Apple mail preferences disappeared

Frustrating!

If your Apple Mail preferences have disappeared, don't worry, I'm here to help you troubleshoot the issue. Here are some steps to try and recover your preferences:

  1. Check the Mail preferences folder: Sometimes, the preferences file might be hidden or corrupted. Try the following:
    • Go to ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData (or ~/Library/Mail/V3/MailData if you're using macOS High Sierra or later).
    • Look for the Mail Preferences.plist file. If you find it, try moving it to a safe location, like your desktop, and then restart Mail.
  2. Reset Mail preferences: You can reset Mail preferences to their default settings. This will remove any customizations you've made, so be sure to note down any changes you want to keep:
    • Go to System Preferences > Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
    • Click on the Accounts tab.
    • Select an account, then click the Edit button.
    • Click Reset at the bottom of the window.
    • Confirm that you want to reset the account.
  3. Check for corrupted preferences: If the above steps don't work, it's possible that the preferences file is corrupted. Try deleting the Mail Preferences.plist file and then restarting Mail:
    • Go to ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData (or ~/Library/Mail/V3/MailData if you're using macOS High Sierra or later).
    • Delete the Mail Preferences.plist file.
    • Restart Mail.
  4. Recreate your preferences: If none of the above steps work, you can try recreating your preferences from scratch:
    • Go to System Preferences > Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
    • Click on the Accounts tab.
    • Set up your accounts again, including any customizations you want to keep.
  5. Reinstall Mail: As a last resort, you can try reinstalling Mail:
    • Go to System Preferences > Applications.
    • Select Mail and click the Uninstall button.
    • Restart your Mac.
    • Go to the App Store and reinstall Mail.

If none of these steps work, you may want to try resetting your System Management Controller (SMC) or restarting your Mac in Safe Mode to see if that resolves the issue.

I hope one of these steps helps you recover your Apple Mail preferences!