Apple mail very slow at loading new messages

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Level 1

12 points

Apple mail very slow at loading new messages

Since upgrading to Sequoia my Mac mail is very slow at picking up new messages. I'm running macOS 15.7.1, mail 16.0 on a MacBook M1 Pro. My full fibre broadband is running at normal speed, and on my iPhone the same mail downloads virtually instantly via the same broadband router. My mail is sync'd via iCloud. I've disabled other mail accounts so it's definitely the iCloud mail that is slow. The mail does eventually load but it takes several minutes. I get a message in the activity window saying 'Downloading Messages' and the number of messages.

Checking for mail is currently set to Automatic, but I get the same result if I select 1 minute, or load it manually. On searching for slow mail, all the posts seem to be quite old. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.7

Posted on Oct 23, 2025 2:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

AlWeir

Level 5

4,452 points

Oct 23, 2025 4:20 PM in response to Roger H

Rebuild Mailbox:

- Open the Mail app.
- Select your iCloud Inbox in the sidebar.
- Go to the Mailbox menu at the top > Rebuild. (This can take a long time if you have many messages.)

Check Connection Status:

- In the Mail app, look for a small icon (like a lightning bolt or warning symbol) next to your iCloud mailbox in the sidebar, or in the bottom-left corner of the Mail window. Click it for more info.

Disable "Load Remote Content"

- This can speed up the list view but means images won't appear until you manually click to load them.
- In the Mail app, go to Mail > Settings (or Preferences) > Viewing.
- Uncheck the box that says Load remote content in messages.

Restart the Mail App or Your Mac:

- Quit the Mail app and re-open it. If that doesn't help, restart your entire Mac.

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