To find an older message from a particular person, search in Mail on your Mac using the sender and a date range, then check that the search includes the mailbox where the message may be stored. Start with the sender’s name or email address, add a date range such as 04/02/23 to 04/19/23, and narrow the mailbox scope if needed. Mail’s search suggestions and filters help combine these clues; Apple does not document a special “old mail” command.

Search by sender and date in Mail

  1. Open Mail and click the search field in the toolbar. If it is hidden, click the Search button in the toolbar.

  2. Enter the sender’s name or email address. For a sender-field search, type from: followed by the name or address, such as from: alex@example.com, then choose the matching Mail suggestion. Apple documents searching a message-header field by entering its name, a colon, and the value, and then selecting a suggestion. Apple’s Mail search guide

  3. Add the date range in the same search field, for example 04/02/23 to 04/19/23, using the date style appropriate to your Mac’s region. Choose the corresponding Mail suggestion if one appears. Apple documents entering a date range in this form; it does not specify a universal date format or document before: and after: operators, so use the range format shown in Mail’s guidance rather than assuming those commands work.

  4. Confirm the search filters reflect both the sender and date range. Mail says that multiple filters narrow results to messages matching all selected filters. If the results disappear, remove one filter at a time to find which criterion is too restrictive.

The dates above are an example, not a fixed search phrase. Replace them with the period you want. For instance, to look for a message from last spring, choose start and end dates that cover the period you mean, then inspect the displayed dates in the results.

Search the right mailbox scope

Mail can search one mailbox or all mailboxes. If you started inside a folder such as Inbox, look below the search field for Search all mailboxes and select it when the message might be archived, filed elsewhere, or in another account. You can also select one or more mailboxes in the sidebar or Favorites bar before searching. Apple notes that if a search returns no results in the current mailbox, you can switch to Search all mailboxes. Apple’s Mail search guide

For an account-specific search, select the relevant account’s mailbox in the sidebar, then repeat the sender-and-date search. This avoids mixing results from several accounts when you know which address received the message. Mail supports selecting an account or multiple mailboxes from its sidebar. Apple’s guide to reading and responding to email

Check and refine the results

Mail may put Top Results first, based on factors such as messages you recently read or replied to and VIP senders. Do not assume the first result is the oldest or the only match. Review the result list and, where useful, sort it by date: choose View > Sort By, then choose Date and an order. Apple documents sorting by date and by sender. Apple’s Mail search guide

If several messages appear as one conversation, click the message count on the top message to show the individual emails. That lets you check the date and sender of a specific message inside the thread rather than relying on the conversation’s top row. Mail groups conversations by default and provides a message count to reveal their individual emails. Apple’s guide to reading and responding to email

When a search is too narrow, remove a filter and broaden the date range. Check whether you searched the correct account and whether all mailboxes were included. A result can also be missed if the sender’s display name differs from the name or address you entered; try the email address, or use a shorter part of the name and inspect the matches.

What Mail search can and cannot tell you

Mail’s documented controls support searching by sender header, entering a date range, combining filters, changing mailbox scope, and sorting results. Apple’s guide does not document a dedicated “search only old messages” switch or an exact command for dates before or after a point. If you need a wider time window, enter a range that covers it and check the result dates. Search results depend on what Mail can currently find in the selected mailbox scope, so verify the account and folders before concluding that a message is absent.

For a quick workflow: search the sender, add the date range, switch to all mailboxes if needed, then sort or open conversations to confirm the specific message. This keeps the search focused while leaving you a clear way to broaden it if the message does not appear.

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