# Why is 'Import Mailboxes' greyed out in Apple Mail? ## What does 'Import Mailboxes' mean and why is it greyed out? In Apple Mail on the Mac you can bring back old email through the File menu, then Import Mailboxes. You choose a source, for example an mbox file from Thunderbird or an earlier Mail export, and Mail reads those messages in. Sometimes the button to continue is greyed out and you cannot click it. That is not a problem with your file: Apple Mail only enables the button once it is sure it is looking at a valid source. As long as that condition is not met, the option stays greyed out. It helps to understand why this happens, because in most cases you can solve it in a few seconds. And if importing still will not work, you can always open the file directly in Mbox Viewer without changing anything in Mail. ## The most common causes - You picked the wrong source type. For the mbox option, Apple Mail wants to see a folder that contains an mbox structure, not always a single file. Choose the wrong source type and the button stays greyed out. - You point at a single .mbox file while Mail expects a folder. With some exports the mbox is one file, while Mail expects an mbox folder that holds a file named mbox. - The file lives in iCloud Drive and has not been downloaded to your Mac yet. Mail cannot read a file that only exists in the cloud, so the button stays greyed out. - Mail is still starting up, indexing, or finishing an earlier import. During that activity, menu options are temporarily disabled. - The file sits in a folder without read permission, for example deep inside System or in another user's folder. - The file is damaged or only half downloaded, for example an interrupted Google Takeout download. :::info title="Good to know" A greyed out button rarely means your email is gone. The messages are still inside the mbox file. The problem is in how Apple Mail recognises the source, not in the content itself. ::: ## Step by step: making the button clickable again :::howto title="Unblock importing in Apple Mail" 1. Open Apple Mail and go to File, then Import Mailboxes. 2. In the window, choose the source type that matches your file. For an mbox, pick the option for files in mbox format. 3. Make sure you browse to the right folder or file. If Mail expects a folder, select the folder that contains the mbox file, not the loose file itself. 4. If your file is in iCloud Drive, first click the cloud icon with the arrow to download it fully, and wait until that icon disappears. 5. If needed, copy the file to your Desktop or Documents folder, so it sits locally and is readable. 6. Quit Mail completely and reopen it if the app still looked busy. Wait until indexing is finished before you try again. 7. Try the import once more. The button to continue should now be clickable. ::: :::tip title="Turn a single file into a folder" Does Mail want a folder while you only have a single file? Create a new folder, for example named Mymail.mbox, and place your file inside it with the name mbox and no extension. Apple Mail often recognises such a folder as a valid mbox source. ::: ## Alternative: view the file without importing Maybe you only want to read the email, search through it, or keep a few messages, rather than fill your whole Mail inbox with an old import. In that case you do not need to import at all. With Mbox Viewer by Cloud Captains you open an mbox file directly in your Chrome browser. You drag the file into the window and your email appears right away, with the list on the left and the message on the right, just like Gmail or Thunderbird. You do not have to change anything in Apple Mail. Besides .mbox and .mbx, Mbox Viewer also opens .eml, .emlx from Apple Mail, .msg from Outlook, Maildir folders, and .mbox.gz from Google Takeout, which it unpacks automatically. :::info title="Your email stays yours" Mbox Viewer works 100 percent locally and offline. Nothing goes to a server, there are no uploads and no telemetry. Every message stays in your own browser on your own device, stored in a local database that you can wipe yourself through Settings, then Clear database. You can read more at https://mbox-viewer.online. ::: :::howto title="Open an mbox file in Mbox Viewer" 1. Install Mbox Viewer by Cloud Captains from the Chrome Web Store and open the extension. 2. Drag your .mbox or .mbox.gz file from Finder into the Mbox Viewer window. 3. Wait until the messages appear in the list. A .mbox.gz file is unpacked automatically. 4. Click a message to read it on the right. Use the Preview, Raw and Forensic tabs for more detail. 5. Search with the bar at the top, for example with from: or subject:, or keep important messages with a star or a label. ::: :::warn title="External images are blocked" By default, Mbox Viewer blocks external images while you read, so hidden tracking pixels cannot follow you. If you do want to see the images in a specific message, you load them per message with a button. That is a deliberate privacy choice. ::: ## When to choose which approach If you want your old email to live permanently in Apple Mail and be reachable from your daily inbox, importing is the right route. Follow the steps above to unblock the greyed out button. If you want to quickly inspect a file, search it, keep a few messages, or examine a suspicious email forensically, then Mbox Viewer is faster and keeps your Mail inbox clean. :::faq ### Why is Import Mailboxes greyed out when my file is fine? The most common reason is that Apple Mail does not recognise the source as valid, for example because you select a single file while Mail expects a folder, or because the file still sits in iCloud. Your email is not broken, the recognition just is not right yet. ### My mbox is in iCloud Drive, does that help against the greyed out button? No, it actually works against you. Mail cannot read a file that only exists in the cloud. Download the file fully to your Mac first, or copy it to your Desktop, and then try again. ### Do I really have to import to read my old email? No. If you only want to view or search the messages, drag the mbox file into Mbox Viewer by Cloud Captains. It opens directly in your browser without changing anything in Apple Mail. ### Does my email go to a server if I use Mbox Viewer? No. Mbox Viewer works fully locally and offline. There are no uploads, no servers and no telemetry. Everything stays in your own browser, stored in a local database that you can wipe yourself. ### My file comes from Google Takeout and ends in .gz, is that okay? Yes. Mbox Viewer unpacks a .mbox.gz file automatically as soon as you drag it into the window, so you do not have to unpack it manually first. ### What do I do if the import in Mail keeps failing? Copy the file to a local folder with read permission, restart Mail and wait until indexing is finished. If it still fails, use Mbox Viewer to view the content anyway and optionally export per message as PDF, .eml or .html. :::