Apple Mail Opens Blank Windows -- Can't Close Them

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Level 1

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Apple Mail Opens Blank Windows -- Can't Close Them

M1 Mac Mini, Sequoia 15.3.2 (24D81), 16GB RAM, Apple Mail 16.0. Today Mail started opening blank email windows on screen, one every 5 minutes or so. Window can be moved but not closed and no editing. Screenshot below.

I had to go to a meeting and when I came back 90 minutes later there were at least a dozen blank windows on my screen.

Quitting Mail makes the windows go away, but when I restart Mail all the windows that were there earlier reappear.

I have gone to ~/Library/Preferences/ and deleted anything starting with com.apple.mail but with no luck. I've gone through Activity Monitor and Console looking for something nefarious, but honestly I don't know what I'm looking at 90% of the time, so that's no luck.

Wondering if anyone else has experienced this, and what could be the solution! TIA

Mac mini, macOS 15.3

Posted on Apr 11, 2025 1:44 PM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

Level 10

215,382 points

Apr 11, 2025 3:51 PM in response to Peter Jones4

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

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Answer 2

Peter Jones4 Author

Level 1

103 points

Apr 12, 2025 7:54 AM in response to Peter Jones4

Followup: I left Mail running overnight (to catch spam) and when I returned this AM there were blank windows everywhere. After digging I found the folder

~/Library/Containers/Mail/Data/Library/Saved Application State/com.Apple.mail.savedState

with 538 files in it ... each one relating to a window on the screen

window_1.data

window_2.data

window_3.data

...etc

and ending in windows.plist.

I quit Mail, deleted all the files, and restarted. Mail opened normally... but then started spawning the windows again, and sure enough, window_1.data, etc started populating the folder.

@Old Toad: I will follow your recommendation but first I have to go down into the basement and find a wired keyboard from the hardware archives. May take a while. I use a Logitech wireless that doesn't support a cable connection.

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