Cannot delete SMTP server in Mail.app it just keeps reappearing

As per this article Mail outgoing server settings - Apple Support

Outgoing server settings

You can set preferences for the SMTP mail server you use to send messages, as directed by the provider of your email account.

To view these preferences, choose Mail > Preferences, click Accounts, click Server Settings, click the outgoing Account pop-up menu, then choose Edit SMTP Server List.

If I read that correctly, you are using an IMAP based email account and are trying to remove the SMTP server definition related to that account and not replace it?

With IMAP, you still need an SMTP server in addition to the IMAP server. IMAP handles the collection of your email from your ISPs mail server, SMTP handles you sending email from that account.

That said there is a "None" setting for the outbound server (in which casse you will not be able to send from that email address).

I've seen one related issue where an SMTP server setting kept changing in its own (it was repeatedly changing to a different SMTP server definition - away from the server settings that I wished to use). I did two things to resolve it. Firstly, rather than trying to fix the definition that would not stick, I created another similar one, was able to use that and then was able to delete the old one. Also in that case ensure that "Automatically Manage Connection Settings" is deselected in the SMTP server definition.

As was stated already, you need an SMTP server or you won’t be able to send mail at all.

Try adding a different SMTP server - presumably one that you want to use - and then deleting the old one.

Edit: maybe the server reappears because it is still associated with one or more accounts. If so, try setting each account ‘s SMTP server to something else (or none) before deleting from the list.

Re “adding a different server”

For best results (sometimes *ANY* results) it should be a server from the same ISPs infrastructure. The issue there is that either a another ISPs server might refuse to relay for your email address even if you authenticate to it, or the recipient’s inbound servers may refuse the email as spam.

Re “setting the server to something else”

That is what dug me out of the issue that I described at the end of my previous post.

Putting those two things together. Create a second smtp server definition for the SAME ISP smtp server that is currently specified. Migrate all accounts over to that, then get rid of the original server definition and disassociate the smtp servers from whichever accounts you don’t want them on.

Hello !

May be you have discovered some files for smtp server , for an average computer user the keychain files from user library or system library are not be deleted , it can corrupt keychain and system can malfunction .😎

Open Keychain Access, then go to View (at the top of the screen) then select Show Invisible Items. Fair Warning: You need to be very careful messing with items in the Keychain.

Hi! Thank you! This solve my problem. Found my hidden entries for the smtp servers (searched them by server name) and then deleted them.

Restarting my Maila app and voila!!!

Thank you!

AC

This fixed this issue. I've tried to get rid of the phantom SMTP servers for a long time. Thank you!

I cannot find these hidden entries in Keychain, please could you guide me!

Hi Subsailor, I managed that much but I still can't see it on the list. Is it under all items or system or what? Mike