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Digging Deeper for Missing Mac Mail Messages
Q. I tried the Rebuild command to find missing messages in Mac Mail on the El Capitan version (OS X 10.11), but it didn’t fix my problem. What else can I try?
A. Depending on the version of El Capitan your Mac is running, the mail accounts in question and where you check messages, you may have a few other troubleshooting steps available if the Rebuild command under the Mailbox menu has not helped.
If you have not updated your Mac’s operating system software in the last few months (or do not have the automatic updates feature enabled in the App Store area of your System Preferences), your Mac may be missing the latest incremental updates Apple has made to OS X 10.11. In October, the company issued its 10.11.1 update designed to fix a number of bugs with Mail, including message display and issues with outgoing server information. Some users reported issues with the update freezing the Mail app, but another update for the system, called 10.11.2, arrived in November and was intended to fix the freezing issue, among other things.
If you are not sure if your Mac has the latest software, you can check by going to the Apple menu in the top left corner and selecting About This Mac. The version number is displayed along with other software and hardware information about your Mac.
If your version of OS X looks out of date, you can update it by clicking the Software Update button in the box; you can also look for updates to software by going to the Apple menu and choosing App Store. If you want to see if your Mac is set to check and download updates automatically, open the System Preferences (from the Apple menu option or the icon in the desktop Dock), click App Store and see if “Automatically check for updates” is enabled.
If your Mac is already up to date but the mail account is synced to other devices with Apple’s iCloud service, message management on the iPhone or other gadget could be the issue with the missing mail. Messages in an iCloud mail account that you send to the Trash on a mobile device or on the web also moves them into the Trash on the Mac; messages stay in the Trash for 30 days before they are permanently deleted.
As problems with the Mail application can be influenced by number of factors, a visit to Apple’s online support forums may also help narrow down your specific solution. In some cases, mail issues can be messy (as when old mail suddenly reappears, as can happen in some situations) and take some time to sort out. Once you do, adding a backup drive and program — like Apple’s free Time Machine software — can help guard against future problems with Mail or other applications on your Mac.
Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to techtip@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.
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