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macOS Sequoia is now available
My Apple emails have been loading very slowly of late, ever since I installed Big Sur 11.2.1 on my M1 MacBook Pro. I even deleted the existing Apple Mail index and that sped things up, but now it’s slowing down again.
It’s not the MBP because emails were opening even more slowly on my iPhone. Since I couldn’t delete the iPhone’s email index, I installed Gmail, and that works great. So it’s clearly Apple Mail.
Is anyone else experiencing a slowdown? 🤔
Today, I tested Mac Mail in Safe Boot mode and the slow email loading problem went away. So, I disabled one app I think could be the culprit because it required installing system extensions, a no-no in Big Sur. It should be noted, however, that I started this thread on March 2 and I installed the suspect app on March 7.
Emails now open right away. Since I know these “Message loading” slowdowns can re-occur, I will keep monitoring the situation and post updates about any future findings.
BTW, I also installed Microsoft Outlook on my M1 MacBook Pro and it had no issues with slow emails, suggesting Mac Mail was the application most affected. Even stranger, I also had to install the Gmail app on my iPhone since Mail on my iPhone was similarly slow. And, not surprisingly, Gmail also had no issues opening emails right away.
Today, I tested Mac Mail in Safe Boot mode and the slow email loading problem went away. So, I disabled one app I think could be the culprit because it required installing system extensions, a no-no in Big Sur. It should be noted, however, that I started this thread on March 2 and I installed the suspect app on March 7.
Emails now open right away. Since I know these “Message loading” slowdowns can re-occur, I will keep monitoring the situation and post updates about any future findings.
BTW, I also installed Microsoft Outlook on my M1 MacBook Pro and it had no issues with slow emails, suggesting Mac Mail was the application most affected. Even stranger, I also had to install the Gmail app on my iPhone since Mail on my iPhone was similarly slow. And, not surprisingly, Gmail also had no issues opening emails right away.
Greetings Michael Tchong!
From your post we see your Mac is having some trouble with loading Mail and the app seems to be lagging. We can certainly understand how that would be an issue and want to help take a look! Does this issue occur when accessing any specific section of Mail such as a certain inbox or folder? Try testing the issue in safe mode and seeing if it continues: How to use safe mode on your Mac. That can help isolate where the cause is coming from as it only loads essential macOS processes while in safe mode. This article is generally for your Mac running slowly in general but it does have some great tips that work for specific apps as well: If your Mac runs slowly.
Take care!
The slowdown happens when receiving a new email. The status bar is stuck in "Copying Messages" (6 of 9 right now). I googled the topic and found this supposed solution:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251643528
I followed the advice and deleted my Gmail account from "Accounts." That worked for a brief second, showing no "Copying Messages" but then it returned and now emails are loading ultra-slow again.
BTW, I installed the Gmail app on my iPhone and the same email opens in seconds, so the problem is definitely isolated to Mac Mail.
Apple Mail very slow loading emails
