Apple Mail/iCloud: An SSL error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made.

I have been seeing subject error message daily even after upgrading to macOS Monterey. It is slowing email sending/receiving significantly. With iCloud as the SMPT server there are no settings to tweak. I am at a loss as to what I can do to correct this.

My wife is on the same network with the same hardware and OS but does not experience this issue.

Please advise.

iMac

Posted on Aug 7, 2022 1:35 PM

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10 replies

Aug 8, 2022 12:30 PM in response to Frank Lowney1

Hey Frank Lowney1,


Thanks for updating us with that information.


Are you aware if this started around the time any new installs or downloads occurred on your Mac? If you can think of any new downloads or installs that occurred when you first started to notice this, would you be able to remove them temporarily to test?


If you're unsure if any installations around the time this occurred, try setting up a test user account to see if iCloud Mail works better there. For assistance with setting up a test user account, check out this resource and the steps below will get you started: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support


1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .

If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.


If you see that this isn't occurring with a test user account, this is related to preferences or installations on your primary account.


We hope that's able to help with getting started on isolating what could be causing this.


Have a great day!

Aug 8, 2022 1:08 PM in response to Brandon_J_321

This issue first appeared under the previous version of macOS. I am currently up-to-date with macOS 12.5 (Monterey). There have been no significant downloads other than macOS updates and Apple apps. I am actually downsizing to the point where I only use what comes bundled with macOS.

Setting up a test account for this issue won't be trivial since Apple Mail requires a unique Apple ID and iCloud account. I believe that I already have the equivalent of that with my wife's iMac and Apple Mail account. She has the same hardware and version of macOS that I have and is using the same network but she does not experience these SSL error messages.

Thus it seems evident to me that this issue is peculiar to my system.

I should also mention that these incessant SSL error messages are only associated with my use of Apple Mail. No other apps generate these errors.

Aug 9, 2022 3:08 PM in response to MVegas21

Thanks for this advice to contact Apple Support directly. The link you provided went to an Apple page that invited me to look up my Apple Mail settings so here is what those settings were shown to be:



None of the suggested "solutions" offered there were relevant so I reiterated my question in the field provided. Lots of results but none of it relevant.



[Image Edited by Moderator to Remove Personal Information]


Aug 8, 2022 11:08 AM in response to Frank Lowney1

Hello Frank Lowney1,


To help resolve this issue, let's follow the steps in this article:

Use SSL to connect to the outgoing mail server in Mail on Mac - Apple Support


1. In the Mail app on your Mac, choose Mail > Preferences, click Accounts, select an account, then click Server Settings.
2. If necessary, deselect “Automatically manage connection settings.”
3. Select Use TLS/SSL.
4. The port number is automatically changed; edit the number, if necessary, to match the information supplied by your provider.
5. Click Save, then close Mail preferences.
6. Click Save in the message that appears.
If you receive an “Unable to connect” error message after making the change, deselect Use TLS/SSL and contact your email account provider.



Best Regards.


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Apple Mail/iCloud: An SSL error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made.

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