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Mail app on iMac crashes when trying to open preferences

My email messages in Mail stopped displaying the email content on my iMac so I searched the community and found a fix that involved some work inside Mail Preferences but now when I attempt to launch the Preferences, the Mail app crashes.


I have an iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017), running macOS Mojave Version 10.14.6



iMac 21.5" 4K, macOS 10.14

Posted on Dec 31, 2019 9:42 AM

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Posted on Jan 21, 2020 2:59 PM

Just an update ... none of the suggestions above were able to resolve my issue and other native OS apps started misbehaving like my Calendar, iMessage etc.


So I had to create a bootable USB install disk of Mojave and reinstall the operating system. That fixed it even though it was a hassle. Thanks for the help.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 21, 2020 2:59 PM in response to Tesserax

Just an update ... none of the suggestions above were able to resolve my issue and other native OS apps started misbehaving like my Calendar, iMessage etc.


So I had to create a bootable USB install disk of Mojave and reinstall the operating system. That fixed it even though it was a hassle. Thanks for the help.

Dec 31, 2019 5:11 PM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried both potential solutions from the article you sent above and neither worked.


First I closed Mail, deleted the envelope index, relaunched it and same problem.

cd ~/Library/Mail/V6/MailData
rm -rf Envelope\ Index*
rm -rf ExternalUpdates.storedata*



Secondly I tried deleting the IMAP folder and relaunching Mail but the problem persists. The second step from this one require removing and restoring the account, but again I can't get to my Mail Preferences without it crashing so I'm unable to try this.


  • Shut down Mail, delete all the locally stored mail, by deleting the IMAP folders in ~/Library/Mail/V2 (or .../V3), and restart Mail. It will re-download all your emails in those accounts.
  • Remove and restore the accounts themselves.


Any other thoughts?

Dec 31, 2019 7:30 PM in response to nawmang

Two more things you can try:

  1. Boot up your Mac in Safe Mode, and then, try accessing the Mail app. Did it start, and can you now access Mail > Preferences? If neither, go on to the next step.
  2. Quit the Mail app if it is running. Open Finder, and then, from the menu bar > Go > Go to Folder... > ~/Library/Containers > delete com.apple.mail. (Alternatively, move this folder to the Desktop.) If you deleted it, empty the trash. Restart your Mac. Go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts, and then, disable all of your email accounts, except the one with the least amount of messages in it. Now open the Mail app again. Does it still crash?

Mail app on iMac crashes when trying to open preferences

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