In most cases, your mail service has detailed instructions for various email clients, including Apple Mail.
When these instructions are available, be sure to follow them.
LaunchApple Mailand selectPreferencesfrom the Mail menu.
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In the Mail preferences window that opens, click theAccountsbutton.
From the list, opt for mail account that’s giving you problems.
Click theAccount Informationtab or theServer Settingstab.
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The tab you select depends on the version of Mail you are using.
You’re looking for the pane that includes incoming and outgoing mail tweaks.
A list of all theSMTP serversset up for your various Mail accounts will display.
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The Mail account you selected above should be highlighted in the list.
Click theServer SettingsorAccount Informationtab.
In this tab, ensure the server or hostname is entered correctly.
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An example would be smtp.gmail.com or mail.example.com.
If the username and password are not present, you’re able to find them by clicking theAdvancetab.
Use theAuthenticationdropdown menu to grab the authentication pop in your mail service uses.
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Finally, key in your user name and password.
The user name is often just your email address.
Try sending the email again.
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TheSendbutton should now be highlighted.
If the issue is an outdated or corrupted Mail preference file, go to the preference file.
The Apple Mail preference file is located at: /Users/user_name/Library/Preferences.
For example, if your Mac’s username is Tom, the path would be /Users/Tom/Library/Preferences.
The preference file is named com.apple.mail.plist.
The OS corrects the permission with each software update.
These types of mail servers are frequent targets of malware designed to turn them into zombie spam servers.
This punch in of permission problem prevents you from saving updates to your Mail options.
How does this happen?
Typically, your mail service tells you to make changes to the controls for your account.
You make the changes, and all is well until you quit Mail.
The other possible culprit is that the Mail preference file has become corrupt or unreadable.
This situation may cause Mail to stop working or prevent certain features such as sending mail from working correctly.
