You most likely can’t open the mailbox in World of Warcraft: Forever because of a bug: it lights up, your cursor turns into a letter, and right-clicking does nothing. The quickest fix is to walk to a different mailbox, and if that fails, log out fully, log back in, and wait about 30 seconds before you try again.
Below are the fixes in the order worth trying, where the bug has shown up, and what to check if the problem goes beyond the mailbox. Blizzard had not acknowledged this on its known issues list, last updated November 5, or in its hotfix notes through November 6, when we checked on November 8. It also occurred during the beta.
What the Bug Looks Like
Mouse over the mailbox and it highlights, and the cursor changes to the mail icon as it should. Right-click and no mail window opens, with no error message. It is not about your level: it hits level 1 alts and leveling mains alike. It is not about addons either, since it happens with every addon turned off. It can come and go on the same character, with one mailbox dead and another a short walk away working fine.
Other things to click can fail at the same moment. In Auberdine, the wanted poster by the inn and an anvil in town stopped responding along with the mailbox, and the sign that gives the Hogger quest in Elwynn Forest has done the same. If several objects near you ignore your clicks, it is the same problem.
How to Fix It, in Order
- Walk to another mailbox. This is the fastest fix. In Stormwind, the boxes outside the Auction House and the bank in the Trade District were the dead ones, while the box on the canal path toward the Mage Quarter worked. In Ironforge, the box by the inn worked when the one by the bank did not. In Orgrimmar, walking away from the box by the Auction House to another one did it.
- Wait about 30 seconds after you log in. Clicking a mailbox right after logging in or switching characters can trigger the bug, so if you just arrived, give it a moment.
- Log out fully and back in. Go to the login screen rather than typing
/reload, which does not help. Walking a few yards away from the mailbox before you log out can help as well. - Leave the zone and come back. The mailbox can work again once you land in a different copy of the zone, which crossing a zone line can do. Our layers guide explains how copies work.
- Clear the Cache folder. Close the game completely, open your World of Warcraft install folder, go to
_forever_\Cacheand delete what is inside that folder only. It has fixed some mailboxes and not others, so try it after the free fixes above. A scan and repair from the launcher did not help in the case we saw.
If none of that works, report it on Blizzard’s WoW Forever bug report forum or in game, and try a mailbox in a different town next time you pass one.
Where It Has Shown Up
It is not limited to one city or faction. Since launch it has hit mailboxes in Stormwind’s Trade District, Ironforge by the bank, Kharanos at the inn, Auberdine, Valanaar, Thallsamar and Shen’dar Village, and on the Horde side in Orgrimmar by the Auction House, Thunder Bluff, Bloodhoof Village, The Crossroads, Razor Hill, Brill and The Sepulcher. Any of them may work fine for you today, and a box that fails for you can work for someone else standing beside it.
How to Find Another Mailbox
Ask a city guard. The directions list on the Darnassus Sentinel we spoke to includes Mailbox, along with the Auction House, the bank, the inn and the trainers. Inns and banks are good places to look, since towns and cities tend to keep a box close to them.
If Trade and the Auction House Are Blocked Too
If trading and the Auction House are blocked along with your mail, you may be looking at something else. A Temporary Economy Hold is an account flag for suspected real-money gold trading, and Blizzard’s post on the holds says you “will have restricted use of trade, mail, guild banks and the Auction House while this economic hold is in place.”
Blizzard says false alarms are removed automatically. Our Auction House troubleshooting guide walks through those holds, and our guide to buying gold covers what can trigger one.
What Is Stuck in There
- Auction House money. Sale proceeds arrive by mail, so a dead mailbox can feel like lost gold. Our Auction House guide explains where to sell, and the mail notice means your items are waiting for you.
- Mail between your own characters. Forever’s names have two parts, so address mail with the full name. Blizzard’s notes include a fix for “an issue where in-game mail could ignore surnames.”
- Mail from friends in another region. It cannot reach you. Americas and Oceania, Europe, Korea and Taiwan are separate, as our guide to how many servers there are explains.
Every Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I open the mailbox in WoW Forever? It is most likely a bug that leaves the mailbox lit up but dead. Walk to a different mailbox, or log out fully and back in, then wait about 30 seconds.
Does /reload fix the mailbox? No. Log out to the login screen instead, and walk a few yards from the mailbox first.
Is it my addons? It happens with every addon turned off, so turning them off will not fix it, though it is harmless to rule out.
Does clearing the cache fix it? Sometimes. It has fixed some mailboxes and not others. Close the game first and delete only what is inside _forever_\Cache.
Has Blizzard fixed the mailbox bug? Not that it has announced. It was not on the known issues list updated November 5 or in the hotfix notes through November 6, as of November 8.
Why can’t I use mail, trade or the Auction House? Your account may be under a Temporary Economy Hold, which restricts all of them. Blizzard says false alarms are removed automatically.
Where do I get my Auction House gold if the mailbox is broken? It waits in your mail. Go to another mailbox or use the fixes above to collect it.