Why Apple Mail Not Showing all Emails ? Fix it Now

Did you just realise that some of the emails are missing in the Apple Mail Inbox? You are not alone. This issue has been affecting many users. Here, we have included all the possible ways to fix “Apple Mail not showing all emails in the inbox”. This article covers all the troubleshooting methods to simplify the user’s search.

If your Apple Mail fails to display all the emails in the inbox, the reason could vary from simple to complex, including sync limits, corrupted data, mail rules, filters, etc. We are here to cover all these reasons and give the solution for the same step by step. Be with us and get your emails back to the Mac Mail inbox.

What are the Major Reasons Why “Apple Mail Not showing all Emails” occurs?

The reason all the emails are not arriving in the inbox folder of Apple Mail could be as simple as a complex mail settings issue. However, in most cases, this could be resolved with a few simple clicks. First, let’s identify the causes before moving to the troubleshooting steps.

• Email Sync Issue: Apple Mail, like any other email client, relies on continuous synchronisation with the mail server. If there is any internet connection or technical issue, this could interrupt the newly incoming emails as well as the old ones. Therefore, the Mac Mail might not show all the emails in the Inbox folder.
• Incorrect Mail Settings: If the issue is with the configured email account, wrong IMAP and SMTP settings can prevent Apple Mail from fetching the emails properly. If there is a small misconfiguration can cause inconsistency in displaying the emails in the Apple Mail Inbox.
• IMAP Folder Subscription: This means, inthe  IMAP Account, there are some folders that need to be manually subscribed to be able to get displayed in the account. If the folders are unsubscribed could lead to errors like “Apple Mail Not showing all emails”.
• Incorrect Mailbox View or Filter: If there are any active filters such as “unread” or “Flagged”, can hide the emails that do not match the already selected criteria. This could limit the appearance of emails in the Apple Mail inbox.
• Storage Space Limit: Insufficient storage space could limit Apple Mail from further downloading or syncing emails from the mail server. This could lead to issues like “Apple Mail not receiving emails“.
• Outdata macOS: Running an outdated macOS version could lead to many compatibility issues, including syncing issues with the mail server. This could cause incomplete syncing or missing emails.

Note: Try searching the emails with the Search option. If you are facing any trouble with that, here is the complete guide for it: Why is my search function not working in Apple Mail?

How to Fix Missing Emails in Apple Mail?

Here are some of the approaches that can be done to fix “Apple Mail not showing all emails in inbox” or any other folders. Go through each of the troubleshooting steps and perform them one by one.

Check if the Emails are archived

If emails are missing from the Apple Mail inbox, then the first thing to check is the “auto archive” setting.

Use the following steps:

1. In Apple Mail, click Archive from the left sidebar.
2. Search for missing emails.
3. Move the emails back to the inbox if needed.

Disable Mailbox Filters If Mac Mail is not Showing All Emails

One of the features of Apple Mail is the filtering of emails, such as unread messages. The inbox folder might be showing only the unread emails, and thus, Apple Mail is not showing old emails. Follow the steps here:

1. Open Apple Mail.
2. Go to the Filter Icon
3. Turn off filters like:
   • Unread Only
   • VIP

After disabling, all the emails will reappear in the Mac Mail Inbox

Ensure to Use the Correct Inbox

If there are multiple email accounts in the Apple Mail email client, then you might be checking the wrong inbox.

• Click all Inboxes from the sidebar.
• Check each of the individual inboxes separately

Check Mail Sync and Fetch Settings

There could be a chance that Apple Mail might not be syncing properly with the server.

• Go to Mail > Settings > Accounts.
• Select email account.
• Click Account information.
• Ensure:
  • Account is Online.
  • Push settings are enabled.
• “Automatically check for new messages” is turned on.

Rebuild the Mailbox

If the mailbox index is corrupted, out of all the issues, “Apple Mail not showing all emails” could be one of those.

Follow the steps to rebuild the Mailbox

• Select the affected Inbox.
• Go to Mailbox > Rebuild.
• Wait for Apple Mail to re-download messages from the server.

Reset Envelope Index

If the rebuild doesn’t work, you need to reset the core of the App. That is the envelope index.

1. Close Mail completely.
2. Go to Finder, select Go > Go to Folder…. and type: ~/Library/Mail/.
3. Now, open the folder starting with V (eg, V11 or V12).
4. Navigate to MailData and search for the file starting with Envelope Index.
5. Move these files to the Trash and restart the mail. It will re-index all the messages.

Now check if you found the missing emails in the inbox and other folders.

Verify Internet Connection and offline Mode

If your system is offline, Apple Mail won’t show all the emails properly.

• Make sure the system is connected to the internet.
• Go to Mailbox and ensure “Take all Account online” is selected.

Check Email Rules to Resolve “Apple Mail Not Showing all Emails”

If you have set up any Apple Mail rules, it could automatically move emails to folders.

Follow the steps:

1. Go to Mail > Settings > Rules.
2. Disable the rule temporarily.

Check if the emails return to the Apple Mail Inbox.

Update Apple Mail and macOS 

If you are working on an outdated version of Apple Mail or macOS, then that could be the reason why all emails are not showing in the Apple Mail inbox. If you update the older version, it will remove the bugs that are affecting the performance of Apple Mail.

1. Go to the System Settings > Software Update.
2. Install the latest updates.
3. Restart the Mac

Remove and Add Email Account Again

If none of the above steps worked, re-add the account to the application. This would most probably fix any issues related to Apple Mail.

Here are the steps to re-add the account:

1. Go to the Mail > Settings > Account.
2. Remove the problematic account.
3. Restart Apple Mail.
4. Add the account again.

Conclusion

When Apple Mail is not showing all emails in the Inbox, the issue might be fixable depending on the scenario users are in. Most probably, this can be resolved by fixing the filters, sync settings, mail rules, mailbox corruption, re-adding the account, etc. Try all the steps in the article to find out what exactly is causing such an issue.