bhowton

Q: Cannot Set Default Mail App in El Capitan

I was using Outlook 2016 before upgrading to El Capitan. After the upgrade I decided to switch to the default Mail app. Unfortunately, when I try to make the switch in Mail > Preferences, the app I choose does not stick. When clicking a link, closing and restarting Mail, or even waiting just a few minutes, the default Mail app switches automatically back to Outlook 2016. Any thoughts?

 

I am running a mid-2011 Macbook Air.

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 18, 2015 7:35 AM

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Q: Cannot Set Default Mail App in El Capitan

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  • by -djbolt-,

    -djbolt- -djbolt- May 4, 2016 8:15 AM in response to bhowton
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 4, 2016 8:15 AM in response to bhowton

    I set the default mail program in Mail > Preferences and the restarted the computer and it saved the choice.

  • by cicorias,

    cicorias cicorias May 15, 2016 11:51 AM in response to txredneckcub
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 15, 2016 11:51 AM in response to txredneckcub

    holy sh*t monkey. yes, don't use the dropdown as it doesn't work. just like the fact that nobody at Apple apparently works on the mail app.

  • by p0lkaking,

    p0lkaking p0lkaking May 24, 2016 9:43 AM in response to JRMH-Perth
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 24, 2016 9:43 AM in response to JRMH-Perth

    Thanks @JRMH-Perth - this totally worked for me.

  • by allaserik,

    allaserik allaserik May 24, 2016 11:53 PM in response to txredneckcub
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 24, 2016 11:53 PM in response to txredneckcub

    Thank you!

  • by papadonkey,

    papadonkey papadonkey May 30, 2016 9:02 AM in response to -djbolt-
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 30, 2016 9:02 AM in response to -djbolt-

    Tip: As another user suggested try restarting your computer immediately after you set the default mail client!

    This worked for me and I was able to successfully set Outlook 2016 as my default mail client.

  • by DJ.Rumpy,

    DJ.Rumpy DJ.Rumpy Jun 1, 2016 9:06 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 1, 2016 9:06 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you Linc Davis. Resetting the Launch Services worked to resolve my issue. I had a similar issue but couldn't change the default app FROM mail to another client. It kept reverting back. Running through the reset process now has all of that working again, and my 'share' function in Safari is working with the proper mail client as well.

     

    Execute this in Terminal:

    /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchSe rvices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -seed

  • by What'shisface,

    What'shisface What'shisface Jun 2, 2016 4:19 PM in response to -djbolt-
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 2, 2016 4:19 PM in response to -djbolt-

    Should have known. Restart solves many problems!

  • by striker_2009_2009,

    striker_2009_2009 striker_2009_2009 Jun 14, 2016 9:17 AM in response to txredneckcub
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 14, 2016 9:17 AM in response to txredneckcub

    Thanks. That worked like a charm!

  • by _green_,

    _green_ _green_ Jun 30, 2016 7:35 AM in response to bennykn
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 30, 2016 7:35 AM in response to bennykn

    Have you found another solution? I currently have this problem. Thanks.

  • by striker_2009_2009,

    striker_2009_2009 striker_2009_2009 Jun 30, 2016 8:33 AM in response to _green_
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 30, 2016 8:33 AM in response to _green_

    I was able to solve the problem using one of the solutions mentioned above in the thread. The way to do so is to go to Apple Mail --> Preferences --> General --> Default Email Reader and then in the Drop Down list, click 'Select' at the bottom and manually browse to Microsoft Outlook in the Applications folder.

  • by murphysm,

    murphysm murphysm Jul 1, 2016 7:38 AM in response to txredneckcub
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 1, 2016 7:38 AM in response to txredneckcub

    THANK YOU!  Easiest of the provided solutions and now works properly.  not sure why your answer isn't the Apple Recommended answer. 

  • by Sebastian86nz,

    Sebastian86nz Sebastian86nz Jul 4, 2016 5:34 PM in response to bhowton
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Jul 4, 2016 5:34 PM in response to bhowton

    Alright so this may seem crazy, but try deleting the .Spotlight-V100 folder on the root drive

    sudo rm -Rf .Spotlight-V100/

    (This will delete your Spotlight Cache)

     

    Then kickstart spotlight's re-indexing with

     

    sudo mdutil -E /

     

    After that try setting the default mail client again.

     

    This worked for me. My theory is that if spotlight is for some reason corrupt or not searching correctly Apple Mail isn't able to properly set the default Mail application. (It must be using spotlight to accomplish this somehow).

     

    If this fixes it for anyone else I'd be very curious to know!

     

     

    Hope this helps.

  • by ant_m,

    ant_m ant_m Jul 8, 2016 6:14 AM in response to bhowton
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 6:14 AM in response to bhowton

    I also had this issue where Outlook could not be set - it kept defaulting back to Mail app every time I quit Mail.

     

    I ran the command to reset LaunchServices: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchS ervices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -all local,system,user

     

    ...and when I opened Mail again and went into Preferences it correctly showed Outlook. This seems to have now stuck.

  • by 312mac,

    312mac 312mac Jul 14, 2016 8:31 AM in response to bhowton
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 14, 2016 8:31 AM in response to bhowton

    GO TO SYSTEM PREFERENCES AND CLICK ON EXTENSIONS. CHECK THE 1ST 2 AIRMAIL BOXES.

     

    THEN OPEN APPLE MAIL (I MEAN THE APPLE DEFAULT MAIL APP). THEN OPEN MAIL AND THEN PREFERENCES. YOU WILL SEE THE DEFAULT EMAIL APPS. DO NOT CLICK ON ONE OF THE APPS. THIS DOES NOT WORK SO CLICK THE SELECT BUTTON OR BAR AND IT WILL OPEN YOUR APPLICATIONS FOLDER, THEN LOCATE YOUR AIRMAIL APP IN THE FOLDER AND DOUBLE CLICK ON THE APP AND THAT WILL SET IT TO DEFAULT FOR YOU.

  • by simontemplar68,

    simontemplar68 simontemplar68 Sep 1, 2016 8:31 AM in response to txredneckcub
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 1, 2016 8:31 AM in response to txredneckcub

    Hi txredneckcub, Your answer was absolutely the most helpful of all that I read. I had set my default mail client to MS-Outlook when Mail was giving me problems. When I tried to set it back to Mail after Mail was fixed, it kept on reverting to MS-Outlook. So, per your advise, I went to Mail --> Preferences --> General --> Default mail reader drop-down --> Select...; then, I selected MS-Outlook from the Applications window. I then repeated the procedure, but, this time, I selected Mail from the Applications window and it worked! Thanks a million!

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