Emails seem to send, but recipients don't receive anything

Hi for the past 2 weeks for no discernible reason, my emails appear not to arrive at their destination. I only know because of a group conference email and it might have been happening for longer than I realised.

There doesn't seem to be a reason, nor can I discern why some go through and some don't. I am copying them all now to a gmail address of mine to see what goes and what doesn't.


Its baffling and sufficiently problematic as to really make using mail redundant.


Anyone ever experienced this?


I am on an old MacBook pro 13th ince early 2011 and running High Sierra (which I was told is the highest OS I can run on this machine).


thanks


Posted on Sep 23, 2022 9:25 AM

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Posted on Sep 26, 2022 12:41 PM

sunderam, we can understand that you may want to try a different email app. But if the issue is with your account, using a different app may not solve your issue.


If you’d like to continue troubleshooting the native Mail app on your Mac, we still recommend going through the steps here: If you can’t send emails using Mail on Mac - Apple Support


Using Connection Doctor can also help diagnose why your emails aren’t being sent: Use Connection Doctor in Mail on Mac - Apple Support


Apple Support is also available to troubleshoot with you. You can use this link to contact them: Get Support


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities


All the best.

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6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 26, 2022 12:41 PM in response to sunderam

sunderam, we can understand that you may want to try a different email app. But if the issue is with your account, using a different app may not solve your issue.


If you’d like to continue troubleshooting the native Mail app on your Mac, we still recommend going through the steps here: If you can’t send emails using Mail on Mac - Apple Support


Using Connection Doctor can also help diagnose why your emails aren’t being sent: Use Connection Doctor in Mail on Mac - Apple Support


Apple Support is also available to troubleshoot with you. You can use this link to contact them: Get Support


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities


All the best.

Sep 26, 2022 8:34 AM in response to sunderam

Hi sunder,


It seems you're having issues sending Mail and we want to help.


If it's only one address not getting your mail or one list not getting your mail, the issue might be on their end.


If no emails are sending at all, then your settings might be at fault, try and update them here:

If you can’t send emails in Mail on Mac


Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

Oct 1, 2022 10:54 AM in response to sunderam

Just thought I would pop a quick update in here. It seems that it is in fact that Apple doesn't support Mail if using OS such as High Sierra on an old mac. Having moved to Mailspring I am able to send and receive emails.


Support were helpful, but that seems the end result presently. As someone from Africa where there are plenty of old macs, that raises endless further questions.

Sep 26, 2022 9:45 AM in response to Rigo_O86

Thanks for the response. It isnt a single specific individual. Its completely random. I am now copying emails to another account I have to see what is going and what isn't. A surprising number of emails that I write, and send and that I can find in the sent folder are simply disappearing into the ether and never getting to the recipient, even though it looks as though it has sent fine.


I haven't shifted settings or done anything. That is why this is so baffling. I wondered if it is older software, but I guess that isnt an issue.


I am looking to switch out of Mail because this makes its use untenable. If I write and send an email, and it goes into the sent folder fine, but doesn't seem to arrive at its destination, then its too hard to work with. I have tried reading troubleshooting pieces, but not refer to this issue.


Oct 25, 2022 11:02 AM in response to sunderam

I am having the exact same issue on my iPhone. I use Google Workspace through the Mail app on the iPhone 13 Pro. My Mac computers and iPhone are all running the latest versions of the OS. It's getting really frustrating - when I reply to emails from my phone, the reply will appear to send. Once I respond, I delete the email and then a day or two later, the client will tell me they never received a reply. I go to my trash, and I can see their email that I deleted (after I responded) and there is no reply. Nothing in my outbox, nothing in sent, zilch. It's not a specific client either and there is no pattern to who receives a reply and who doesn't. It's incredibly frustrating, especially with time-sensitive emails, which are like 99.9% of business emails these days. No idea what to do to fix this - I've had the same setup for years and never had issues and haven't made any changes.

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Emails seem to send, but recipients don't receive anything

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