Outgoing mail server gone under El Capitan

Hi Drasticbunny.

I am having the same problem and the solutions listed here have helped me.

I now can send emails from my MacBook Pro but each time I get the " does not have a preferred outgoing mail server" message and I need to select the icloud server again.

I have done this numerous times and I even logged out of icloud. No difference.

Any suggestions?

I tried installing my settings manually and all the actions suggested here but after ages of trying my outgoing mail is still not working. Are there any other suggestions?

My solution, with the help of Apple, involved - Mail > preferences > Accounts tab > click on outgoing server dropdown > Edit SMTP server list > advanced tab > authentication had reverted to 'none' I set it to 'password' then entered my apple ID details and my unsent mail started sending before I saved the setting.

Did you try the iCloud solution mentioned early.

System Prefs

iCloud

uncheck mail tab

After a few seconds recheck the tab

Worked a dream for me. Hope it does for you too.

Yes I tried that about 6 times and tried unchecking the mail tab then restarting then checking it again but it did not sort the problem. Changing the authentication did the trick though.

These instruktions worked for me on two Macs

iCloud: Mail server settings for email clients - Apple Support

!t should work. Note that user name is the iClud e-mail adress, not Apple ID user.

Yes I tried that but still not working properly.

Each time I close the Mail App, I have to select the outgoing mail server again.

At least now the iCloud option is showing up.

Thanks for your suggestion; I appreciate it.

Yes I tried that but still not working properly.

Each time I close the Mail App, I have to select the outgoing mail server again.

At least now the iCloud option is showing up.

Thanks for your suggestion; I appreciate it.

This fix also works for gmail and yahoo. Just disable and re enable account. The the account will then appear in the drop down list for outgoing server.

I hope that works for others. In my case, nothing stayed working even if it worked at first, no fix was consistent across mail accounts or even from moment to moment, but luckily, after a week, the thing just started working for me all the time and has been fine ever since. The most frustrating part I faced when I was dealing with this was Apple Support (phone, genius bar, etc.) saying that they were unaware of any Mail problems, and even now, articles about issues found with El Capitan, even those mentioning Mail, never seem to acknowledge this sending mail problem.

I too am surprised by the apparent lack of awareness expressed by Apple Support -- I know that this is not entirely accurate, but a quick search of El Capitan Mail issues yields over 1 million hits (I realize that there is substantial duplication these results).

I'm working up the courage to attempt a re-installation of El Capitan next week. Hopefully, if I'm patient, everything will go more smoothly this time.

THanks

so simple but it never occurred to me

and all the so called expert help was far less useful

many thanks

el capital officially El crapitan

My Mail server problems seem to have corrected itself.

The outgoing mail server box in Preferences still does not have an entry; it shows None. But my mail works anyway.

I can send emails without getting the message box asking for a preferred outgoing mail server.

Don't know how, why, etc but it is working...for now

I got mine working by following the other replies and changing the authentication of the outgoing server to password, then putting in my iCloud details.

So it seems Apple released an OS update which meant people couldn't send email - you expect this from Microsoft but this is just terrible from Apple!

Next thing you know they'll be releasing a stylus.

I have had the same sending emails issues since El Cap upgrade. I use Metronet for my emails and it refuses to log on to the SMTP server. Did all the suggested workarounds to no avail. If I use Microsoft Entourage own the same computer (MacBook Pro) with the identical account details, mail sends straight away. Sending from iPad and iPhone are all unaffected. Looks like I may have to start using Entourage or Outlook, unless Apple fix it.