Mail: Troubleshooting sending & receiving email messages (OS X Lion, Mac OS X v10.6)

Learn how to troubleshoot if Mail has issues sending or receiving email messages. Use this article to determine which part of the email "ecosystem" is the cause of the email issue, then attempt to resolve it. Here are the four parts of the email process that make up the email "ecosystem": The email message has to be addressed properly, with content that is allowed by the email service provider for both sender and receiver. Mail needs the correct email account settings for the email service provider. A working Internet connection that allows Mail to talk to the incoming and outgoing email servers of the email service provider. The email service provider's email servers must be up and running. Also, the email account must not be deactivated, and the email serivce provider must accept the email account name and password. Note: Your Internet service provider, such as Comcast, RoadRunner, AOL, and so forth, may not be the same as your email service provider, such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!, Apple's MobileMe, or others.