Mac Mail takes up too much memory and is running too slow

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wkl6926 Author

Level 1

13 points

Mac Mail takes up too much memory and is running too slow

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016), OS is High Sierra

Posted on Apr 22, 2018 3:33 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

207,229 points

Apr 24, 2018 10:21 AM in response to wkl6926

Boot into Safe Mode, Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode, and run from there for a bit while checking the email issue. Any improvement? Reboot normally and check again.

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

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Answer 2

rose_10

Community Specialist

Apr 23, 2018 6:51 AM in response to wkl6926

Hello wkl6926,

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities. I understand you'd like to reduce the space your Mac Mail app is using and improve its speed, and I have some information that may help.

Have a look at the article below for some helpful information.

Delete emails in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

If you run into any trouble, please reach out again.
Best Regards.

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Answer 3

MoonJ.

Community Specialist

Apr 24, 2018 10:32 AM in response to wkl6926

Hello wkl6926,

From what you've described, it may help to rebuild the mailboxes sing the steps below. Doing so may help clear up the discrepancies you are seeing.

If the slow performance persists or if they storage keeps fluctuating, please let us know.

Rebuild mailboxes in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

If you run into any trouble, please reach out again.
Best Regards.

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Answer 4

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

Apr 24, 2018 10:44 AM in response to wkl6926

See some articles See memory usage for your Mac in Activity Monitor - Apple Support

Quit a process on your Mac in Activity Monitor - Apple Support

See if your Mac needs more RAM with Activity Monitor - Apple Support

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Answer 5

wkl6926 Author

Level 1

13 points

Apr 24, 2018 9:57 AM in response to rose_10

I don't think it has anything to do with the number of emails i have (although i do have thousands in folders). One day Mail is using a couple of hundred MB storage, the next day it's using 40 GB storage. I can't use my machine anymore. The problem doesn't have anything to do w/ how many emails i've stored.

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Answer 6

Apr 23, 2018 7:30 AM in response to rose_10

TQ

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Mac Mail takes up too much memory and is running too slow

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