Continuous indexing issue in Mail app on Mac
open windows, search for an email or retreive emails and “indexing” get stuck. how do I fix this problem
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Continous indexing in mail
MacBook Air, macOS 26.0
Question marked as
For Apple Devices (Mac, iOS, iPadOS)
- Restart the Mail App: Close the Mail app completely and restart it. On a Mac, you can hold the Shift key while opening the app to prevent it from loading previous states.
- Rebuild Mail and Spotlight Indexes:On Mac, navigate to your user's Library folder and delete the MailData index files.
- You can also try adding and removing your hard drive from the Spotlight privacy settings to force a re-index.
- Remove and Re-add Accounts: Delete your email accounts from the Mail app and then add them back. This can refresh the connection with the mail server and resolve indexing problems.
- Sync Mailboxes and Data: In Mail settings, adjust the fetch settings or ensure that the correct folders are being synced to your device.
- Update macOS/iOS: Ensure your operating system is up to date, as newer versions often contain bug fixes for Mail and Spotlight.