Apple Mail keeps redownloading deleted emails
 

Hi there

I have one particular installation of Apple Mail that keeps redownloading deleted messages.

Some times it's all the emails i've deleted that day, sometimes just some of them.

Some times everything's perfectly fine.

I've tried removing the Fastmail account and adding it again.

I've tried rebuilding the mail index.

Neither works.

I have a Gmail account set up in Mail too, and that account behaves as expected.

I have two other Macs with the same mail setup that have no problems at all.

Anyone else had this and found a solution?

It's driving me slowly crazy!

Rob

Deleted messages can be saved on either your client device or the IMAP server
 

Rob, the first thing we need to understand is how your Mail client is connecting to Fastmail. Do you have it set up to use IMAP or POP?

If you are using POP (not recommended), the problem is usually a corrupted client. If you are using IMAP (which is probably the case), please start by reading this from Fastmail help:
Problems deleting email

So there are two ways that IMAP email clients may delete messages:

• The old IMAP technique: The message is marked for deletion by the email client (which adds a flag to the message and then pushes that change to the Fastmail IMAP server), but is not actually removed from your Inbox until a purge messages marked for deletion action is triggered.
• The newer technique: The message is moved by the client from your Inbox to the Deleted (or Trash) folder. Apple iOS Mail (and I'm guessing your Mac Mail client) has a setup option to move the deleted message to the Deleted Messages folder on the server or the Trash folder on the device.

My guess is that you have Apple Mail set to save deleted messages to a local Trash folder instead of the IMAP server Deleted Messages folder. If you delete messages while you are offline (not connected to the Fastmail IMAP server), then the next time you connect your Inbox on the client will synchronize with the Fastmail IMAP server Inbox, which still contains those messages. So the messages were never deleted from the IMAP server and they reappear in your client Inbox.

If that's the problem, changing the deletion action to move the message to the IMAP server Deleted Messages folder should fix the issue.

Bill

Hey Bill

Thanks for the thorough reply.

I am on IMAP yes.

Sadly the issue doesn't seem to be caused by any of the reasons you mention as far as i can see.

Here are screen shots of Mail's settings...

http://neonstate.com/shot1.png
http://neonstate.com/shot2.png

Rob

May be a Trash options problem
 

On the troublesome installation, look at the "Mailboxes" list on the left-hand side. You might have to go View > Show Mailbox List to see it.

Is there a triangle to the left of the Trash mailbox? If there is, click it and expand the Trash mailbox. Which mailbox do the deleted messages re-appear in?

If they're appearing in "On My Mac" or similar then I would guess the Trash options need a look. Go to Mail > Preferences > Accounts. Highlight the Account on the left and look at the Mailbox Behaviors tab. Both the Trash options need to be ticked for deleted messages to end up in the right place, but Mail does have a feature of options not sticking so untick them, quit, restart, tick, quit, do this two-three times leaving them ultimately ticked.

Let us know if that makes any difference.