Mac Mail - can't download new incoming email

[Geoffrey McDougall]

I am using Mac Mail as my email client. While I can still send outgoing email messages I can't receive any income emails. At the bottom left of Mac Mail there is a message that reads 'Downloading Messages' but I haven't for about 20 hours received any emails including simple small emails I have sent, as test to my email address. Currently under the 'Downloading Messages' placard it states that '8 new messages'. Using a webmail service I can in fact see and deal with the incoming messages but not through Mac Mail, a state of play that is very inconvenient. Any suggestions noting that I have tried the following (a) restarting Mac Mail (b) restarting my Mac (c) under 'Mailbox' within Mac Mail taking all accounts offline and then taking them back on line and (d)under 'Mailbox' getting new mail. I am running El Capital or Mac OS 10.11.6. Any assistance would be appreciated. regards Geoffrey

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome,

-Who is your email provider?
-Did you verify your password is entered/saved in the Accounts section?
-In the menu bar in Mail, click Window > Connection Doctor. If you get all green dots, it should be OK. If you get a red dot, let us know what the error message is.
-Do you have more than a few hundred emails stored in your Inbox?

C

 

[Geoffrey McDougall]

thank you CC for your assistance

iinet (Australia) is my email (and internet) provider
I doubt my password is a problem but will check
as for Connection Doctor I have already checked that and it was fine but still my incoming emails weren't downloading.
However I do have over 400 emails stored in my inbox. Is that likely to be a problem? Should I either delete them I or store them in folders within Mac Mail?

I should note that for reasons I don't understand the download problem solved itself but about 12 hours after I first noticed it... regards

 

[Cory Cooper]

Thank for the additional information.

400 emails in the inbox shouldn't affect things. It's when folks have thousands - I have seen inboxes with upwards of 50,000+, which can seriously slow down the sync between the server and Apple Mail.

If it resolved itself, then it was probably an issue with the provider's email servers. It does happen sometimes, and will resolve itself.

Is it safe to assume this is resolved on your end as well?

C

 

[Geoffrey McDougall]

Cory

yes all is well and as you state it could well have been a difficulty with the provider's email servers. I appreciate your assistance. regards Geoffrey