10 Common eM Client Issues and Their Solutions

If there is a chance that you are using an older eM Client version, updating the application might help with frequent crashes. Certain older releases were more sensitive to outside factors, as are various system-enhancing apps and sudden OS restarts due to the Windows updates. Available updates will be offered in the pop-up dialog, but you can manually check for updates in eM Client via Menu > Check for Updates.

eM Client: Check for Update

If you notice a slowdown of the entire system, make sure that your disk isn’t running low on space and that there isn’t any other application listed in the task manager that could be slowing down the system.

Another possible reason for freezing, without crashing the entire app, are antivirus programs. Freezing during sending or receiving emails could indicate that the antivirus is checking incoming and outgoing traffic; and as a result, slowing down eM Client and causing a freeze that could potentially last only for a brief moment.

Fortunately, there’s a remedy for this problem. Start by temporarily disabling the antivirus, then restart eM Client to see the results. If deactivating the antivirus application helps; it is recommended to add eM Client to exclusions permanently.

Here are instructions for popular antivirus apps:

• AVG
• AVAST
• McAfee
• ESET

If your antivirus isn’t listed, please consult with its developer through their support channels or FAQ. Or you can reach out to us at [email protected] for assistance and we’ll help you find an optimal solution.

Don’t hesitate to reach out even if you only see the crash window. Use the “Show error” button in the crash window and send it to the address mentioned above as a text file. Or use the window itself to send us the report; if you just want to let us know about the problem, but you are not seeking direct help for the problem.

Because eM Client relies on internet connection, data is written all at once when the application syncs your mailbox when it goes online for the first time in a while. This process could potentially take time if you are handling multiple email accounts with substantial mailboxes. In any case, syncing all these emails from the server requires a solid internet connection. When dealing with a lot of data, an old hard drive can slow down eM Client. The download/synchronization speeds also depend on the server’s performance; so small email providers might offer slower sync speeds than more established email providers.

When the sync takes too long, but your internet is fast and you are using a new PC; an antivirus application or VPN could be preventing eM Client from communicating with the server efficiently. Either the data goes through some remote servers(VPN) or the antivirus has to scan them.

If deactivating antivirus and/or VPN proves to be inefficient , and eM Client is your only application that uses too many system resources, please contact us for further assistance at [email protected].

To analyze freezing or application slowdowns - we need stack dump logs.

How to create stack dump logs (Windows only)

• Download the stack dump logging tool here.
• Replicate the issue or wait for it to happen.
• Then run the logging tool 3-5 times while the issue is happening.
• Each run will create a text log. Include the text log when you contact us for help.

When attachments are too slow to open, downloading them to the disk using the “Download for offline use” option could speed up the loading. You can enable this option for the entire account in Menu > Accounts> IMAP or Exchange Web Services tab or for the individual folders using right-click on the specific folder > Properties > Offline. For Gmail accounts, this option is available only for the All Mail folder.

Make sure the format attachment is in the format you can open with apps on your PC. If you send a non-compressed .exe, .reg or similar file that can directly run or change a device’s properties as an attachment, the server will probably block it. The same goes for receiving attachments formatted this way. Cloud storage links or zip/rar files are preferred in this case.

If the attachment is slow to download, rule out a slow internet connection by running the Internet speed test and by deactivating your VPN and/or antivirus application. These are common roadblocks when it comes to sync and connectivity issues.

Make sure the attachment is fine on your webmail and check how it looks on any other devices it was downloaded to. Most servers rarely let attachments through if they are suspicious for any reason, but some servers do. However, the attachment may become unreadable after it has been checked. The process is automated and many things can trigger it. If you are experiencing an issue with the corrupted attachments; please gather IMAP logs and send them to our support channel.

Here’s how to create and send diagnostic logs from eM Client:

• Go to Menu > Settings > Advanced
• Locate the account you’re having issues with, and tick the respective box (depending on your settings it would be IMAP, Exchange or POP)
• Save the settings using the button at the top of the settings window and close the settings.
• Restart eM Client, locate the folder containing the message in question and use repair (right-click > Properties > Repair).
• Then go to the problematic message/attachment, and try opening it.

If you run into this issue again, restart eM Client, and use the “Send Logs” button in the Advanced settings section. Make sure to include the issue description in the message.

Double check to make sure that the calendar service provider hasn’t updated the calendar URL. Update the URL in Menu > Accounts > *account in question* > CalDAV (or Exchange) and if necessary, remove and add the account again. Accounts that do not have a calendar will lack CalDAV or Exchange tab.

Example of CalDAV account in eM Client

Hit the Refresh button at the top of eM Client, or select the specific account you want to refresh. Please keep in mind that if you refresh between synchronization cycles it could fail, because the application might not be able to force the sync.

This step may seem obvious; but sometimes it helps to simply force the sync by restarting the entire eM Client application.

If the refresh isn’t doing anything for a while (e.g. 30-60 min), but at the same time you see no errors in Menu > Operations, a repair could help.

Repair can be found in calendar properties. Right-click on the problematic calendar (not on the account name) and go to Properties > Repair. Then click the “Repair” button. The calendar will be purged and the data will be resynchronized. This works only with online calendars and not calendars kept in local folders.

Repair didn’t help? Verify that your Internet connection is OK and check Menu > Operations for errors. If there are errors: copy the log and send it to us.

If there are no errors follow these steps:

• Go to Menu > Settings > Advanced

• Click "Clear logs”

• Now enable calendar logging for the affected account by ticking CalDAV, AirSync, or Exchange box depending on the calendar account type.

• With logging enabled, restart eM Client and return to the “Advanced” settings section.

• Use the “Send logs” button and eM Client will attach log files to an email for you.

If there is a chance that the settings were edited in the past, it’s worth double checking them in Menu > Settings > General > Notifications.

Deactivated pop-ups and sounds could result in missing important notifications. If the system notifications are enabled in eM Client, but disabled in Windows; no notifications will be displayed.

Notification settings in eM Client

Check to make sure that notifications are enabled for eM Client in Windows settings. If you’re still not seeing your notifications, see if you have Focus Assist turned on. Focus Assist mutes some notifications on your device. Read the Microsoft article to learn about how Focus Assist works.

Verify that you have the correct folder they were created in and check the webmail or web address book through your browser to ensure they are on the server. If you don’t see them on the server, look at your other accounts or in local folders to make sure the contacts are stored in the right folder.

Contacts stored in local folders can be dragged and dropped into account folders to sync them. You can also use right-click > Save with any contact or contact group to export them in vCard format. That will allow you to upload contact files to any online address book or contact management app of your choice.

If you do not see the “Local folders” section at the bottom of the left hand sidebar, verify whether or not they are enabled in Menu > Settings > General > General > Show Local Folders.

Google contacts uses a specific folder structure so that all the main contacts are in the “My Contacts” folder. Your main contacts will stay in “My Contacts” unless you move them to a custom folder. Google Contacts, just like Google Calendar, has a cooldown time set. This prevents the server from being bombarded by a sync request every minute - which could end in a blocked connection.

Repairing the folder through the “Properties” window (right-click on it > Properties > Repair, and hit the “Repair” button) can also force resynchronization of the data.

Sidebar with Gmail contact folder structure

Earlier, we explained how antivirus programs can remove eM Client’s files. This deems the database non-functional. After the database has been damaged, if the database check fails to repair it, you can only restore from a backup or delete the current database and start from scratch.

Run a database repair - DbRepair.exe is a built-in utility that verifies the files and attempts to repair them if corruption is detected. To run it, open RUN window in your system or open terminal and then execute this command:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\eM Client\MailClient.exe" /dbrepair

A corrupted database after a crash usually generates a log file so you can provide us with the information about the problem you’re experiencing. The crash report window will ask you to describe the issue. Include your email address for a follow-up and send us the report with the database log.

Our team will analyze whether or not the database can be recovered and what caused it to fail. Not only will these reports help rectify the issue for you - they will also help us improve the app for the entire user base of eM Client.

eM Client crash window

First, assess what kind of connection issue you’re dealing with. If the internet works for other applications; then open eM Client, go to Menu > Operations and check for errors. If there are no error messages displayed, it means that the server is most likely functioning properly but it could be slowed down. If there is an error message, read it and see if it’s something you can easily fix. If you’re unsure, send a screenshot or description of the error message to support.

If eM Client is the only app that exhibits connection issues and it has already been added to antivirus exceptions (If not, check how to add the app to exceptions), and there’s no other active VPN; please provide us with a copy of the operations log.

To access the operations log, go to: Menu > Operations > Log, click on the “Copy Log” button and paste the contents in the text file so we can investigate it.

eM Client Operations window

If your messages aren’t displayed properly, it’s time to change your settings. Check to make sure that you have not enabled plain-text messages in Menu > Settings > Mail > Read. Try deactivating this option, click Apply, and see if the message(s) are now displayed correctly in eM Client’s message preview pane.

Read settings in eM Client

Take a look above the message subject in the preview pane. If you can see a progress bar it means that eM Client is still downloading the message.

If the download takes too long and it’s happening with an IMAP or EWS account, repair the containing folder (right-click > Properties > Repair) or verify the state of the message through webmail.

If the message looks fine on other devices and the server; please disable your antivirus program, restart eM Client, and check to see the results. If the message loads correctly after antivirus deactivation, consider adding eM Client to exclusions. If the message still looks corrupted, you can send it to us for examination.

This process usually requires reaching out to ESP support. In the best case, the issue can be fixed by the support agent. In the worst case, you might be informed about the outage or maintenance. In order to troubleshoot the issue efficiently, it’s better to verify whether the issue occurs on the webmail or in the other email apps you’re using.

If after these steps you narrowed down the problem to eM Client (e.g. message is displayed properly on webmail and on other devices, the repair didn’t help, etc.), drag and drop the message to the desktop or use right-click > Save As. Although you can forward the message as an attachment it’s safer to save it as a file, compress it into .zip or .rar archive, and send it to [email protected].

eM Client has a feature called “Send Later,” which allows you to delay all outgoing messages in case you might change your mind and decide to cancel the send or add some last-minute edits. You can find this feature in Menu > Settings > Mail > Send.

If it is enabled, turn it off, and see if the messages are being sent immediately. Double-check other “Send” settings as well since they can affect how eM Client sends messages.

eM Client Send settings

Another setting that can affect sending and receiving is the sync interval and startup sync. Try reducing it. If you increased it in the past, make sure the option “Synchronize items at startup” is enabled. Then, restart the app and see the results.

Global Sync settings

If your internet is slow, even small tasks like sending and receiving a basic email message can become time-consuming. When it comes to internet issues, it can be challenging to find a solution on your own. If possible, a router restart is worth a shot. Or you could use a workaround and connect your PC to an alternative access point like a mobile hotspot or another Wi-Fi network.

Given that eM Client relies on the servers to send and receive emails; you might notice a slowdown if the servers are overloaded or undergoing maintenance. If the delays affect more accounts from the same email provider, it usually indicates there’s a problem on the provider’s end. If all accounts are affected, it’s most likely a problem with the internet connection. Unfortunately, even in these scenarios, it’s better to shut down the antivirus program just to be sure. If the delays persist even without active antivirus, try reaching out to ESP support and provide them with a copy of the operations log (Menu > Operations > Log > Copy Log).