Unlock the Secret to Seamlessly Transferring Apple Mail to Your New Mac!

Are you upgrading to a new Mac soon? One of the most crucial things you need to worry about is migrating your data. And since your email is one of your most sensitive data, you must ensure that you transfer your Apple Mail correctly.

Thankfully, Apple has made this process ultra-easy with the Migration Assistant app. But what if you’re not transferring everything to your new Mac? In this article, we’ll show you the best ways to transfer Apple Mail to your new Mac.

Step 1: Back up your data

Before you start transferring your emails to your new Mac, it’s essential to make sure you have a backup of your data. You can use Time Machine or any other backup software of your choice. Make sure you follow the backup process to safeguard your data.

Step 2: Set up your new Mac

Once you get your new Mac, you’ll need to set it up before you start transferring your data. Follow these steps to set up your new Mac:

1. Turn on your new Mac and follow the on-screen instructions.
2. Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted.
3. Choose your country or region.
4. Agree to the terms and conditions.
5. Set up Touch ID or create a new user account.
6. Choose to set up as new or migrate from another Mac or PC.

Step 3: Transfer Apple Mail using Migration Assistant

If you’re transferring data from an old Mac to a new one, you can use the Migration Assistant app. To transfer Apple Mail using Migration Assistant, follow these steps:

1. Open Migration Assistant on your old Mac.
2. Connect your old Mac and new Mac using a Thunderbolt or Ethernet cable.
3. Select the “transfer from another Mac” option on your new Mac.
4. Select your old Mac from the list of devices that appear on the screen.
5. Choose the data you want to transfer, including Apple Mail.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the transfer.

Step 4: Transfer Apple Mail manually

If you don’t want to transfer everything from your old Mac to your new Mac, you can move Apple Mail manually. To transfer Apple Mail manually, follow these steps:

1. On your old Mac, open Apple Mail.
2. Select “Mailbox” and then “Export Mailbox.”
3. Choose the mailbox you want to export, and save it to your desired location.
4. Copy the exported mailbox to an external hard drive or cloud storage.
5. On your new Mac, open Apple Mail and select “File,” then “Import Mailboxes.”
6. Choose the mailbox you want to import and follow the on-screen instructions.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to transfer Apple Mail to your new Mac, you can do it with confidence. Whether you choose to use the Migration Assistant app or transfer your mailbox manually, make sure you have a backup of your data and follow the steps above. By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to seamlessly transferring your Apple Mail to your new Mac.

This article explains how to move your Apple Mail data to a new Mac or to a new clean install of the operating system. Information covers macOS Big Sur through OS X Lion.

What to Know

• Easiest way: Use the Apple Migration Assistant to copy everything from one Mac to another.Move manually: Copy Mail folder, Mail Preferences, and KeyChain from the current Mac to the new Mac. Open Mail on the new Mac.Make a backup of your Mail data before attempting a transfer.

Migration Assistant Is an Option to Consider

You have options for performing the move. The easiest and most often suggested method is to use the Apple Migration Assistant. This method works well, but it has one drawback: Migration Assistant is an all-or-nothing process when it comes to moving data. It copies everything from one Mac to another. However, you may not be interested in transferring everything to your new Mac.

Move Mail Manually

If you only want to move your mail, transfer three items from your current Mac to a new one:

• Mail FolderMail PreferencesKeyChain

After you transfer the files, launch Mail on your new Mac. All of your emails, accounts, and rules will work the way they did before the move.

Back Up Data Using Time Machine

Before you move files around, make a current backup of your mail. You can use a built-in or third-party backup application for this. Time Machine is part of the Mac system and is easy to use.

Do a thorough backup and file clean-up before you make the transfer. Then, transfer your files over a network, burn them to a CD or DVD, or copy them to a USB flash drive. If the new system is on the same Mac, you can copy them from one partition to another.

To back up to an external hard drive with Time Machine, select Back Up Now from the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, or right-click Time Machine in the Dock and select Back Up Now.

If you don’t have the Time Machine menu bar item, install it by opening System Preferences > Time Machine and placing a check mark next to Show Time Machine in the menu bar.

Prepare and Copy Your Keychain Data

Apple Keychain is one of the three items you’ll need to move to the new Mac.

With Keychain, Apple Mail operates without asking you to supply all your account passwords. If you only have one or two accounts in Mail, you can skip this step. If you have many Mail accounts, transferring Keychain makes using the new Mac easier.

Before you copy the Keychain files, it’s a good idea to repair or verify the file to catch any possible errors. The method you use depends on your system version.

Verify the Integrity of the Keychain Files in OS X El Capitan or Later

If you’re using ​OS X El Capitan or later, the Keychain Access app is missing the first-aid feature. Instead, use the Disk Utility First Aid tool to verify and repair the startup drive that contains the Keychain files.

Repair the Keychain Files in OS X Yosemite and Earlier

If you’re using OS X Yosemite or earlier, the Keychain Access app includes a first-aid tool that you can use to verify and repair all your Keychain files.

• Launch Keychain Access, located in Applications > Utilities.
• Select Keychain First Aid from the Keychain Access menu.
• Enter the username and password for your user account.
• Select Repair to verify the data and repair any problems. Click Start.
• Close the Keychain First Aid window when the process is complete and quit Keychain Access.

Copy the Keychain Files to the New Location

macOS stores Keychain files in your Library folder. As of OS X Lion, the Library folder is hidden so that you can’t accidentally make changes to important system files.

Launch Keychain Access, located in Applications > Utilities.

Select Keychain First Aid from the Keychain Access menu.

Enter the username and password for your user account.

Select Repair to verify the data and repair any problems. Click Start.

Close the Keychain First Aid window when the process is complete and quit Keychain Access.

The hidden Library folder is easy to access, and you can make it permanently visible if you want.

• Open a Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock.
• Go to your Home folder and select Library. Click the Keychains folder.
• Copy the Keychains folder to the same location on your new Mac.

Clean Up and Copy Your Mail Folder

Before you move your Apple Mail data, take some time to clean up your current Mail setup.

Open a Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock.

Go to your Home folder and select Library. Click the Keychains folder.

Copy the Keychains folder to the same location on your new Mac.

Apple Mail Cleanup

• Launch Apple Mail by clicking the Mail icon in the Dock. Select an inbox.
• Select Junk, and verify that all the messages in the folder are junk emails.
• Each email account has its own Junk folder. If you have several providers, empty the Junk folder for each one.
• Right-click each Junk folder and select Erase Junk Mail, followed by Erase.

Copy Your Mail Files

The Mail files you need to copy are stored in the Library folder. This folder is hidden by default in macOS. If you haven’t set the Library file to be visible previously, open it temporarily. From the desktop, hold down the Option key and choose Go in the menu bar. Select Library in the expanded menu.

Launch Apple Mail by clicking the Mail icon in the Dock. Select an inbox.

Select Junk, and verify that all the messages in the folder are junk emails.

Each email account has its own Junk folder. If you have several providers, empty the Junk folder for each one.

Right-click each Junk folder and select Erase Junk Mail, followed by Erase.

To copy your Mail files to a new Mac or system:

• Quit Mail if the application is running.
• Open a Finder window.
• In your Home folder, open the Library folder and locate the Mail folder.
• Copy the Mail folder to the same location on your new Mac or in your new system.

Copy Your Mail Preferences

The last thing you need to copy is your Mail preferences file:

Quit Mail if the application is running.

Open a Finder window.

In your Home folder, open the Library folder and locate the Mail folder.

Copy the Mail folder to the same location on your new Mac or in your new system.

• Quit Apple Mail if the application is running.
• Open a Finder window.
• Go to your Home folder and select Library > Preferences.
• Copy com.apple.mail.plist to the same location on your new Mac or new system.
• You might see files that seem similar, such as com.apple.mail.plist.lockfile. Don’t copy them. The only file you need to copy is com.apple.mail.plist.
• With all the necessary files copied to the new Mac or system, launch Apple Mail. Your emails will be in place, your Mail rules functioning, and all Mail accounts working.

Troubleshoot Keychain Issues

Moving Keychains around can sometimes cause problems. However, they’re easy to correct.

Quit Apple Mail if the application is running.

Go to your Home folder and select Library > Preferences.

Copy com.apple.mail.plist to the same location on your new Mac or new system.

You might see files that seem similar, such as com.apple.mail.plist.lockfile. Don’t copy them. The only file you need to copy is com.apple.mail.plist.

With all the necessary files copied to the new Mac or system, launch Apple Mail. Your emails will be in place, your Mail rules functioning, and all Mail accounts working.

When you copy the Keychain file to its new location on your new Mac or system, the copy might fail with a warning that one or more Keychain files ​are in use. This can happen if you have used your new Mac or system, and in the process, it created its own Keychain files.

If you’re using OS X Yosemite or later, you can use an alternative method of getting your new Mac or system to use your existing Keychain files. Instead of copying the files, make use of iCloud and its ability to sync Keychains between multiple Macs and iOS devices to achieve the same results.

If you’re using OS X Mavericks or earlier, the process is a little more involved.

• Launch Keychain Access, located in Applications > Utilities on your new Mac or system.
• Select Keychain List from the Edit menu.
• Make a note of which Keychain files in the list have a check mark next to their names.
• Uncheck any checked Keychain files.
• Copy the Keychain files to your new Mac or system.
• Reset the check marks in the Keychain list to the state you noted.

Troubleshoot Mail Issues

Occasionally, you may run into a problem when you first launch Apple Mail on your new Mac or system. The error message usually says that Mail doesn’t have permission to access a specific file.

Launch Keychain Access, located in Applications > Utilities on your new Mac or system.

Select Keychain List from the Edit menu.

Make a note of which Keychain files in the list have a check mark next to their names.

Uncheck any checked Keychain files.

Copy the Keychain files to your new Mac or system.

Reset the check marks in the Keychain list to the state you noted.

Make a note of which file is listed in the error message, and then do the following:

• Quit Mail if it’s running on the new Mac or system.
• Open a Finder window.
• Go to the file mentioned in the error message.
• Right-click the file and select Get Info.
• Expand Sharing & Permissions. Your username should be listed as having read and write access, but you may see unknown.
• Click the lock icon in the lower-right corner of the Get Info window.
• Enter your administrator username and password, and select OK.
• Select the plus sign (+).
• Choose your account from the list of users and choose Select. The selected account is added to the Sharing & Permissions section.
• Select the Privileges item for the account you added.
• Choose Read & Write.
• If there’s an entry with the name unknown, select it and click the minus sign (-) to delete the entry and close the window.

That should correct the problem. If Mail reports a similar error with another file, add your username to every file in the Mail folder.

Quit Mail if it’s running on the new Mac or system.

Go to the file mentioned in the error message.

Right-click the file and select Get Info.

Expand Sharing & Permissions. Your username should be listed as having read and write access, but you may see unknown.

Click the lock icon in the lower-right corner of the Get Info window.

Enter your administrator username and password, and select OK.

Select the plus sign (+).

Choose your account from the list of users and choose Select. The selected account is added to the Sharing & Permissions section.

Select the Privileges item for the account you added.

Choose Read & Write.

If there’s an entry with the name unknown, select it and click the minus sign (-) to delete the entry and close the window.

Propagating Your Privileges

• Right-click the Mail folder, located in your Library folder, and select Get Info.
• Using the instructions in the previous section, add your username to the permissions list and set your permissions to Read & Write.
• Select the gear icon at the bottom of the Get Info window.
• Select Apply to enclosed items.
• Close the window and try a rebuild.

How to Rebuild Apple Mail

Rebuilding your mailboxes forces Mail to reindex each message and update the list to accurately reflect the items your Mac is storing. The message index and the actual messages can sometimes get out of sync, usually as the result of a Mail crash or an unintended shutdown. The rebuild process corrects any underlying issues with the program.

Right-click the Mail folder, located in your Library folder, and select Get Info.

Using the instructions in the previous section, add your username to the permissions list and set your permissions to Read & Write.

Select the gear icon at the bottom of the Get Info window.

Select Apply to enclosed items.

Close the window and try a rebuild.

If you use IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), the rebuilding process deletes any locally cached messages and attachments and then downloads fresh copies from the mail server. Rebuilding IMAP accounts can take quite a while; you may decide to forgo the rebuilding process for them.

• Select a mailbox by clicking its icon.
• Select Rebuild from the Mailbox menu.
• When the rebuilding is complete, repeat the process for any other mailboxes.

You can also try resetting user permissions if all else fails.

Select a mailbox by clicking its icon.

Select Rebuild from the Mailbox menu.

When the rebuilding is complete, repeat the process for any other mailboxes.

Don’t be alarmed if messages in a mailbox seem to disappear during the rebuilding process. When the rebuilding is complete, reselecting the mailbox reveals all the stored messages.

Why Moving Apple Mail Makes Sense

Starting over with Mail on a new Mac doesn’t make sense. You probably have years of data stored on your Mac. While some of it may be fluff, other information is important enough to keep on hand.

It might be easy to re-create your mail accounts on a new system. Still, it’s not easy to start fresh with none of your older emails available, your Mail rules gone, and Mail asking for passwords that you have long since forgotten.

• What is Archive used for in Apple Mail?
• Archive acts as a sub-folder where you can store messages you don’t need to view regularly, but need to hold onto for one reason or another. Choose an email in your inbox and select Archive to archive it, or select the Archive folder to view your archived messages.
• How do I use Bcc in Apple Mail?
• Using Bcc in Apple Mail is fairly simple, and is available through macOS Sierra 10.12 and later. Blind carbon copy (Bcc) will send your email to multiple addresses in a group without revealing those addresses to the recipients.
• How do I schedule an email in Apple Mail?
• After composing your email select the down arrow next to the Send button and either pick from one of the scheduled Mail suggests or select Send Later. If you select Send Later, manually set the date and time to send the email and select Schedule when you’re finished.

Archive acts as a sub-folder where you can store messages you don’t need to view regularly, but need to hold onto for one reason or another. Choose an email in your inbox and select Archive to archive it, or select the Archive folder to view your archived messages.

Using Bcc in Apple Mail is fairly simple, and is available through macOS Sierra 10.12 and later. Blind carbon copy (Bcc) will send your email to multiple addresses in a group without revealing those addresses to the recipients.

After composing your email select the down arrow next to the Send button and either pick from one of the scheduled Mail suggests or select Send Later. If you select Send Later, manually set the date and time to send the email and select Schedule when you’re finished.

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