Images attached with macOS Mail are not visible to Microsoft Exchange recipients

Hello,


I am using MacOS 26.1 Tahoe, but this happened previously with Sequoia as well.


When I send email with attachments using MacOS Mail to a recipient who is using Microsoft Exchange, the recipient cannot see the attached images.


I have these checked:

Edit > Attachments > Always Send Windows-Friendly Attachments

and

Edit > Attachments > Always Insert Attachments at End of Messsage


Also, I have:

defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing 1

defaults write com.apple.mail EnableIconAttachments 1      


Regardless, recipients who use Exchange always reply that cannot see the attached images. The images are just regular jpegs. I also tried resizing to 300-400kb but it does not help.


However, when I use webmail everything is fine. The issue must be in MacOS Mail.


Anybody had this experience?


Posted on Nov 13, 2025 5:54 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 13, 2025 8:35 AM

I went and did a search on Gemini and got these recommendations


Mac Mail Settings for Exchange Compatibility

The most important step is configuring Apple Mail to use a Windows-friendly format, which helps prevent the creation of the problematic Mac-specific attachment metadata.

Always Insert Attachments at End:

In the Mail app, go to Edit > Attachments.

Ensure that Always Insert Attachments at End of Message has a checkmark next to it.

Why this helps: It forces attachments out of the message body, which is a common cause of embedding/viewing issues for Outlook users.

Send Windows-Friendly Attachments:

In the Mail app, open a new message window.

Click the Attach Files paperclip icon in the toolbar.

In the file selection window, click Options (if visible) or simply look for the checkbox at the bottom.

Check the box next to Send Windows-Friendly Attachments.

Use Plain Text Format (Optional but Effective):

When composing a new email, go to Format > Make Plain Text.

Why this helps: This eliminates all HTML/Rich Text formatting complexity, which often causes issues with how Outlook renders in-line content and attachments.


Best Practices for Attaching Files

Avoid Dragging into the Message Body: While convenient, dragging and dropping files into the text area of the email can cause Apple Mail to embed the file (especially images) in a way that Outlook sees as an un-savable inline element.

Best Method: Use the Attach Files paperclip icon, or drag the file below your signature/the last line of your message body.

Use Universal File Formats: Stick to widely compatible formats:

Documents: PDF, .docx (Word), .xlsx (Excel).

Images: JPEG or PNG.

Avoid: Proprietary or lesser-known file types.

Check File Size Limits: Exchange servers often have strict size limits (e.g., 25MB). If your attachment is very large, consider using Mail Drop (for files up to 5 GB via iCloud) or a shared cloud storage link (like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox) instead.



10 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 13, 2025 8:35 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

I went and did a search on Gemini and got these recommendations


Mac Mail Settings for Exchange Compatibility

The most important step is configuring Apple Mail to use a Windows-friendly format, which helps prevent the creation of the problematic Mac-specific attachment metadata.

Always Insert Attachments at End:

In the Mail app, go to Edit > Attachments.

Ensure that Always Insert Attachments at End of Message has a checkmark next to it.

Why this helps: It forces attachments out of the message body, which is a common cause of embedding/viewing issues for Outlook users.

Send Windows-Friendly Attachments:

In the Mail app, open a new message window.

Click the Attach Files paperclip icon in the toolbar.

In the file selection window, click Options (if visible) or simply look for the checkbox at the bottom.

Check the box next to Send Windows-Friendly Attachments.

Use Plain Text Format (Optional but Effective):

When composing a new email, go to Format > Make Plain Text.

Why this helps: This eliminates all HTML/Rich Text formatting complexity, which often causes issues with how Outlook renders in-line content and attachments.


Best Practices for Attaching Files

Avoid Dragging into the Message Body: While convenient, dragging and dropping files into the text area of the email can cause Apple Mail to embed the file (especially images) in a way that Outlook sees as an un-savable inline element.

Best Method: Use the Attach Files paperclip icon, or drag the file below your signature/the last line of your message body.

Use Universal File Formats: Stick to widely compatible formats:

Documents: PDF, .docx (Word), .xlsx (Excel).

Images: JPEG or PNG.

Avoid: Proprietary or lesser-known file types.

Check File Size Limits: Exchange servers often have strict size limits (e.g., 25MB). If your attachment is very large, consider using Mail Drop (for files up to 5 GB via iCloud) or a shared cloud storage link (like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox) instead.



Nov 13, 2025 9:08 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Your first answer seemed too generic. I explained the problem in my post but maybe I missed something, so here it is again:


  1. You send an email message with attached image from an IMAP account from macOS Mail to an email account that uses Microsoft Exchange. The recipient does not see the images.
  2. You send an email message with attached image from the same IMAP account using a web-based client to an email account that uses Microsoft Exchange. The recipient sees the images.


You want to say that the issue is with the recipient? Have you tried this exact combination?

Nov 19, 2025 11:44 PM in response to nenadr

Another Microsoft Exchange user cannot see the attachments I send with MacOS Mail. So now there are three different users from different companies that use Microsoft Exchange that cannot see attachments sent with MacOS Mail. I also filed a bug at Apple for this. Not sure if they are going to do something about it.

Images attached with macOS Mail are not visible to Microsoft Exchange recipients

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