Why is Apple Mail 5.1 (Lion) slow at connecting to smtp.gmail.com?

Question

Level 1

7 points

Why is Apple Mail 5.1 (Lion) slow at connecting to smtp.gmail.com?

Hi,

I use Apple Mail 5.1 under OS X Lion to connect to Gmail via IMAP and SMTP - no other account is set up. Unfortunately, it takes Apple Mail up to 40 seconds to connect to smtp.gmail.com until it starts the actual sending process - which itself completes almost instantaneously if no larger files are attached to the sent message. Receiving messages performs equally fast, again depending on the size of eventual attachments. Apple Mail connects to the IMAP server in just one or two seconds. Sending and receiving messages with Gmail via Exchange under iOS on the iPhone and the iPad performs fast and reliable as well. I installed Sparrow, an alternative mac client for OS X, and sending mails works fine using this app with my Gmail account. this means that the problem lies in the interaction of Apple Mail with Gmail.

Why is Apple Mail 5.1 slow at connecting to smtp.gmail.com?

These are my Apple Mail Preferences:

Incoming Mail Server: imap.gmail.com (port 993 / SSL / Password authentification / use IDLE command / no TLS certificate)

Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com (default ports 25, 465, 587 / SSL / Password authentification / use only this server)

Please let me know if you need further information.

best, Ian

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Jan 2, 2012 6:38 AM

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Answer 1

Montes

Level 1

12 points

Jan 20, 2012 12:12 AM in response to Ian Map

I'm having the same issue. It is occuring with my gmail and psmail accounts, so it doesn't seem to be an issue with either of the email providers. I've seen lots of other threads where people switch to other mail clients and things send instantly. Definitely seems to be a problem with Mail. Can anyone help?

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Answer 2

Ian Map Author

Level 1

7 points

Feb 12, 2012 11:16 AM in response to Montes

I set up my Gmail account using IMAP / SMTP in Outlook 2011 on the same Macbook Pro system I run Apple Mail 5.2, and messages are sent almost instantly in the Microsoft client while Mail under Lion still struggles connecting to the SMTP server.

thus, the issue is not with my network, any OS settings or Gmail, but with Apple Mail 5.2.

the questions remains: what makes Apple Mail 5.2 slow at connecting to smtp.gmail.com?

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Answer 3

WazHuis

Level 1

0 points

Feb 13, 2012 2:58 PM in response to Ian Map

I have Outlook 2011 and Apple Mail 5.1 (running under latest build of Lion) both connected to an Exchange Server 2011 SP1. I find Outlook 2011 very fast. However Apple Mail takes ages to connect and sync, sometimes sits there for minutes - even though email is ready to come down. Once connected and fully sync'd it seems okay but still way slower.

It is disappointing because Apple Mail seems to index better with spotlight whereas Outlook doesn't work as well

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Answer 4

Feb 15, 2012 9:26 AM in response to Ian Map

I am having the same problem, my mail has been super slow since upgrading to Lion.

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Answer 5

BigMac66

Level 1

10 points

Feb 22, 2012 7:09 AM in response to Ian Map

Same problem here with Apple Mail 5.1 as well as Outlook 2011 when connecting to smtp server. Apple Mail worked fine again after getting rid of the Motorola Modem and switching back to my old smc router but Outlook is still super slow to connect. So it is not just a matter of settings and the provider but the DSL router seems to be a factor, too. My provider is Swisscom, by the way.

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Answer 6

May 16, 2012 7:10 PM in response to Ian Map

I have the same issue. actually, i have 2 gmail accounts, so when i launch mail, my macbook pro literally screams to a hault, and doing almost anything becomes slower. it's kind of ridiculous. I dont understand why this issue exists.

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Answer 7

May 18, 2012 7:16 AM in response to Ian Map

Google has posted recommended settings and an explanation as to why it should be set this way. You cannot use Apple Mail to store the sent messages on the server. If you are using the Gmail outgoing servers it will automatically create the sent message on the server. You shouldn't store your drafts or trash on the server as well. The drafts do not sync correctly and the trash is also automatically handled by the server. I have used these settings and it's resolved the issue for me:

http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=78892#

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Answer 8

May 22, 2012 1:59 PM in response to renazonse

I have an ancient MAC desktop (Quicksilver G4 with Leopard) and it send mail via POP Mail instantaneously. But when I bought a MAC Mini (with Lion), it automatically set up an IMAP mail account on Mac Mail 5.7, and it just sit there for what seems like forever before sending mail. So, things have not been resolved. Is anyone at Apple reading these messages? And more importantly, is anyone doing anything to resolve this issue?

Peace,

Revsam937

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Answer 9

hpr3

Level 5

5,756 points

May 22, 2012 2:22 PM in response to revsam937

This is a volunteer user to user forum. If you wish to provide feedback to Apple see this site.

http://www.apple.com/search/?q=Feedback&section=global&geo=us

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