Mail is not showing up in folders & mail vanishing

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Level 1

21 points

Mail is not showing up in folders & mail vanishing

I'm on a MacBook Pro, bought new in Nov 2017, running Sierra. Mail is acting very odd.

• Sometimes mail that is moved to folder XYZ does not show up in that folder. However, when I search for that mail, it indicates that it is in the folder.

• My "inbox" has two accounts: iCloud and my usual account ABC. In theory, any mail in either of those accounts should show up with the "inbox". But not all mail does. After I click on the mail in the "inbox", it will show up in my ABC account, but no longer within the "inbox" mail.

• I just realized today, when I migrated to the new computer which I bought back in Nov, 2017, I think not all of the mail folders were filled in with the mail they contained. When I looked today, a number of those folders did not have any email in them.

• Some mail has gone missing - I never received it after it left my DNS host. I've checked on two specific emails that friends forwarded which I never received the first time. The DNS host checked and said both were "delivered".

• I have talked to Apple Care twice about these issues and they can't figure it out. I just came from an authorized service provider who also couldn't figure it out. I have an appointment at the Genius bar in a week. How much important email will I lose between now and then?

• I don't want to install High Sierra because from what I've read Adobe Creative Suite C4 will not run on it. It's running fine on Sierra.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 20, 2018 4:58 PM

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Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

685,245 points

Mar 20, 2018 5:48 PM in response to Alana Kai

Try rebuilding the mailbox.

Rebuild mailbox

If that doesn't work, try re-indexing the mailboxes. This can take awhile if you have a lot of mail.

Reindex messages For El Capitan, try looking in V3. Sierra use V4. High Sierra use V5.

Reindex messages (2) See post by Linc Davis

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

685,245 points

Mar 20, 2018 7:25 PM in response to Alana Kai

I just rebuilt the mailbox of a POP account I have and I didn't lose any e-mails. To be safe, select the Mailbox, then Mail/Mailbox/Export Mailbox. That should give you a backup that you can import if necessary. Hopefully, you also have a computer backup you can restore from.

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Answer 3

Alana Kai Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 26, 2018 7:23 PM in response to Alana Kai

Well, some of the mystery is solved, and I'll settle for that.

I use the Classic view for my email, and it does not have an indicator if the mail folder has a filter set for showing only unread mail. The only way to see that is to uncheck the Classic view ... then you can see the filters that are set for a particular folder. It's taken two unsuccessful Apple Care phone calls, one unsuccessful in-person discussion with an Apple Care affiliate, and finally ... one successful meeting at the Genius Bar (which actually had to get a second genius involved.) And at the Genius bar, something wonky was set in the email when my computer was taken to the back room, and I didn't discover it until I got home. So I had to make a second trip to the Genius Bar to get that straightened out.

I'm having a glass of wine now ... jeezus!

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

685,245 points

Mar 21, 2018 8:15 PM in response to Alana Kai

You are welcome. Did you try the reindexing articles? Do you have a backup you can restore from just in case?

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Answer 5

Alana Kai Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 20, 2018 5:54 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks for your response, Eric. I'm not sure that my email will be safe doing that. Here's a passage from the link you posted for Rebuild mailbox:

"When you rebuild mailboxes for Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and Exchange accounts, locally stored messages and attachments are discarded, and the messages and attachments are downloaded again from the server to your Mac. Your mailbox appears empty until the download is complete."

My email is a POP account. If I click "Rebuild mailbox", will the locally restore messages and attachments be discarded? If my POP account is set up to delete messages on the server in 7 days, won't I lose everything older?

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Answer 6

Alana Kai Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 21, 2018 2:31 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks, Eric. I did as you suggested: export for backup and Rebuild mailbox ... of one of the folders that is in error. Alas, there was no change. Also, the UX for Rebuild was disappointing in the lack of feedback of ANY kind. There was no acknowledgement that anything was going on, or when it was completed.

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Answer 7

Alana Kai Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 21, 2018 8:36 PM in response to Eric Root

I have an appointment at the Genius Bar on Monday. Not trying anything risky between now and then.

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Mail is not showing up in folders & mail vanishing

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