> ## Knowledge Base Index > Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.airmailapp.com/sitemap.xml > Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further. > Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash). # Emails Show "Loading..." Instead of Their Content - Complete Checklist for Airmail on Mac Some messages open normally, but others show only a spinner or the word "Loading..." where the text should be. The message list is fine; only the body is missing. This article explains the two situations that cause it and what to do in each case. All the steps below are simple and use only Airmail's own settings. No Terminal commands and no additional system permissions are required. ## Before you do anything: do not rebuild the cache yet "Rebuild Cache" asks Airmail to download the message bodies again from the mail server. That is safe on an IMAP account, because IMAP keeps every message on the server. It is **not** safe on a POP account, where the only copy of the message body is the one stored on your Mac. Rebuilding a POP account discards that copy, the server has nothing to return, and the messages stay on "Loading..." permanently. So the first thing to establish is which type of account you have. ## Step 1 - Check whether the account is IMAP or POP Open Airmail, go to Preferences, then Accounts, and select the affected account. The account type is shown in the account settings. If you are not sure, a quick test is to open the same mailbox in your provider's webmail in a browser. If the older messages are all there, the account is IMAP. If webmail only shows recent messages while Airmail shows years of history, the account is POP. ## Step 2A - If the account is IMAP The content is safe on the server, so this is almost always a local synchronisation issue. 1. Quit Airmail completely with Command-Q. Closing the window is not enough. Reopen Airmail and leave it running for a few minutes so it can finish downloading. 2. Check that the account shows no connection or sign-in error in Preferences > Accounts. If it does, sign in to the account again. 3. If only older messages are affected, increase the number of messages Airmail downloads for that account in the account settings. Older messages that were never downloaded will show as "Loading..." until they are. 4. Make sure your Mac has enough free disk space. When the disk is nearly full, Airmail cannot save message bodies locally, and they reappear as "Loading..." after each restart. 5. Confirm you are running the latest version of Airmail from the Mac App Store. If the problem persists after this, rebuilding the cache is a reasonable next step on an IMAP account. It can take a long time on a large mailbox, so allow the app to finish. ## Step 2B - If the account is POP With POP, the message body exists only in Airmail's local database. Your priority is to protect what is still there. 1. **Do not use Rebuild Cache on this account.** It will not recover anything and it will discard the bodies that are still stored. 2. Make a backup of your Airmail data now, while the messages are still readable. 3. Always quit Airmail with Command-Q rather than closing the window, so the app can finish writing its database before it exits. 4. Keep enough free disk space available. A full disk is the most common reason the local database cannot be saved. 5. Consider switching the account to IMAP. Most providers offer both. With IMAP the messages stay on the server, so this problem cannot happen again. Your provider can confirm the IMAP server name and port. Messages that already show "Loading..." on a POP account after a rebuild cannot be recovered from the server, because the server no longer holds them. If you have another device or another mail app that still has a copy, that copy is your best source. ## Step 3 - When the content loads but is incomplete If the message opens but only the first screen of text is shown, this is a display issue rather than a download issue. Try switching to the Legacy theme in Preferences > Appearance, and check that Airmail is up to date. ## What to send us if you still need help If none of the above resolves the issue, please contact us with: - your macOS version - your Airmail version - your email provider - whether the account is IMAP or POP - whether the problem affects all accounts and folders, or only one That information lets us reproduce the case and pass it to our technical team.