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Mac Mail Too Many Recipients Error

S

schwine1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 13, 2008
183
4
When I send an email to eight recipients on Mac Mail using a Mac Mini, an error message appears that says "the server response was too many recipients." It works if I limit the email to four recipients but Mac Mail creates an error message with eight recipients.

My ISP allows for 130 recipients so perhaps someone has an idea on how to solve this Mac Mail error message.
Thanks for any tips.
 
I just sent two emails instead of one email using Mac Mail in order to split up the eight recipients.
My assumption is that there is a bug with my version and installation Mac Mail (version 9.3 / 3124).

Again, my ISP allows for 130 recipients, and I can send email to eight or more recipients with my ISP's email software. This suggests that the issue is with Mail Mail itself, even though other users may be able to send email to
eight or more recipients with their version of Mac Mail. My preference is to send these multiple recipient emails with Mac Mail, but that doesn't seem possible since the cause and solution of the problem is unknown. As far as I know, Apple hasn't supported or upgraded Mac Mail in several years, so updating the Mail Mail software doesn't seem to be an option.
 
Is this consistent or episodic? some ISPs limit the number of emails sent per hour to avoid spam.i
Apple have tweeked Mail with every MACOSX update so I don't understand you comment about upgrade or support unless you are on an old OS.
 
It looks like you are using El Capitan so you may find very soon that due to security changes associated with TLS you won't be able to send mail at all as Apple Mail 9.3 on macOS El Capitan doesn't support TLS 1.2 - a common requirement nowadays.

It you can I would go to High Sierra, although even that is to be unsupported soon.
 
You are correct that I am using the El Capitan OS X, so that is probably the source of the problem.
It's an old story, but I'm always weary about upgrading because I may lose the ability to run software that works on El Capitan that may not work on the Mojave or Catalina OS X, for example. Everything else works fine on El Capitan at this point and time. Given that ssmed has likely found the source of the problem, I'll look for other ways to send multiple recipient emails for now. Thanks to everyone for their interest and support.
 
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I am thinking that your error message ("the server response was too many recipients."), came from the receiving server. Do your eight recipients all have email addresses at the same domain name? If so, this could be a limitation imposed by the receiving server, since your ISP (the sending server) permits up to 130 recipients. The receiving server (any receiving server) could impose such limitations as one way to cut down SPAM.
 
There were four receiving servers in total. Namely, yahoo, gmail, hotmail and telus.net
I don't think any of them would limit multiple mail-outs to less than eight recipients
(but then again, I haven't actually checked at this point).
 
schwine1 said:
There were four receiving servers in total. Namely, yahoo, gmail, hotmail and telus.net
I don't think any of them would limit multiple mail-outs to less than eight recipients
(but then again, I haven't actually checked at this point).
Click to expand...

Server error messages often look like so much gobbledygook, but often buried in the message is the server's name. If you still have the error message take another look and see if the server identifies itself. That would be your best information.

Did any one of the eight receive your message? If not, then the error message had to come from the sending server (your ISP, which may have changed its policy). If some got it and some did not, likely the error message came from a receiving server. Knowing who received it (if anyone) could help you track down the source of the error message.
 
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schwine1 said:
You are correct that I am using the El Capitan OS X, so that is probably the source of the problem.
It's an old story, but I'm always weary about upgrading because I may lose the ability to run software that works on El Capitan that may not work on the Mojave or Catalina OS X, for example. Everything else works fine on El Capitan at this point and time. Given that ssmed has likely found the source of the problem, I'll look for other ways to send multiple recipient emails for now. Thanks to everyone for their interest and support.
Click to expand...
First, maybe try another EMail program. Thunderbird is free, and I use it without any issues (I am using the latest version of Catalina, OS 10.15.7), Thunderbird is not as "sexy looking" as most EMail programs, but it works. Here is a link for you to look at:

Thunderbird — Free Your Inbox.

Thunderbird is a free email application that’s easy to set up and customize - and it’s loaded with great features!
www.thunderbird.net www.thunderbird.net

Secondly, I have read many times where folks have issues with Apple's Mail program, no matter which OS they use. That is one reason why I have always avoided it.

Third, regarding third party compatibility, this site can help you with that:

Application Compatibility Table — RoaringApps

Crowd-sourced application compatibility for macOS, iOS and Windows.
roaringapps.com roaringapps.com

Myself, I require that ALL my third party applications must be compatible with the new OS before I "upgrade".
 
HenryAZ said:
Server error messages often look like so much gobbledygook, but often buried in the message is the server's name. If you still have the error message take another look and see if the server identifies itself. That would be your best information.

Did any one of the eight receive your message? If not, then the error message had to come from the sending server (your ISP, which may have changed its policy). If some got it and some did not, likely the error message came from a receiving server. Knowing who received it (if anyone) could help you track down the source of the error message.
Click to expand...
The two servers that did not receive the email were hotmail.com and telus.net
All recipients did not receive the email because of the error message caused by these two servers.

Again, once the eight recipients were divided into two separate email send-outs of four email addresses each, it worked and there were no error messages. It's just that all eight recipients cannot receive an email in one single sent-out.
 
HenryAZ said:
I meant using Mac Mail to send to many recipients with addresses @ gmail or yahoo.
Click to expand...
I see what you mean, however, I recently fixed the problem.
I removed the com.apple.mail file from the hidden Library > Containers folder.

After rebooting the computer, Mac Mail was restored and now works normally.
This can be a good fix for any problems with Mac Mail in general.

If you try it, place the com.apple.mail file on your Computer Desktop, or some other handy place.
If your Mac Mail does not restore after the reboot, return the com.apple.mail file to the Library folder to restore your email files. This technique may or may not work for everyone, but it may be worth a try.
 
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