From searching other threads there seems to be some problem with Mail launching randomly caused by some gmail event in the background triggering it. I'd hoped the new update today for Mojave would fix this. It hasn't.
Does anyone know if a fix is in the works?
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Mail and Gmail have not played nicely together for a long time, ...
They never have, not in the history of anything Google has ever done with macOS.
Apple cannot fix Google's problems, however, they have bent over backwards in attempting to shoehorn Google Mail's highly nonstandard email implementation into Apple's standard email client. It remains to be seen whether Apple will continue to do that or not, but it's one of many reasons I gave up on Google a very long time ago. Read this Discussion if you're interested.
Nicholas Ib Said:
”I'd still like Apple to fix this issue however!”
Screensharing Via iPhone Camera App:
Have you screenshared this with Apple? Just using your Mac to screenshare, this Mail window would just get in way, intermittently, so it seems.
So, call Apple and ask to talk to an Apple Rep. Screenshare your camera of your iPhone with the Apple Rep, allowing them to see this from your perspective.
How To: With the Camera App open, enable Speaker Phone, and request a prompt from the Apple Rep to enable screensharing. Point out what issues you have come across, as you share the phone screen. Perhaps, even, this can be fixed upon doing so.
So, troubleshoot this using screensharing on your iPhone, if an option in your area:
Contacting Apple:
USA: 1(800)MY-APPLE
Thanks but I've used my account for some time and what i want is to use the Mail app as a client for Gmail on my mac. I'm not looking to change clients or email accounts. It's been viable over the years, though the user experience has been getting worse. I understand that gmail uses proprietary approaches that means that it doesn't behave in mail clients, but i've used outlook (for work) with gmail and it behaves much better - so it is possible to make Mail work well with Gmail. I like that Mail is on all my devices, even if it is a crappy client.
I should add that i'm only syncing email with my gmail account (not contacts, calendars or notes). The problem seems to be with the sync between the Mail client and gmail. On a regular basis the mail client goes from minimised (or no Mail window open, but the app is running) to suddenly opening up a Mail window, all on it's own without any user intervention.
There are several threads on the issue.
One suggested minimizing Mail instead of closing the window. That sounds like it didn't work for you.
How about just quitting Mail?
Are you using G Suite. Someone on another thread seemed to think it was related.
I only use Gmail on a single Mac. I haven't noticed Gmail popping up on that Mac, but I don't spend a lot of time on it.
Thanks for the suggestions. Having read several threads on this it seems that it isn't affecting all gmail users - some are getting this behaviour and others aren't.
I want to have the app open so that i can receive notifications when new emails come through. I've tried both minimising the window and closing the window (but not the app).
I'm not using G Suite. I am using "Backup and sync from Google" - which I think is the desktop client for Google drive in the same way that OneDrive and Dropbox have clients. Going through the preferences section, it doesn't seem to be related to gmail though.
Thanks for your observation. Mail and Gmail have not played nicely together for a long time, and I'm sure that Google may have had a hand in that, so yes I have considered that possibility. I'd still like Apple to fix this issue however!
Outlook seems to handle Gmail quite well both on Mac and iPhone which suggests it's possible to support Gmail in a non-Google desktop (or iOS) mail client.
Thank you, it's a good reminder that this has been going on for years and never gets much better, and that there's unlikely to be a silver-bullet solution ever, because it's not in Google's interest for users to have a good Apple desktop experience. Oh but the awful thought of moving email accounts after years....
Oh but the awful thought of moving email accounts after years....
I understand. I learned never to get attached to an email address, but Google became inconvenient for other reasons. This most recent insult (vexing, since it doesn't appear to affect everyone) would have amounted to just another nail in the coffin.
Not using Gmail is a possibility.
Nicholas Ib wrote:
Does anyone know if a fix is in the works?
Have you considered the possibility the behavior you describe is exactly the way Google wants your Mac to work?
Mojave 10.14.6 - Mail is still launching itself randomly
