Why an email will not send

When you click Send and the message doesn't go, Mail tells you why. Some checks happen before the message leaves your screen, and some come back from the mail server as a short message at the bottom of the window. This page covers the usual causes and what to do about each one.

A message that fails to send is not lost. It stays in your Drafts folder, so you can fix the problem and try again.

"Please specify at least one recipient"

You need at least one address in the To field. Mail shows a Cannot send box with this message when the To field is empty.

Add an address in the To field and click Send again. As you type, Mail suggests matching people from your contacts and team; pick one, or type the full address yourself.

"Please add a subject or message"

A message with no Subject and no body has nothing to send. Add a subject, or write something in the message area, then send.

If you fill in the body but leave the subject blank, Mail doesn't block you. It asks Send without subject? first. Click Send to send it anyway, or close the box to go back and add a subject.

The message could not be sent

If the recipient's address is fine but the mail server can't deliver the message, you'll see Failed to send email at the bottom of the window. This usually means the server refused or couldn't hand off the message, for example because the recipient's address doesn't exist or their mail system rejected it.

Your message stays safe in Drafts. Open it from the Drafts folder in the sidebar, check the addresses for typos, and send again. If it keeps failing for everyone you write to, the problem is likely with mail delivery on the server rather than with your message, so contact whoever runs your Eigen server.

An attachment is too large

Each attachment has a size limit. If a file is over it, the attachment fails and Mail shows a message telling you the limit, such as Attachment exceeds 25MB limit. The same limit applies whether you add a file from your computer or attach one from Drive.

To send a large file, share it from Drive instead of attaching it:

1. Upload the file to Drive, or find it there if it's already saved.
2. Share it and copy the link. See Share a file or folder for the steps.
3. Paste the link into your message.

The reader opens the file from the link, and your email stays small. This also keeps everyone on the same copy rather than passing a file back and forth. For more on attachments, see Attach files to an email.

Your mail storage is full

Sent and received mail counts towards your storage limit. When it's full, adding an attachment or sending fails with Insufficient Storage.

Free up some space, then try again:

• Empty your Trash and Spam folders.
• Delete old messages with large attachments.

You can't change who the email is from

The From field shows your own name and address, and you can't edit it. Every message you send goes out as you. There's no way to send on behalf of another person or address from here.