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Blank emails after upgrading to macOS Catalina

After upgrading macOS from 10.14 (Mojave) to 10.15.7 (Catalina) I am experiencing issues with viewing messages in Mail. Some messages are being displayed without any text, just some rectangles or question marks. Other messages are being displayed correctly. Rebuilding the mailbox did not resolve the issue, neither did stopping the font manager (FontExplorer X).


The issue has been discussed here (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250836045?page=1) but without any solution. Since it's not possible to reply there, I created a new thread.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Nov 9, 2020 2:23 PM

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6 replies

Nov 9, 2020 2:28 PM in response to jens_R

Boot into Safe Mode (How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support) by booting with the Shift key held down and check there to see if the problem persists.  Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


Nov 10, 2020 8:37 AM in response to jens_R

I was able to solve this issue by following advice on this site:

https://www.macworld.com/article/3528553/font-chaos-in-macos-catalina-and-how-to-deal-with-it.html


In summary, I deactivated all fonts in the font manager (FontExplorer) and turned on auto-activate. I also emptied the system's font caches. After a reboot, emails are being displayed normally again.


Thanks again for your fast help, this led me in the right direction!

Nov 10, 2020 4:42 PM in response to jens_R

Next log into another vanilla admin user account, Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac and see if the problem persists. (This tells us if the problem is limited to your user account or is system wide).


If it only occurs in your user account there's something in your account that is the culprit. In that case download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.


Copy the report



and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report


IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:


Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.



Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be ca

Nov 16, 2020 12:41 PM in response to Old Toad

Many thanks for your reply, Old Toad, and apologies for the late answer. I am not sure if you saw, I replied previously that I was able to fix the problem in the meantime. Disabling fonts in the font manager (FontExplorer) did the trick. Your previous post helped to point me in that direction. Thank you again!

Blank emails after upgrading to macOS Catalina

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