Mail.app not updating iCloud mail... but does all others.

Question

Mail.app not updating iCloud mail... but does all others.

Hey,

A few months ago the Mail.app stopped updating anything from iCloud. The other emails that I had set up come through nicely (Gmail, Live, and Yahoo). This has been an issue for a while and I finally got frustrated and went back to checking each e-mail clients web version. To say the least, this is not as efficient nor as convenient as having them in one tailored inbox like the Mail.app used to have.

I've come back to the problem and have deleted all the mail files and associated plist docs to get the app back to a fresh start.

The Mail.app started just as expected and I subsequently added the iCloud address to get the ball rolling. I then went into the preferences and added the other 3 accounts too.

To my surprise, the iCloud account just sat empty for quite a while while the other three filled up nicely and updated. It took several minutes for the iCloud address to populate ANY data and when it was done, it stopped at August of 2012 (even further back from when it stopped before; around June 2013).

At this point I'm quite confused as to why iClould won't update, but ALL the others will (Gmail, Live, and Yahoo).

If anyone has any insight, I'd appreciate all perspectives.

I'm wondering if there is a perference on the iCould web side that needs to be flipped to get the sync going. Don't really see WHY this would be, but I'm still looking.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.1), forced restart after login...

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 9:12 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Sep 17, 2013 11:23 AM in response to Semper Accipio

If you haven't already done so, sign out of iCloud in its preference pane and sign back in.

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Answer 2

Sep 17, 2013 6:42 PM in response to Linc Davis

That's a good suggestion, but I've tried it already. As a matter of fact, I've completely (or atleast I think I've completely) removed all traces of iCloud connection on my system, then re-established connection still to have mail.app not want to update my iCloud account. It brings in old mail that is still on the system but stops at August of 2012.

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Answer 3

Sep 17, 2013 7:03 PM in response to Semper Accipio

Something else interesting to note:

I've always used my @mac.com address; I've noticed that the iCloud webmail service (under preferences>accounts) only show the @me.com and @icloud.com. The mail.app (under perferences>account>Alias) shows all three as possible aliases.

Just for giggles, I again, removed the iCould login info, and re-established. This time, however, I linked the iCloud using the @icloud.com extension. Still not change, iCloud will not update the email past August 2012.

This is simply frustrating since the links to Gmail, Live, and Yahoo are working (and have always been working) beautifully.

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Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Sep 17, 2013 7:45 PM in response to Semper Accipio

Quit Mail. Force quit if necessary.

Back up all data. That means you know you can restore the Mail database, no matter what happens.

Triple-click the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/Envelope Index

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C). In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder

from the menu bar. Paste into the box that opens (command-V), then press return.

A Finder window will open with a file selected. Move the selected file to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Other files in the folder may have names that begin with "Envelope Index". Move those files, if any, to the Trash.

Log out and log back in. Relaunch Mail. It should prompt you to re-import your messages. You may get a warning that the index is damaged and that Mail has to quit. Click OK.

Test. If Mail now works as expected, you can delete the file you moved to the Desktop. Otherwise, post your results.

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Answer 5

Sep 17, 2013 11:26 PM in response to Linc Davis

I've gone this route when I reset the mail.app. I went as far as deleting the entire V2 folder.

I did, however, try it again according to your instructions. The database rebuilt the Gmail, Live, and Yahoo, and NOT the iCloud.

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Answer 6

Sep 17, 2013 11:28 PM in response to Semper Accipio

I've got both the web and the mail.app open side by side. I've decided to clean out a bunch of old stuff. Curiously, when I clean out the old stuff from the webmail, the associated mail.app messages are promptly removed too.

It would suggest that the accounts are connected and in sync, it's just the mail.app not showing the entirety of the webmail contents.

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Answer 7

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Sep 18, 2013 8:17 AM in response to Semper Accipio

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of this test is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The "Guest User" login created by "Find My Mac" is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

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Answer 8

Sep 20, 2013 6:57 PM in response to Linc Davis

Sorry it took so long to reply; I tried the guest account approach (thanks for the suggestion!), but it still did not populate the most recent emails.

I then decided to do a full clean approach... I deleted the V2 file again, logged into the web only email client, deleted the majority of emails that had been sitting there and waiting for action (actually was quite a relief to be able to go through them and push them to places where they were acted upon).

I then went into the preferences and noticed something else. Under 'composing', the default address was set to @icloud.com BUT listed the others as well (i.e. @mac.com and @me.com). I reset this to @mac.com (just to test the waters so to speak, and rebuild the mail.app preferences.

Not sure why (which really befuddles me), but I'm getting the latest and greatest iCloud emails now.

What I've learned from this is that the preferences in the web-mail and the mail.app are completely foreign to me as to how they interact. It would seem that with persistence and loads of testing, I was able to somehow make it work. Still confused as to how, and will likely not rest until I've got the process down, but as of now, the system is sooooo streamlined that there isn't much to play with.

Thanks for all your help though, I am gratefull for the responses and suggestions.

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