Level 1

27 points

Cannot Delete Mailbox "com.apple.Mail.Backup" after Time Machine Restore

I recently did a restore of some emails from a Time Machine backup. The restored emails were placed in the mailbox com.apple.Mail.Backup. I no longer need that mailbox but when I try to delete it, nothing happens.

On Sierra 10.12.3.

Any thoughts?

MacBook Air, macOS Sierra (10.12.3)

Posted on Mar 16, 2017 10:12 AM

30 replies

jeremy_v

Community Specialist

Mar 17, 2017 9:04 AM in response to KSDenison

Hello Tlwnao,

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Community. I understand you’ve had trouble removing an unneeded mailbox, and I have some info that may help.

If you haven’t already, try relaunching the Mail app while holding down the shift key. This will start the app without loading any previously opened items. If you are still unable to delete the unneeded mailbox, I’d recommend trying to do so from safe mode as described in the article below.

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support

If the behavior persists or you run into any trouble, we're here to help.
Best Regards.

Rouretan

Level 1

16 points

Oct 10, 2017 10:56 AM in response to Eric Root

Hello Eric,

I have tried the solution above, but when I go to Macintosh HD / Library / there is no Mail to click on....

Am I looking in the wrong place?

Peter

Rouretan

Level 1

16 points

Oct 11, 2017 7:17 AM in response to Eric Root

Gotcha, thanks, it worked that time; I think that I already had finder open when I tried before.

Cheers,
Peter

Eric Root

Level 10

686,231 points

Oct 11, 2017 8:17 AM in response to Rouretan

You are welcome.

tygb

Level 9

65,106 points

Dec 17, 2017 3:11 PM in response to anc77

Apple software engineers will have an answer for it .We all here are Mac users a link is there for feedback Product Feedback - Apple

Eric Root

Level 10

686,231 points

Dec 18, 2017 8:38 AM in response to anc77

You are welcome. That is the reason I suggested moving the files to the Desktop and then testing before deleting.

anc77

Level 1

57 points

Dec 26, 2017 6:59 PM in response to turnupthemetal

The problem is widespread so you have to assume that Apple is aware of it.

anc77

Level 1

57 points

Dec 27, 2017 12:11 AM in response to prekratic

Did you rename each sub-folder to JUST "com.apple" or was it the full "com.apple.Mail.Backup" . I have not tried it but I can't figure out why that would cause the file to disappear.

anc77

Level 1

57 points

Mar 4, 2018 2:27 PM in response to black_forest_rider

That did not work for me. I wish it did. Thank for posting.

KSDenison Author

Level 1

27 points

Mar 20, 2017 8:14 AM in response to jeremy_v

Thanks for the idea jeremy. I tried in safe mode. Same behavior. I also noticed that the mailbox has three mailboxes underneath it which I can also not delete. I can attempt to delete the emails in those three mailboxes, but if I do a rebuild they come back. Weird behavior.

Other thoughts?

KSDenison Author

Level 1

27 points

Mar 20, 2017 10:00 AM in response to Eric Root

Thanks again for the suggestion Eric. I fixed the issue, here's how.

When I went to Library/Mail/V4/Mailboxes there was no folder with the name "com.apple.Mail.Backup" to delete. This was an interesting find. What I realized was that the mailboxes in this folder were not my current ones. So I searched for where they were and they were in Library/Mail/V4/AosIMAP-ksdenison. Once there I deleted the folder, quit Mail and restarted.

Once I restarted I was able to delete the mailbox from within Mail.

Weird but done!

Eric Root

Level 10

686,231 points

Mar 17, 2017 9:58 AM in response to KSDenison

Have you tried control - click/Delete?

KSDenison Author

Level 1

27 points

Mar 20, 2017 7:56 AM in response to Eric Root

I did try this Eric, no help

Eric Root

Level 10

686,231 points

Mar 20, 2017 10:23 AM in response to KSDenison

You are welcome.

Mar 4, 2018 1:21 PM in response to anc77

I think there is another solution: I renamed the mailbox com.apple.Mail.Backup, and then I could deleted.

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Cannot Delete Mailbox "com.apple.Mail.Backup" after Time Machine Restore