Apple Mail Error Code 10673 – Error Clicking Links and Attaching on Mac

A reader asked me about that today Error code 10673, which he always ejects when he wants to open an attachment in Apple Mail on the Mac. I haven't encountered this error yet, but in the Apple support forum there is an entry that provides at least some information about it.

Apple Mail Error 10673 when clicking links in emails

Missing browser selected as default?

As far as I could read, error 10673 appears to be due to the fact that you want to open an attachment or a link in an email and macOS then doesn't have a suitable one Browser available as the default browser.

This can be quickly checked and resolved by specifying Apple's own "Safari" browser for the Mac. Even if this might not be everyone's favorite choice, you can try it first to see whether the error can be eliminated with it.

Set Safari as the default browser

The default browser is specified for macOS in the following way:

1. Apple menu (top left in Finder)
2. System Settings
3. General
4. Select Default Web Browser → Safari

Here again the screenshot of the system settings (for me under macOS Monterey):

The macOS default web browser should be set to Safari to rule this out as a source of error for code 10673.

Browser available, but wrong version selected in system settings?

A user wrote in the Apple Support Forum that it couldn't be the case that you have to use Safari as the default web browser, otherwise errors will occur. He's right, of course, but it's also not the case that this error always occurs if you've selected a different standard web browser.

My idea for a cause would be that, for example, Firefox used to (at least for me) not throw the current app into the bin with an update and installed a new Firefox app, but another folder "Firefox" with the corresponding app placed in the "Programs" folder.

The result could be that the reference to the original browser app still exists, but the actual app is no longer there. Accordingly, macOS cannot find the browser with which a link or attachment should be opened.

Whether this is technically the case I can't say... it's just an idea of ​​what could go wrong to trigger error 10673.

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.