Messages App Crashing Mac

Even by keeping OS X updated to the latest version all the time does not guarantee you will not face a problem with the work of Mail.app. The initial symptom of the Mail crash is the spinner. It always identifies a waiting time, which makes many users go mad. Issues like loading an unusual e-mail and other specific actions may also identify the problem in this application’s work. In some cases, it is impossible to resolve the problem directly within the program itself.

  1. Messages App Crashing Mac Os
  2. Why Is My Message App Crashing
  3. Messages App Crashing Mac

This article moves from the hardest solutions to the easiest for you to compare and see the difference. If you are an advanced Mac user, you may find it okay to remove Mail.app’s “envelope” index to overcome the described problems.

The Mac apps should be working and opening as usual now. If for some reason they are still crashing on attempting to launch, you’re going to have to delete the apps first, then re-download the same apps that were just deleted again from the Mac App Store. Mac apps still not opening? Sometimes, rebooting is also helpful.

Terams on Mac os 10.11.6 keeps crashing. After restart - it 'you have downloaed this from the internet in 2016.' Then it is stuck on 'checking your internet conneciton' Yikes! Looks like someone pulled the plug on the internet. I have uninstalled and reinstalled it several times but still it crashes when I click the video icon or when I join a calendared meeting. In the meantime we will use the web-based app. Thank you for your response but I hope this issue or perhaps incompatibility with the new Mac OS be resolved.

Perhaps, it is a malformed message, which makes the application fail. In many cases, simply choosing the faulty e-mail may lead to a crash. One of the checked measures to fix that bug is to quit Mail (Force Quit often helps). Pick the Terminal app to type the given command the way it appears:

cd ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData

rm -rf Envelope Index*

rm -rf ExternalUpdates.storedata*

After that, relaunch the Mail application to see a dialog box. Rebuilding the “envelope” index frequently assists in solving the issues with the Mail performance.

Barely, this advanced option does not improve the situation. Do not worry – there is one more thing advanced Mac owners should implement! First, quit mail and remove the locally saved messages. Do it by eliminating the IMAP folders. You can find them in ~/Library/Mail/V2, and reboot Mail. The app will download the content in those accounts. Next, delete and restore the target accounts. Finally, in order to get rid of the IMAP folders and Downloads, enter the following line:

cd ~/Library/Mail/V2

rm -rf IMAP*

Messages App Crashing Mac Os

Basic Recipes to Try If Mac OS X Mail Keeps Crashing

A spinning wheel is the first indicator of the problem, but it may get worse. Trying to relaunch the Mail app usually moves the user back to where he or she left off, showing up the crashed e-mail. Before you even try to choose something, the situation will repeat. It looks like a vicious circle.

Messages App Crashing Mac

Before moving to the advanced measures or asking for help, try to rebuild the application. It is a three-step quick solution, so start with this one:

1. Go to the target application

2. Choose Mailbox.

3. Find the Rebuild option.

It often works after updating to macOS Sierra or High Sierra.

There is one more method to implement before going into details.

Push the Shift button and keep holding while opening the Mail application. It usually makes the software launch without showing the damaged message.

Second, the user has to place the horizontal divider in the app’s window to let his or her no longer view the zone where the messages are displayed. It is possible to make a choice in the left-hand column. Make sure just the listing of email titles are presented.

At last, click on the email that was enabled at the moment of the crash. Choose to remove it. If the erased message was the core problem, the app should recover.

Now, have a look at the ways to solve problems with Mail on different versions of Mac operating system.

One more thing to think about is changing the content of Address Book as it might be the cause of the problem too. Just open the contacts and involve tiny changes into the entries. For instance, a user may add or delete space characters in the Address Book window. The database will allow the refresh, and I may help to revive the Mail app. If you need to rebuild the Book, pick “All Contacts” and “Address Book Archive” to store all contacts elsewhere. This way, you will not lose any important information.

After the backup process, escape the Book. Move to the /username/Library/Application Support/Address Book/ folder. Replace the folder’s items to the Desktop. Launch the Address Book once more.

Animal jam hacking. The first scenario would be El Capitan as these steps work on all versions of Mac OS X. So, the Mail app fails at the beginning. Have you tried to handle this situation by managing your accounts and forcing them to switch on one-by-one rather than having all personal accounts launch at one time? You should probably do that to see if it helps!

On El Capital, consider taking the steps offered below:

1) Switch on Wi-Fi. Do it before opening the application. Make sure your Apple computer is not connected to the Internet. It will prevent Mail from downloading various messages while starting.

2) Start your Mail app.

3) After it opens, move to Mail -> Preferences. You will need Accounts over there.

4) Pick every personal Mail account and deactivate it one-by-one with the help of checkbox. Every account has one next to it. Simply remove the ticks.

5) Quite the application.

6) Restart Mail. Connect to the wireless network again.

7) Activate every personal account in its turn. Every separate account should be given some time to download the emails before activating the next one on the line.

Extensions may also slow down the work of Mail. Perhaps, it is worth disabling some of the third-party extensions, especially those dealing with VPN and DNS, and watch the application working speedily again. It often helps. Once you remove the useless extensions, make sure to reboot Mail. It is important to identify the failing extension first by activating and deactivating each one-by-one. Sometimes, contacting the developer may help to solve the issue.

Another deal may be a particular user account. To revive it, consider doing the following:

Launch the Mail Preferences menu. Choose the account on the Accounts Tab. Pick Advanced.

Mind the displayed list. There you will notice the ‘Automatically detect and maintain account settings’

Make sure it does not have a tick in it. Escape in order to restart the app. After activating it again, exit and relaunch the application once more.

The last thing to fix is an iCloud account in case a Mac owner prefers this one to send and receive e-mail messages. In case the system refuses to deliver your messages with the help of iCloud, several simple steps may solve the issue.

Crashing

1. Launch System Preferences -> iCloud. Remove the tick from the box behind Mail.

2. After the process is over, switch on Mail in the same way. Then, quit the System Preferences menu.

3. Open Mail along with the Accounts tab in Preferences. Select iCloud.

4. Pick the ‘Outgoing Mail Server’ tab

5. Quit the menu. Start the Mail app again

When Mail Keeps Crashing after Sierra Update: Effective Troubleshoot

Once you install the latest version of macOS Sierra or High Sierra, the problems with mail may occur. It does not mean there is something wrong with this version of OS. Often, a re-launch is enough to prevent Mail from getting stuck. To make the procedure safe for your entire information, do the backup first. The initial stage is to shut down the Mail app just like in most of the cases. Then, take the recommended steps:

1. Move to Finder. Pick user or home folder.

2. Choose one of the offered: Finder -> View -> Show or Command + J. The View menu should pop up.

3. Select “Show Library Folder”

4. Surf to Library/Containers/com.apple.mail then. You will need com.apple.mail replaced on the desktop.

5. Reboot Mail and check it out; in case of the success, redevelop any necessary settings to transfer any messages you wish to store form the target folder on the desktop.

6. Remove the folder from the Trash bin.

Another available workaround is switching off “Auto Proxy Discovery.” Just move to the System Preferences menu and launch Network. Select Advanced à Proxies. Make sure “Automatic Proxy Configuration” is active.

Are the issues you face associated with the work of popular Outlook messenger? Try getting the most recent software update available at Microsoft website. That’s it – no other solutions to this type of issue are known today.

The Messages app makes sending and receiving iMessages on your Desktop a lot easier for Mac users. You don’t have to grab your phone just to send or reply to a message. Just open the Messages app, type your message, and send it just like how you do it on your phone.

Some Mac users, though, have encountered a critical error when opening the Messages app after updating to Mojave. The Messages app hangs or crashes after a Mojave upgrade, making it impossible for the users to read their messages or send a reply. Because of this error, the Messages app freezes, can’t sync, won’t load new messages, gets stuck in updating status, or won’t open at all.

This issue is usually accompanied by the following error message:

Messages app crashing mac os

An internal Messages error occurred.

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There was a problem with Messages. You need to quit and open Messages again.

However, quitting the app doesn’t help. Users who have encountered this error reported that the same message would appear every time they try to open the app. They have reported this error to Apple Support, and the team has acknowledged it as a bug related to Mojave. Some of them tried to downgrade to High Sierra and found no error when using the Messages app.

The engineers at Apple are already aware of the bug and are working on a patch to resolve the issue. There is no update, though, on when the official fix will be released. Instead of waiting for the official fix, you can use the solutions below to resolve this problem.

How to Fix Messages App Crashes After Mojave Update

If your Messages app freezes after a Mojave update, the first step you should do is to log out and quit the app completely. Force-quit Messages if necessary. Deleting your Mac’s junk files using Outbyte MacRepair would make troubleshooting easier and faster. Next, reboot your Mac to refresh macOS before you start fixing the Messages app.

Fix #1: Log Out Then Log Back Into Your Messages App.

If you are able to open the messages app, log out of your account by clicking Messages at the top menu. From the dropdown menu, click Log Out. Close the app completely, then launch it again. Sign back in by clicking Messages > Log In. Your messages should be reloaded after signing in. Look around to see if everything is working fine. If you come across any problem, then jump to the other fixes below.

Fix #2: Check Your Date and Time Settings.

Incorrect date and time information may cause your Messages app to act up. Check your date and time settings to make sure they are consistent with your location, particularly after a major system update. There are instances when these settings are affected during the update, causing errors not only for the Messages app but other programs as well.

To check this:

  1. Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Date & Time.
  2. Click on the Time Zone tab.
  3. Tick off Set date and time automatically if the checkbox is unchecked.
  4. If it is, click on it to unselect the option. Wait for a few seconds before checking the box again.
  5. Enter your admin password if prompted.

After making sure that your computer has the correct date and time, restart your operating system and check whether the Messages app is back to normal.

Messages app crashing macbook

Fix #3: Boot Into Safe Mode.

Temporary files, installation software, and other system caches might still be stored in your Mac after an update. Restarting in Safe Mode can help eliminate these unnecessary files that might be interfering with your Mac’s processes.

To boot into Safe Mode, follow these steps:

  1. Restart your Mac, then hold the Shift key immediately after you hear the startup sound.
  2. Release the Shift button when you see the login screen.
  3. Launch the Messages app while in Safe Mode and see if it’s working as it should.

Fix # 4: Delete Preferences, Cache, and Chat Database.

The Messages app stores information in various location on your Mac. All these files must be deleted, so your app can start from scratch and get rid of any errors that are plaguing it.

To delete these files, follow the steps enumerated below:

  1. Close the Messages app.
  2. Open Finder and hold Options while clicking Go from the top menu. This should reveal the Library folder.
  3. Click Library, then search for the Preferences folder.
  4. Look for any of these .plist files:
    • com.apple.imagent.plist
    • com.apple.imessage.bag.plist
    • com.apple.imservice.iMessage.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.AIM.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.Jabber.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.StatusMessages.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.Yahoo.plist
  5. Back up these .plist files by copying them to the Desktop.
  6. Move all these .plist files to the Trash afterwards. This will clear previous settings and preferences of the Messages app.
  7. Go back to the Library folder and delete the following files:
    • Caches/com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent
    • Caches/com.apple.Messages
    • Containers/com.apple.corerecents.recentsd
    • Containers/com.apple.soagent
    • Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Caches
    • IdentityServices
  8. Look for the Messages folder inside the Library directory and move the whole folder to the Trash.
  9. Next, launch Terminal by searching for it via Spotlight or going to Finder > Go > Utilities.
  10. Stop the IMDPersistenceAgent process by typing in this command: killall IMDPersistenceAgent.
  11. Type in this command in the console: rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Messages. This command should delete all cached data of the Messages app.
  12. To delete the chat database, enter this command in the Terminal window: rm -rf ~/Library/Messages.
  13. Enter this command to clear the preferences cache: killall cfprefsd.

Close everything and restart your Mac. Launch the Messages app to see if it is now working properly.

Fix #5: Disable Messages in iCloud Settings.

Just like the iPhoto Library, Messages in iCloud ensures that all your messages are synchronized across all your devices. However, several users noted that the error seems to be caused by this feature.

To disable this feature on your Mac, follow the instructions below:

  1. Open Messages, then choose Messages from the top menu.
  2. Click on Preferences > Accounts.
  3. Choose iMessage from your list of accounts.
  4. Uncheck Enable Messages in iCloud.
  5. Choose either Disable All or Disable This Device.

Close Messages and re-open the app to see if this solution worked.

Final Thoughts

It can be annoying when the Messages app hangs or crashes after upgrading to Mojave because you can’t read or send messages on your Mac. However, dealing with a faulty built-in macOS app, such as Messages, can be tricky because you can’t just uninstall then re-install it. If you try moving Messages to the Trash, you’ll get an error message saying that you can’t uninstall the app because it is a critical part of the macOS system.

Why Is My Message App Crashing

Instead of waiting for Apple to fix this bug, you can try the workarounds suggested above to get your Messages app working smoothly again.

Messages App Crashing Mac

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