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Mail is Slow and lagging.

Since last update with MacOS Monterey, when I open Mail, everything is slow. (In the mail app) I get the color circle every 20-40 second. Spend hours with Apple tech. This is happening on my labtop and desktop. I used Google mail and Microsoft Exchange for work email. We have reinstalled the software and did numerous things with apple tech, and still, not fixed. Its only in mail, everything else on both computers are fast and working great. I have removed all my emails and it's still happening. Mail is extremely slow to response. HELP!

iMac Pro, macOS 12.3

Posted on May 5, 2022 6:17 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Aug 24, 2022 10:00 PM

Thank you very much Alf! This tip has perfectly solved my annoying slowness problem, especially the reindexing part:

(Excerpt from the cited Macpaw article, please read the full article to give credit).


"Reindex your Apple Mailbox

Rebuilding your Mailboxes is often enough to solve many of the issues an overburdened Mail app may experience. However, if you’re still having problems (such as the app becoming so unresponsive it barely works or fails to launch), you should manually reindex your Mailboxes.

Here’s how to manually reindex your Mailbox:

  1. First, quit Apple Mail if the app is running.
  2. Launch Finder and select Go from the Menu Bar.
  3. Enter ~/Library/Mail/ and press Go.
  4. Choose the V8 folder (depending on your macOS version, it can be named V5, V6, or V7) > MailData. Next, locate and delete all the files that start with Envelope Index, such as “Envelope Index” or “Envelope Index-wal.” 
  5. Note: It’s a good idea to copy each file to your desktop before deleting it."


112 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Aug 24, 2022 10:00 PM in response to Alf2001

Thank you very much Alf! This tip has perfectly solved my annoying slowness problem, especially the reindexing part:

(Excerpt from the cited Macpaw article, please read the full article to give credit).


"Reindex your Apple Mailbox

Rebuilding your Mailboxes is often enough to solve many of the issues an overburdened Mail app may experience. However, if you’re still having problems (such as the app becoming so unresponsive it barely works or fails to launch), you should manually reindex your Mailboxes.

Here’s how to manually reindex your Mailbox:

  1. First, quit Apple Mail if the app is running.
  2. Launch Finder and select Go from the Menu Bar.
  3. Enter ~/Library/Mail/ and press Go.
  4. Choose the V8 folder (depending on your macOS version, it can be named V5, V6, or V7) > MailData. Next, locate and delete all the files that start with Envelope Index, such as “Envelope Index” or “Envelope Index-wal.” 
  5. Note: It’s a good idea to copy each file to your desktop before deleting it."


May 6, 2022 1:50 PM in response to leroydouglas

That did not work.. The apple tech made me reinstall MacOS and that did not work either. It's weird that it's happening on both my desk top and laptop (both in different location, one is home and the other is my office).. Could something be wrong with gmail or exchange? These are both email system i use. When i disconnect the internet it's still slow and i still see the color circle. So it's not the internet. So technically it shouldn't be gmail mail or exchange either.. I have no clue. .. something is making mail to be VERY SLOW.. but what????

Sep 15, 2022 7:25 AM in response to leroydouglas

Apple clearly has created a problem with Mail.

More and more people are reporting this issue, it is epidemic.


I have noticed another anomaly tied to this issue.


If I am focused on one email message and waiting for it to "appear" I can quit mail and instantly reopen mail and the message is there in full, graphics, everything. If I then scroll to the next message, it is blank. I repeat the process, close mail, reopen and viola there is the message in full.


This is insanity, what have they done?

Aug 2, 2022 9:49 PM in response to Francois1975

You could try this (we had this issue with Mac Mail Client)


--Create & use App Passwords--

1. Go to your Google Account. https://myaccount.google.com/

2. Select Security.

3. Under "Signing in to Google," select App Passwords. You may need to sign in.

4. At the bottom, choose Select app (Mail) and choose the app you using Select device (Mac) and choose the device you're using.

5. Follow the instructions to enter the App Password.

6. Tap Done.


-Mac Mail Client Configuration-

1. From the menu bar in Mail, choose Mail > Add Account.

2. Select your email provider from the list as other mail account, then click Continue.

3. use 16 digit app password instead of google account password press sign in and it would end up with asking IMAP/SMTP settings.

4. set IMAP and SMTP as follows

-Incoming Mail (IMAP) Server: imap.gmail.com

-Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: smtp.gmail.com

May 6, 2022 8:25 AM in response to Francois1975

Francois1975 wrote:

Since last update with MacOS Monterey, when I open Mail, everything is slow. (In the mail app) I get the color circle every 20-40 second. Spend hours with Apple tech. This is happening on my labtop and desktop. I used Google mail and Microsoft Exchange for work email. We have reinstalled the software and did numerous things with apple tech, and still, not fixed. Its only in mail, everything else on both computers are fast and working great. I have removed all my emails and it's still happening. Mail is extremely slow to response. HELP!




Relaunching your Mail.app while holding the Shift key for a bit of a safeboot—see if this gets you any further.


Did you try simply re-install the macOS on top of your existing macOS...?

This will refresh all baked in applications like your Mail.app. to sort anomalies. This choice will leave your user data untouched.


reinstall macOS Recovery — How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


Jun 25, 2022 7:53 AM in response to Francois1975

Francois1975 wrote:

I did reinstall it and that did not work for me. I am still having issues. No one at Apple can figure it out. I just can't believe it.

iMac Pro, macOS 12.3



The current stable release of Monterey including bug fixes, is macOS 12.4



Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support


Oct 22, 2022 1:55 PM in response to bradfromva

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


CleanMyMac is considered by most experienced users in these forums to be akin to malware. Uninstall it and any other apps in those categories according to the developer's instructions. You can check to see if you've removed all of the supporting files by downloading and running the shareware app Find Any File to search for any files with the application's or the developer's name in the file name.  For CMM software you'd do the following search(es): 


1 - Name contains cleanmymac

2 - Name contains macpaw


Any files that are found can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop or Trash bin in the Dock for deletion.


FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.  



Oct 27, 2022 1:23 PM in response to vintage42

So here is what I have done:

  1. Not one thing mentioned here works for everybody. I believe the problem is with Mail itself.
  2. I have opened a ticket with MacPaw describing the problem and asking if CMM could have anything to do with it. I was hoping they could duplicate it.
  3. Their immediate response was to use their modules individually rather than as Smart Scan, which has 3 categories totaling 7 selectable modules. The modules under Speed, which are Optimization and Maintenance, manage selectable Launch and Login items, and under Maintenance there is one called Speed Up Mail. None of those changed the problem.
  4. I have specifically asked MacPaw if anything in the design of CMM could adversely affect the functioning of Mail, and this may exceed the scope of the Help staff to answer. It reminds me of the question "when did you stop beating your wife."
  5. I have told them of reports that Apple may have fixed the problem by OS 13, but there is not enough input yet.
  6. I have ordered a new iMac 24, mainly in order to be able to run Ventura OS 13, and also to see if it fixes the Mail problem.

Nov 10, 2022 10:06 PM in response to John Minnich

Recap. Adding a screenshot.


All three of my Macs have been updated to Ventura and latest update: now at 13.0.1.


Three Macs: MacBook Air M1, Mac mini M1, 14" MacBook Pro M1 Max


All three Macs configured the same in Mail and in iCloud. No plug-ins or third-party apps. I don't like to use third party plugins, apps or utilities.


The 14" MacBook Pro M1 Max is still slow with blank Mail windows for 10s of seconds with no activity showing in the Activity window.


The MacBook Air M1 and Mac Mini M1 are perfectly fine and responsive with no delays or blank windows.


MacBook Air and Mac mini never do this, but 14" MacBook Pro M1 Max Mail will look like this (see image) for 10 to 20 seconds:






Jun 24, 2022 2:40 PM in response to PaulD_

I have the same problem with very slow Mail such as opening emails, deleting emails, etc. I rebuild the inboxes (I have 5 different email accounts), then it sometimes is close to normal but then deteriorates later. I'm not sure if some preference is corrupted. I don't see on other macs with same email setup. I suppose I should reinstall macOS Monterey next. Running current macOS 12.4

Jun 26, 2022 8:59 AM in response to gyht

To continue the discussion, I'm a long-time Mac user and had very few problems with Mail and never had to rebuild any of my mailboxes until Big Sur macOS. The situation with Monterey is much worse and I'm continually rebuilding mailboxes. I finally tried re-indexing (https://macpaw.com/how-to/rebuild-mailbox-mac) recently and that fixed the problem. I suspect Mail problems will recur but at least it's stable for awhile. Using macOS 12.4 didn't resolve the problem and maybe even made it worse. Reinstalling macOS didn't help much either and problems keep recurring.

Mail is Slow and lagging.

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