How to Rebuild or Reinstall Apple Mail on Mac

If you’re experiencing issues with the Apple Mail app on your Mac, such as missing emails, garbled messages, or problems with sending attachments, you may need to rebuild or even reinstall the app. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to address these problems.

Rebuild Mailboxes in Apple Mail

The first step is to try rebuilding your mailboxes in the Apple Mail app. This process can help update the list of messages and resolve various issues. Here’s how to do it:

Open the Mail app on your Mac.
Select the mailbox you want to rebuild in the sidebar.
From the Mail menu, choose “Mailbox” and then select “Rebuild.”

When you rebuild mailboxes for IMAP or Exchange accounts, the messages and attachments stored on your Mac will be discarded and then downloaded again from the mail server. Your mailbox may appear empty until the download is complete.

Reinstall macOS to Reinstall Apple Mail

If rebuilding the mailboxes doesn’t solve the issue, you may need to reinstall macOS to get a fresh copy of the Apple Mail app. This is because Mail is a built-in component of the macOS operating system and cannot be reinstalled separately.

How to Reinstall macOS

To reinstall macOS, follow these steps:

Restart your Mac and hold down the Command R keys during startup to enter macOS Recovery.
In the macOS Recovery window, select “Reinstall macOS” and follow the on-screen instructions.
Choose to keep your personal files and settings, and the reinstallation process will refresh the system files, including the Apple Mail app.

Keep in mind that reinstalling macOS will not delete your personal files, but it will reset the system to its default state, so you may need to reconfigure some of your settings and preferences afterward.