Mail Drop not working? Check these first.

1. Mail Drop is off for that account

In Mail, choose Mail > Settings, click Accounts, select the account, then click Account Information. Select “Send large attachments with Mail Drop.” The option is there for iCloud, IMAP and Exchange accounts.

2. You’re not signed in to your Apple Account

Mail Drop needs you signed in to your Apple Account. From an iCloud email account, Mail uses Mail Drop on its own. From another provider, Mail asks first.

3. The message is over 5 GB

That’s the limit, attachments included. Split it across several emails, or compress the files to make them smaller.

4. You attached a folder

Mail Drop won’t send an uncompressed folder. In Finder, Control-click the folder and choose Compress, then attach the .zip.

5. You hit a sending limit

Too many messages sent, or too many recipients, can stop it. So can the 1 TB Mail Drop storage limit. Attachments expire after 30 days, which frees up space again.

6. The link expired, or they can’t open it

• The person you sent it to has 30 days to download it. After that, send it again.
• Their email app may have a smaller size limit, so it never arrives.
• A link with a lot of downloads or traffic may stop working for a while.
• Big files take time to upload and download, depending on your connection.

7. Your Mac is too old

Mail Drop on a Mac needs OS X Yosemite or later.

These come from Apple’s Mail Drop limits page and the Mail User Guide.

Other ways to send it

If Mail Drop still won’t cooperate, send it by iMessage, a Google Drive link or AirDrop. See File too large for Gmail? and How to send a large video from your Mac.

Or let Sendoff pick the route

Sendoff is a Mac app that lives in the notch. It checks the size before you send. Drop a 48 MB video for someone you usually email, and if you also reach them by iMessage, it sends it that way instead, with a note saying why. Drop it, pick the person, press Send off.

Join the waitlist below, and tick the beta box if you want to test it first.