Mac Mail flashing and jumping/popups etc

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Level 1

4 points

Mac Mail flashing and jumping/popups etc

I had to stop using Mac Mail on my old 2009 Macbook because it was acting erratically when sending mail. The screen would flash, the email I was trying to send would pop up and down, this drove me crazy. I solved it by using Spark email client instead, which worked great but I don't much like it. Yesterday, I got a new Macbook M1 with BigSur and I migrated everything. I reconnected my accounts to Mail again and looked forward to being reunited. I came to send an email using the Mail client and it started again, just like on the old machine. I ran virus scans etc and found no problems. Any ideas? Thanks :)

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.13

Posted on May 21, 2021 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

jeffreythefrog

Level 6

15,266 points

May 21, 2021 9:32 AM in response to Adge666

Adge666 wrote:

I ran virus scans etc and found no problems. Any ideas? Thanks :)

did you use some sort of app to scan for viruses? if you have an antivirus app installed on your mac, that could explain why you're having issues. antivirus apps are absolutely not necessary and often can cause issues within macOS. if you do have such software, you should uninstall it per the developer's instructions.

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Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

107,239 points

May 21, 2021 9:57 AM in response to Adge666

Two things - have you tried booting into Safe Mode and testing the Apple Mail behaviour - does it still jump etc. We are using Safe Mode to eliminate all Third Party Software, extensions and Fonts from playing up and interfering with the OS. If the issue does not appear - then reasonably to believe the issue is Third Party interference.

Another possible experiment - is create a New User Account and in there do the same Apple Mail Testing. If it stops jumping - then the real issue is in the Old User Account.

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Answer 3

Adge666 Author

Level 1

4 points

May 21, 2021 10:11 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

I uninstalled Avast, restarted the computer, and voila - problem is gone. Thanks.

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Answer 4

Owl-53

Level 10

107,239 points

May 21, 2021 9:16 AM in response to Adge666

User wrote " I got a new Macbook M1 with BigSur and I migrated everything. " If understand correctly. the migration from Old to New introduced the Old Problem making it an Old Problem on a New Machine. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

As for Apple Mail jumping - do not really grasp this. Perhaps a little more details or actions being done when this occurs - please.

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Answer 5

Adge666 Author

Level 1

4 points

May 21, 2021 9:34 AM in response to Owl-53

Hi, yes, it would appear that the problem has been somehow introduced to the new machine/software. The actual visual effect is that a smaller window containing the mail to be sent would flash repeatedly. While trying to cancel this, I got another mail window that seemed to be popping up and down from the bottom of the screen. After force quitting, the email hadn't been sent, nor could I find the original but maybe I hit the close button. This all started on my old machine, after I noticed that mail would open a side window, rather than a new window. That was a little annoying and may just be a coincidence. I noticed mail is doing this on the new machine too. Not ideal, but I can live with it. Spark email client seems to work okay as it did on the old machine.

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