How to resolve Slow Email Opening on macOS Monterey 12.4

Seems like ever since my Mac OS Monterey was updated to 12.4, I've had a lot of problems opening my email. I can click on the email envelope to open my email and wait a minute or so for my emails to be downloaded. Then when I click on the email to open, it only opens to show who it's from and the subject, but it may take anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes to fully open the message of the email. Even if it's only 2 or 3 lines. Normally, I could click on the email and it would open completely, whether it was an ad or a letter from someone. Has anyone else had this slow email opening problem?


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Mac mini, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jun 5, 2022 2:46 PM

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Posted on Jun 26, 2022 10:39 AM

Here is what worked for me today 6/26/22 (OS Monterey 12.4 on iMac). I went into Mail>Preferences>Privacy and unchecked "Protect Mail Activity." I made sure "Hide IP Address" was checked. Suddenly all my emails will open. It was taking 1-2 minutes or more every day since the last OS update. What a relief. I hope this is useful for you.

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227 replies

Dec 16, 2022 3:21 PM in response to olyman1955

I have a 2014 MAC Mini with the same problem of delayed opening messages. I found a great solution, cheaper than a new Mini.

1 - Open up "All Sent" and delete everything over 12 months, keeping the recent important stuff.

2 - Open up "All Trash" and delete everything.

3 - Open up "On My Mac" & all "Import"s and delete everything. (I had over 700!)

My MAC mail now works without any delays, and my Notes and Numbers apps also open faster.

Mar 27, 2023 1:40 AM in response to olyman1955

To imagine that Apple will screw your mail app. up so you buy a new computer is nuts!! Yes, it's been an irritation and yes I was thinking of moving everything to Gmail but this thread reminded me that I had installed MailButler, which I can't remember using. Confined the files to the trash and hey, presto fixed. Wasn't Apple's fault all along, it was Mail Butler, perhaps!

Apr 17, 2023 5:24 AM in response to olyman1955

I have had the same issue for over a year; thus, I have gotten used to waiting for a minute or using another device to check my mail. I am happy to say that this is not an issue any longer. After updating to macOS Ventura 13.3.1 (22E261), the first time I opened the mail application, I saw a window of "rebuilding database" or similar, and the application was up in about a second. Now the problem seems to be solved. Rest assured, I have tried to apply several fixes for the past year, and nothing has worked - until now. I hope this is fixed for the rest of you as well!

May 28, 2023 12:18 PM in response to olyman1955

I'd been having the same problem recently as well. One thing that I noticed was that I had a Rule (which I have no idea where it came from) that was active that basically said to move all messages to mailbox "not specified". It's too early to see if deleting this rule will change Mac Mail behavior, but it certainly couldn't be helping speed things up! I still have the privacy setting active as I want to see if deletion of this rule may fix the slow loading of email content. Anyway, it might be a good idea to check that any active rules you have are doing what you want them to do.

Apr 21, 2024 6:03 PM in response to Mac_Dr

Incredibly tough these days to follow what the OS is doing, but in the past the New Location seemed to handle all the file changes between versions.


I'd check ~/Library/Saved Application State folder for one place.


Oh, did we ever try...


To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...


Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.


Does it work in the new account?

May 9, 2024 7:13 PM in response to Tr3nton

What DNS numbers are you using?


For OS13 or 14...

Take note of any DNS addresses you might have set up, and save them in a safe place in case you need to use them later.

  1. Go to System Settings. You can find it by pressing Command + Space on your keyboard and typing System Settings.
  2. Go to Network.
  3. Select a network service.
  4. Select Details.
  5. Go to DNS.
  6. Under DNS Servers, select Add.
  7. Depending on what you want to configure, choose one of the following DNS addresses for IPv4:


For MacOS upto 12...

System Preferences>Network, unlock the lock if need be, highlight the Interface you use to connect to Internet, click on the advanced button, click on the DNS tab, click on the little plus icon, then add these numbers...


Now for any OS ad these numbers

8.8.8.8

8.8.4.4

1.1.1.1

9.9.9.9


Apply.

Jul 26, 2022 9:10 AM in response to alberti-nl

alberti-nl wrote:

I will try the re-install Montery option.
Note I have an 2017 4K Retina machine. before I had the failure of the Fusion drive; it is still broken and I boot externally.


That's the same machine I have currently and have no problem with Mail's performance. Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac? Run Etrecheck so we can get a good look at your setup.

Jul 26, 2022 11:51 AM in response to alberti-nl

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 user tip describes what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.  


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.  


That being said uninstall F-Secure according to the developer's instructions. Then rerun Etrecheck to make sure of the the F-Secure supporting files have been removed.


Another thing to remember is that you have the second slowest iMac sold by Apple at the time of purchase: 8 GB of RAM and a 5400 rpm drive in the Fusion drive.


Booting should be quick but opening and saving files on the HD will be a bottle neck.

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How to resolve Slow Email Opening on macOS Monterey 12.4

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