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    Fixing Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail Not Responding

    Gee Are PabstBy Updated:136 Comments2 Mins Read

    Update: ‘Fixing Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail Not Responding’ also applies to Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan and macOS 10.12 Sierra!
    Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail icon 1024x1024Fix Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail not responding (“Application not responding”) by removing the container folder ‘com.apple.mail.savedState’. Mac OS X saves window locations and open documents of most programs to restore them when the program is launched again after quit. Sometimes after upgrading Mac OS X to the latest version, there can be some handling issues with the prior saved state of Mail which could lead to Yosemite Mail is not responding and crashing.

    Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail: 'Application Not Responding'
    Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail: ‘Application Not Responding’

    It seems that Mail cannot properly manage the prior saved state. Hence, this could be the reason for Mail crashing, especially for the ‘Yosemite Mail not responding’ crash. The solution is to remove Mail’ prior saved state and then re-launch Mail.

    How to remove Mail saved state:

    1. Force quit of Mail app (‘Application not responding‘ issue!).
    2. Go to the Finder.
    3. Hold the Option key and then select ‘Library‘ from the ‘Go‘ menu.
    4. Go to the folder ‘Containers > com.apple.mail > Data > Library > Saved Application State‘ and move the folder called ‘com.apple.mail.savedState‘ to the trash.
    5. Empty trash.
    6. Restart your Mac.
    7. Re-launch Mail.

    Note: Leave the window ‘Internet Accounts‘ in ‘System preferences‘ open. Now, when I restart the Mac or it starts up automatically in the AM, Mail launches correctly, but with the ‘System Preferences‘ window open (Kudos to Ron Mac for this tweak!).

    If this fix doesn’t work, the reason for your Mail app is crashing is another one, e.g. ‘Mail quit unexpectedly‘ . Try the following fixes to resolve Mail crashing:

    I was faced with the problem of Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Mail not responding on my MacBook Pro 13” retina (End 2013). I was able to resolve this problem by removing the container folder ‘com.apple.mail.savedState’. Did this fix solve your Mail problem, too? Let us know and comment!

    Stay tuned! 😉

    Hi there,my name is Gee Are, blogger and analyst. Blogging is my Passion! I’m the founder and owner of the two blogs called pabst.socialmedia and miapple.me - Tech.Blog.My work experience as a blogger and analysist (Internet Intelligence, SEO and social media) is the basis of the services of pabst.socialmedia.Find more about me.

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    136 Comments

    1. Sara Harris on

      Hi there,
      unfortunately this has not worked for me. I am on OS X Yosemite Version 10.10.4 MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch
      and mail is still not responding. Do you have any further suggestions please?
      with thanks,
      Sara

      Reply
    5. Jeffrey on

      Thank you for this fix. I have tried lots of various fixes and this one finally worked. You have saved me numerous hours of reinstalling and fixes. Thanks again!

      Reply
    8. Cash on

      Wow thanks for the fix! I thought gmail was the issue.. Have you posted on apple forum or support? If not, you should 🙂 I used to “take all accounts offline” before quitting Mail. Every time I launch Mail, then “take all accounts online” I almost gave up but glad I found your fix!!

      Reply
      • Gee Are Pabst on

        Hi Cash,

        Mann thanks for your feedback!

        In regard to your suggestion to post this in the Apple forum: I’m not allowed to do this. However, if somebody else will do this, he could do it. 😉

        Cheers,
        Gee Are

        Reply
    10. Ben Ward on

      Hi Gee Are,

      I tried what you suggest (removing apps in the background, as well as removing all log in items) but it still won’t respond. I THINK I removed all of them, including Dropbox, but the problem remains. Most curious. I also tried what you suggest on that linked page, but no dice. I think I’ll go over all that you suggest again to check I haven’t missed anything, unless you think of something else I could try.

      Thank you,
      Ben

      Reply
      • Ben Ward on

        Sorry, I put this on the wrong thread:

        Thanks to your help I revived Mail but now it works but I have lost all my emails, rules, mailboxes etc. Any ideas what I can do to recover them?

        Regards,
        Ben

        Reply
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