Drafts in Mac Mail App disappear completely, randomly. OS Sonoma 14.3.1

VerdisLa wrote:

Thanks for your reply. Problem solved! In Settings>Mailbox Behaviors the default setting was (on all my Macs)

Trash: Drafts (How can this make sense as default setting?) I changed this to Trash: All Trash.

So far so good...

your Settings is always a good place to start...

VerdisLa wrote:

I manage email replies by creating drafts (reply>type a greeting>close message window>select save to Drafts). One day I'll have 20 drafts in the drafts mailbox and the next I'll have Zero!

This happens in OS Catalina on my iMac and now on a new MacBook Pro in Sonoma 14.3.1. WTF?!!

Thanks!

It seems after all this time you would of figured something else out...(?)

Maybe 20 is too many?

Try a different email program?

Maybe it is directly related to your email providers' IMAP server...?

I have one test draft in the Mail.app Draft folder that is dated 2012— and it has not gone anywhere through many many macOS upgrades. Others dated 2021...never saw the issue. currently macOS 14.3.1

your macOS 14.3.1 is current

To be proactive you can file a bug report /submit your Apple Feedback here:

Feedback - Mail - Apple

For problem accounts the go to way to sort things out is to delete the account(s) from the Mail.app, then add it back.

Remove email accounts in Mail on Mac

Remove email accounts in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Add email accounts in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Add email accounts in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Note—

IMAP accounts stay on the server, so no local loss, when you re-sync

POP accounts download and remove from the server—therefor save your inbox/sent box if you want them

“On My Mac" is just that, local folders you created and moved mail into. So no loss