Gmail Users Bring Renewed Attention to Issue With Apple's Mail App Popping Open Sporadically on Mac

[MacRumors]

In a blog post shared on Reddit, software engineer Philipp Defner has brought renewed attention to a years-old issue that results in Apple's Mail app randomly popping open as the frontmost application on the Mac.

"If you are in full screen mode -- like when you are giving a talk or watching a movie -- it opens itself up in split view mode where it takes up half the screen while your other main window is being resized," wrote Defner, in line with similar comments shared across the MacRumors Forums, Apple Support Communities, and elsewhere.

The issue appears to be related to a potential connectivity or syncing issue with certain Gmail accounts, with some users noting that creating an app-specific password for your Gmail account is an effective workaround. Other users simply keep the Mail app minimized in the Dock instead of closed entirely to avoid it from popping open sporadically.

Defner notes that the issue has been occurring since at least macOS Sierra and continues in macOS Catalina. Affected users are hopeful that Apple can implement a fix, although it is unclear if there is anything it can do on its end.

Article Link: Gmail Users Bring Renewed Attention to Issue With Apple's Mail App Popping Open Sporadically on Mac

 

[clickerclacker]

I'm glad this is making news. It did my head in for ages. I think I solved it with the app-specific password workaround. Can't remember! It doesn't happen anymore though.

 

[4jasontv]

This happened to a classmate of mine during a test. Thankfully the proctor saw the window open on its own, but yeah, that could have been really bad.

 

[corrado7]

I thought it was just me that this is really annoying

 

[B4U]

"Apple is going to implement a fix"? The issue has been here since Sierra FFS!

 

[Ojiisan]

Nice to know others have been having this problem..

 

[SkyRom]

I've had this happening sporadically for months. It originally seemed to be related to when Apple increased the security/password verification frequency a few updates ago around the time Catalina was introduced. I don't "blame" Apple for this, because I'm a major security/privacy proponent; it seems to be the Mail app (from my perspective) popping up to tell me I'm not actively syncing Exchange/Gmail. Or maybe Gmail nudging for attention harder than it should. Then again, I'm not a software engineer so maybe none of that is true haha. My workaround has been pretty simple, I Cmd-Q the Mail app when I really need to focus on my work.

 

[dspdoc]

Apple hard at work as usual. SMH...

 

[jonblatho]

Affected users are hopeful that Apple can implement a fix, although it is unclear if there is anything it can do on its end.

When this happens it’s apparently some authentication failure because you’ll see “Login Failure” in the upper right corner of the window. Why Apple insists on Mail popping up and taking focus for an authentication issue is beyond me, as it can also be triggered by downtime. While that’s not a fix for the authentication issue, it’d easily “fix” this problem in a hurry.

 

[SpiritSoul1008]

This happens to me!

 

[Twimfy]

This issue drives me INSANE.

I only have one small workaround that works and that's to change the minimise preferences to minimise to icon. As long as I rememeber to "close" mail that way it keeps itself hidden.

None of the app specific password tricks worked for me.

 

[kvasa]

Reported this to Apple years ago. Recently brought it up on their Twitter only to be told it's a known issue. Well, duh...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1234086007550697474

 

[ipponrg]

One of the many reasons I moved on from Apple Mail. The app is pretty antiquated and rarely gets updated. For Gmail, I just have a pinned tab in the web browser.

 

[uller6]

This is one of the most annoying bugs I've ever seen, and Apple really should have fixed this years ago.

 

[Charlie.V]

I've experienced for a while as well. Very annoying.

 

[WilliamG]

This issue has driven me nuts for ages. It pops up and clearly there’s been some failure when it does because I see the login failure icon, which disappears a moment later.

Please, Apple, fix this!

 

[vseera]

I used to love and use Apple Mail for many years. After this happening, I switched to Postbox which has been rock solid. I have a lifetime license for it and already was using it on Windows, so it was a no brainer.

It's like Apple Mail, but better.

Will never go back to Apple Mail - why deal with so many bugs?

 

[jml12286]

Yea, its been super annoying for a while now. figured this would have solved by the developers as at least some of them should be seeing it too?

 

[iBluetooth]

This happened to a classmate of mine during a test. Thankfully the proctor saw the window open on its own, but yeah, that could have been really bad.

Why didn't he shut down all app before the test?

 

[clickerclacker]

I've had this happening sporadically for months. It originally seemed to be related to when Apple increased the security/password verification frequency a few updates ago around the time Catalina was introduced. I don't "blame" Apple for this, because I'm a major security/privacy proponent; it seems to be the Mail app (from my perspective) popping up to tell me I'm not actively syncing Exchange/Gmail. Or maybe Gmail nudging for attention harder than it should. Then again, I'm not a software engineer so maybe none of that is true haha. My workaround has been pretty simple, I Cmd-Q the Mail app when I really need to focus on my work.

Ah. As far as I can remember, CMD-Q didn't make a difference. The app would launch by itself regardless. I think. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[squirrellydw]

Happens to me all the time, might switch back to the Spark email client

 

[Smoovejayy]

This just happened to me... thought it was an issue with my Mac!

 

[Feyl]

This bug is so annoying. My old MacBook Air on High Sierra died last year and when I bought a new one last week this bug is still there. I think this shows how much Apple cares about their software. And this is not some rare bug that doesn't show up for most people. This is very loud and frequent bug that you see multiple times every day. It's kinda amazing how Apple let this thing alive in macOS for so many years.

 

[MauiPa]

I wonder if the problem is in googles use of extra permissions and running a lot of startup programs. I denied google things like automation, removed extra startup options. Don’t have this issue. No idea why google wants control of your computer, full disk access etc
[automerge]1591022707[/automerge]

This bug is so annoying. My old MacBook Air on High Sierra died last year and when I bought a new one last week this bug is still there. I think this shows how much Apple cares about their software. And this is not some rare bug that doesn't show up for most people. This is very loud and frequent bug that you see multiple times every day. It's kinda amazing how Apple let this thing alive in macOS for so many years.

I never see it. Did you check googles permissions? No idea why they want automation control. It would be nice to close in on a series of settings/installations that cause this. I’m not getting anything specific when reading this

 

[DocGRG]

In a blog post shared on Reddit, software engineer Philipp Defner has brought renewed attention to a years-old issue that results in Apple's Mail app randomly popping open as the frontmost application on the Mac.

"If you are in full screen mode -- like when you are giving a talk or watching a movie -- it opens itself up in split view mode where it takes up half the screen while your other main window is being resized," wrote Defner, in line with similar comments shared across the MacRumors Forums, Apple Support Communities, and elsewhere.

The issue appears to be related to a potential connectivity or syncing issue with certain Gmail accounts, with some users noting that creating an app-specific password for your Gmail account is an effective workaround. Other users simply keep the Mail app minimized in the Dock instead of closed entirely to avoid it from popping open sporadically.

Defner notes that the issue has been occurring since at least macOS Sierra and continues in macOS Catalina. Affected users are hopeful that Apple can implement a fix, although it is unclear if there is anything it can do on its end.

Article Link: Gmail Users Bring Renewed Attention to Issue With Apple's Mail App Popping Open Sporadically on Mac

I am a Mac User since the early 1990's. I have never seen this problem.