# Why Won't "Mail" Work on My MacBook?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 19, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779 "2024-02-19T19:18:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779/1 "2024-02-19T19:18:03Z")

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About 6 months ago, “Mail” (or Outlook for Mac?) stopped working on my MacBook for no apparent reason.

1. If my Xfinty password is stored on the MacBook (maybe under Settings?) AND if this password changed AND if this change of password is the cause of my problem, where and how do I change the password on my MacBook? Surely, it must be stored somewhere?

2. if this is not the cause of my problem, what else should I check?

TIA!

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779/2 "2024-02-20T19:19:36Z")

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> [@Jinx](#):
>
> stopped working

What are the exact symptoms of “stopped working”? It’s impossible to diagnose unless you describe what happens and what doesn’t.

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**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779/3 "2024-02-20T21:43:16Z")

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Yeah, does it fail to open, does it crash, does it display an error message, or what?

As far as passwords, most passwords are stored in your keychain. Use the “Keychain Access” program to edit a password there.

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**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779/4 "2024-02-21T02:31:01Z")

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1. your passwords for Xfinity, Mail, Outlook and to sign in to your Mac itself are unrelated. You may well have made them the same, but changing one does not affect any others.

> [@Jinx](#):
>
> “Mail” (or Outlook for Mac?)

Also, these are different applications. Which one are you referring to, or both?

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-mail-work-on-my-macbook/997779/5 "2024-02-21T04:18:06Z")

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If it’s “Mail,” use Mail-\>Window-\>Connection Doctor to see what’s going on.