Unwanted draft email keeps popping up and can't delete?

Question

Level 1

12 points

Unwanted draft email keeps popping up and can't delete?

I had an email I was going to send to a gmail account that never seemed to send - I would click send but it wouldn't go, it never even entered my sent or outbox folders, and it didn't get sent to my draft folder. It still isn't in my draft folder. However, the "draft" keeps popping up (normally about 3-5 windows of the same draft) at random intervals multiple times an hour but the send button is greyed out. I've tried blocking the contact but it doesn't do anything. I've checked my other devices and this email isn't in my drafts or sent folder either. Is this a virus or something?

This has only been happening after I updated to Catalina, if that helps.

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 24, 2020 12:06 PM

Reply

Answer 1

CarlAVII

Community Specialist

Jun 28, 2020 5:37 PM in response to EmmaLaird

Hey there EmmaLaird,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand you’re having an issue with a message that will not send or show up in drafts on your Mac. We understand how important it is for email to be working in this day and age. We’ll be happy to help.

If you haven’t already, use the steps in the following link to rebuild your mailboxes in Mail:

Rebuild mailboxes in Mail on Mac

If that doesn’t work, what email account is this happening with? If it’s iCloud, boot into safe mode and see if the issue is resolved there:

How to use safe mode on your Mac

If it’s not iCloud, remove the mail account from your Mac, restart, and add the account back:

Add or remove email accounts in Mail on Mac

I hope this helps.

Take care.

Reply

Answer 2

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Jun 30, 2020 10:42 AM in response to EmmaLaird

Hey EmmaLaird,

That’s interesting that it still appears after removing the account and it’s not on the account level. At this point, you may want to run First Aid on your Mac and see if this has any impact on the issue:

Repair a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

If the issue continues after this, try reinstalling macOS. While this should retain your settings and such, it’s a good idea to make a backup:

How to back up your Mac

Reinstall macOS

Take care.

Reply

Answer 3

EmmaLaird Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 30, 2020 4:35 AM in response to CarlAVII

Hi! Thanks for your advice - I tried both rebuilding my mailboxes and removing then adding back the account, but I still have the same problem. Do you have any other ideas of what I could do to fix this?

Thanks in advance!

Reply

Answer 4

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Jun 30, 2020 8:15 AM in response to EmmaLaird

Hey EmmaLaird,

Thanks for trying those steps. If the issue returned after doing those steps, go to your Gmail account from a web browser and see if the draft shows there. If it does, delete the draft from the account and this should reflect in Mac Mail.

Regards.

Reply

Answer 5

EmmaLaird Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 30, 2020 9:18 AM in response to chris_g1

Hi chris_g1.

The original draft was made through a Yahoo account, so I followed the steps above. The draft doesn't appear in the drafts at all (if that makes sense) so there's technically nothing to delete, but on the Mail app the "draft" keeps popping up over and over again. Even if I close the draft window it will just reopen a few minutes later.

Thanks.

Reply

Answer 6

EmmaLaird Author

Level 1

12 points

Jul 8, 2020 7:31 AM in response to chris_g1

Hi chris_g1,

Re-installing macOS Catalina solved my problem! No idea what was wrong but just erasing everything and re-installing seems to have fixed it.

Thank you so much for your help! I thought I was going to have to go and get a new laptop so this has been a lifesaver.

:)

Reply

Quick Links

Unwanted draft email keeps popping up and can't delete?

Similar questions