Having issues with Mail app randomly opening on your Mac? You are not alone. It can be opened while in the middle of work to view a new email. Or it may bother you for no obvious reason. Annoying. So, can you do anything to prevent this from happening?
Connection problems with certain email accounts (like Gmail) can trigger the Mac’s Mail app to randomly open. So far, Apple has not released a permanent fix for this issue. But luckily, there are a few fixes you can apply to make things right. Without further ado, let’s start.
Minimize Instead of Closing
If the Mail app opens without warning while running in the background, try minimizing the app instead of closing it; To do this, click the orange icon in the upper left corner of the window. You can also use the Command+H keyboard shortcut to quickly minimize the Mail app.
This is by no means a permanent solution and may take some getting used to. However, it’s a surprisingly quick way to pause the Mail app’s weird behavior.
Use Gmail App Password
Do you use Gmail on Mac? Sometimes the Mail app may fail to connect to your Google Account, especially if it’s secured with two-factor authentication. This may cause the application to open automatically when the connection is re-established.
Fortunately, you can fix this problem with an App Password.
Stage 1: Use a web browser to sign in to your Google Account. Click the Security side tab and click App Passwords (located in the ‘Google Sign-in’ section).
Step 2: Create an App Password for the Mac’s Mail app. Copy it to your clipboard.
Stage 3: Open the Mail app. Next, click Mail in the menu bar, then Preferences. Switch to the Accounts tab and then remove your Gmail account.
Step 4: Re-add the Gmail account.
Step 5: When prompted for your password, add the App Password instead of your Google Account password.
This should probably prevent the Mail app from encountering connection issues with Gmail’s progress.
Note: If you want to revoke the App Password for the Mail app, revisit your Google Account and click Security > App Passwords.
Use a Separate Space
Give the Mail app a separate desktop space. Open Mission Control, create a new space (click the Add icon in the top right), and then drag the Mail app into it. This should prevent the Mail app from randomly opening and annoying you.
Click the Mail app in the dock whenever you want to check your email. Alternatively, you can manually visit the desktop area via Mission Control.
Manually Check for New Messages
Still having problems with the mail app randomly opening on your Mac? Try checking for new messages manually. To do this, go to the Mail app’s Preferences screen (Mail > Preferences) and then set ‘Check for New Messages’ to Manual.
When you want to retrieve new messages manually, click the Receive Mail icon located in the upper left corner of the Mail app window.
Note: This is not a viable solution for most and is not recommended if you frequently receive urgent emails.
Disable Messages in Split View
Does the Mail app automatically open new emails in Split View while using another app in full screen mode?
To prevent this from happening, open the Mail app’s Preferences screen (Mail > Preferences) and then disable the ‘Prefer to open messages in split view when in full screen’ option.
Delete Non-Basic Email Accounts
Try removing unnecessary email accounts from the Mail app. This should further reduce weird connection issues causing the Mail app to randomly open on your screen. To do this, go to Mail > Preferences.
Disable Open at Login
Does the Mail app open automatically only when you start your Mac? This is not a problem, it occurs when the app is configured to open on startup.
To stop the Mail app from doing this again, right-click the Mail icon in the dock, point to Options, then uncheck Open at Login.
Alternatively, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items and then remove Mail from the list of startup items.
As a result
Most fixes that prevent the Mail app from randomly opening are not very practical, but should help you until Apple fixes this issue completely. So be sure to install the latest updates for your Mac as they become available; to do this go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update.
So, do you know of any other fixes that could prevent the Mail app from always showing up on the screen? Leave a comment and let us know.
Next: Getting bombarded with spam on your Mac? See what you can do to protect yourself from this.
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