How to Fix “No Valid MBOX Files Found” Error: [Solved]

Currently, emails are one of the most used means of communication, which could not be accomplished without using a personal email account, of which there are many email client applications. As you can see, the market for professional email clients is a fast-growing area and allows a user to select any email client to fulfill their demands. In all email clients, emails are saved in different file formats, which can or cannot be compatible with alternative email clients. Many users encounter with the error “No Valid MBOX Files Found” while using MBOX files, especially during data migration or when trying to access emails. This error can be a major obstacle, preventing you from accessing important information.

Understanding the “No Valid MBOX Files Found” Error

Before diving into the solutions, it is essential to understand what this error means. MBOX file format is an email format used by many operating systems, it is also the most used email format to save electronic mail messages. MBOX file format is used by available email clients like, Entourage, SeaMonkey, Pocomail, Mulberry, Apple Mail, Opera Mail, Netscape Mail, Spice bird, etc. However, there are reasons that lead to corruption in MBOX file formats. When users get the error message of “No Valid MBOX Files Found”, it means that your software that you are using is not able to recognize the MBOX file. There are many reasons for this such as corruption of file, not pointing to the right path, or the file format used does not support MBOX.

Causes of MBOX File Not Found Error

Here are the Possible causes of the “No Valid MBOX Files Found” error

• Corrupt MBOX files due to improper handling or damage.
• Incorrect file path or relocated/renamed MBOX files.
• Unsupported MBOX format by the tool.
• Empty MBOX files with no content.
• Incorrect or altered file extensions.
• Insufficient file permissions or access restrictions.
• File size exceeding the tool’s processing limits.

How to Resolve No valid MBOX files were found error

Scenario 1:

Suppose a user archived the old mailbox as MBOX file and tries to import that MBOX file to an external device. The user clicks on Import in the file menu, and tries to import a file one by one into mail, but each time the user clicks, a dialog box pops up saying “no valid MBOX files were found”. Now the question is how to import MBOX file into mail?”

Solution: The process is simple you need to copy the MBOX File. Take back up of your Mac Mail mailbox.

Following are the given command  

 ~/library/Mail

And also ~/library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Note: If a user wants to open hidden user’s library folders in the Finder then go to the folder and enter

 ~/Library/ and select Go >> Go to Folder and paste >>

Note:  For importing process, it is necessary to have access to the old messages originally located in this folder:
~/Library/Mail/

To import to the different version of Mail.app follow the steps mentioned below:

• First of all, shut down mail.app.
• Retrieve messagerules.plist from mail’s old folder.
• Next, move to the new location, i.e. ~/library/mail/v2/maildata/.
• Get rid of messagerules.plist.backup from the current folder.
• Now, launch mail.app.
• Confirm the rules from the preferences.

Import MBOX file into Mail app on Mac

• Open Mail App: Launch the Mail app on your Mac.
• Access Import Option: Go to File > Import Mailboxes
• From the list of popular MBOX-based email clients, select Apple Mail option, and click ‘Continue.’

• Choose MBOX File: Locate and select your MBOX file, then click Choose.

• Select Destination: Choose the destination mailbox and click Continue.
• Preview the MBOX files extracted from mailboxes to verify, and then click ‘Continue’.
• Restart the mail.app.
• Complete Import: Wait for the import process to finish and verify the imported emails.
• Check the system searching tool, to see if it is working.
• If not, update the spotlight index using the sudo mdutil-E/ shell command.

Drawbacks of Fixing the No valid MBOX files found Errors manually

The above manual method can be used to fix the No valid MBOX files found error in Apple Mail, however, that method is unbelievably time consuming and needs technical expertise to perform that can also be risky, in that you may lose data by entering the wrong command. Therefore, in this case if you are planning to move from Apple Mail to Outlook due to these errors, you can also use MBOX Converter tool.

In the current market there are various tools available for conversion to converts MBOX files to different file formats such as PST, MSG and EML. The conversion tool not only works with Apple Mail, but also with many other popular MBOX clients such as, Google Takeout, Thunderbird, Spicebird, Entourage, Pocomail, Eudora, Mulberry, SeaMonkey, Opera Mail, Netscape and Evolution.

To resolve the “No Valid MBOX files were found” error, you can use MBOX converter tools for Mac.

Here are the following available options along with their benefits:

1. SysTools MBOX Exporter Tool

• Benefits:
  • Supports Multiple Formats: Converts MBOX files to various formats including PST, EML, and MSG.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Easy to navigate and use, even for non-technical users.
  • Batch Conversion: Allows you to convert multiple MBOX files at once.
  • Preserves Email Metadata: Maintains email attributes such as subject, date, and attachments.

2. Aryson MBOX Migrator Tool

• Benefits:
  • High Compatibility: Supports conversion from MBOX to PST, EML, and other formats.
  • Advanced Filtering: Provides options to filter emails based on date range, sender, and more.
  • Preview Feature: Allows users to preview emails before conversion.
  • Preserves Folder Structure: Keeps the original folder hierarchy intact during conversion.

3. Stellar MBOX to PST Converter

• Benefits:
  • Comprehensive Conversion: Converts MBOX files to PST and other formats like EML and MSG.
  • Intuitive Interface: Simple and easy-to-use interface for quick conversions.
  • Selective Conversion: Enables conversion of specific emails or folders rather than the entire file.
  • Email Recovery: Recovers lost or corrupted emails during the conversion process.

4. BitRecover MBOX Converter Wizard

• Benefits:
  • Wide Format Support: Converts MBOX files to various formats including PST, EML, and PDF.
  • Batch Conversion Capability: Converts multiple MBOX files in one go.
  • Easy Navigation: User-friendly interface suitable for all levels of users.
  • Maintains Email Integrity: Ensures that email formatting and attachments are preserved.

These tools can help resolve issues with MBOX files by converting them into formats compatible with your desired email client or application.

Final Conclusion:

These MBOX converters offer various features to address the “No Valid MBOX files were found” error, helping you convert MBOX files to formats compatible with your email client. For additional options and features, consider exploring other available MBOX converters to find the one that best suits your needs.