now, turn on your Mac and instantly press and hold the four keys mentioned above. Continue to hold them for 20 seconds and then release them.
Step 4: Now, the NVRAM will be reset.

After you finish executing the above method, your problem should be solved.

We have now discussed the Apple Mail keeps crashing issue. We have also seen some methods to fix the same.