IMAP and POP Mail Access Question

[Twobrothersbusa]

I have an email account that we have had forever and have been connected using outlook during that time. I recently added a work IPhone to my tool box and when I configure the account on the IPhone it connects to the mail server using IMAP. The problem is that when the IPhone is connected to mail, Outlook can't check mail. Throws up an error message about server is busy. As soon as I delete the email account on the IPhone the Outlook POP Mail connection is fine.

Charter was ZERO help. Anybody know enough about this to shed any light on my issue?

Thanks.

 

[captain]

So here is the deal as it appears to me.....

POP3 stands for post office protocol version 3, this is where you have a client that goes to the server, checks your account for new email and typically downloads it from the server to your client like outlook. SMTP stands for simple mail transfer protocol. This is a simple solution to send emails from your client computer to the mail server, then its passed from server to server until someone ultimately downloads it from their post office on a server to their client application like outlook.

IMAP works completely differently...

The data resides on the server that you are connecting to, instead of downloading the data your emails stay on the server. The connection from an IMAP device like an IPHONE, IPAD or droid has a constant connection... You can have multiple devices that use IMAP like a phone and your outlook on your computer, this way if you delete an email in one place you instantly see the change on the other, that is because the data is actually on the server and you are syncing your devices all the time...

You will have problems mixing the two solutions, one is downloading the emails to your computer and the other device is trying to sync to it.... Pick one or the other...

cap

 

[skydivr]

Charlie, go back and change the inbound port to the correct port for POP on the iphone.

Here's my situation so it might help you make yours:

I have several accounts that I check with both my iphone and work computer. I prefer to look at it on the iphone, but hold it until my work computer downloads it into outlook (as many times there are attachments too big/wrong kind for the iphone to understand). For me, Outlook on my work machine is my MASTER email repository. Everything else is just 'viewing and short responses'.

I use POP; my iphone is set to "leave a copy on server" and Outlook is set to "remove from server". That way, no matter what my phone gets, and even if I immediately delete it, it remains on the server for Outlook to pick it up the next time I am in my office. This method works great for me.

HOWEVER, I also have a hotmail account that I look at on my iPhone. Hotmail is strictly IMAP. I have to be more careful with this mail, becuase IMAP is actually working on the server instead of on the phone; any change I make while looking at that mail on my iphone effects whats on the hotmail server. If i delete an email from hotmail on my phone, it will be gone (and in the deleted items folder) when I go look at it from work (or any browser for that matter).

I can help you with these settings, as I also have a Charter account like you. It's in the port settings - charter uses one inbound port for IMAP and one inbound port for POP. You just need to configure your phone (don't let it automatically configure) and choose the correct port settings. Let me look at mine in the morning and I'll send you a PM or we can talk....

 

[skydivr]

Actually, here it is, same port but POP uses a different INCOMING mail server address than IMAP...Iphones default to try and automatically find the IMAP connection first. You can manually set to use the POP incoming server...Use the top settings and IGNORE the bottom ones even though it says to use them...

From Charter:

Email Settings

If you are accessing your Charter.net Email address from a SINGLE desktop computer (PC, Mac Pro etc…) and have NO mobile devices (Smartphones/PDA’s, IPod, Laptop computers, tablet computers, eReader, Kindle Fire, Nook, Digital Camera etc…) configured to access the same Email address AND do not plan on acquiring any, use these settings:

• Server Type: POP3
• Incoming Mail server: POP.charter.net
• Port: 110
• Outgoing Mail Server: SMTP.charter.net
• Port: 25

If you are accessing your Charter.net Email address from MULTIPLE desktop computers and/or have mobile devices configured to access the same Email address use these settings:

• Server Type: IMAP
• Incoming Mail server: IMAP.charter.net
• Port: 143
• Outgoing Mail Server: SMTP.charter.net
• Port: 25

 

[skydivr]

Note, when one POP connection is trying to get mail, it will block the other temporarily (until the first one finishes). Like Cap said, IMAP is connected all the time (therefore the POP account can't get to it).

With POP, if both are set to "Remove from Server" then whichever one fetches FIRST gets the mail, and it's gone when the other one tries. That's why I leave my iphone on "leave on server" and Outlook on "remove"....

 

[Mouth]

If you are using an iPhone don't use IMAP or POP. Use Exchange. For example, I had my Gmail set up at IMAP, but I wasn't able to get certain messages (when people would send a text from their phone to my email). So I set it up as an Exchange account and there are other features you get that you don't with the others. Exchange > IMAP > POP. Not to mention if you set it up as an Exchange account it should work the way you want and won't interfere with your home access. You can just Google how to set it up for your respective mail provider. It is very easy.

 

[skydivr]

that only works if you have an exchange server available....Charter doesn't.

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Thanks for the replies gang, going to give it another try tonight.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

I check 'leave mssgs on server' in outlook and have all emails in both phone and pc.
Sometimes a week or two will go by and I'll have like 600 unopened emails in my outlook but I need to keep about 10% of them so I just delete ones I don't need. I'm actually using my companies email address thru go daddy and have outlook and iPhone pull from there.

 

[captain]

Why dont you guys run IMAP so you can sync all your emails? I dont get why you would want to have to delete emails twice...

 

[skydivr]

I'll tell you why Cap. I get some mail that I may want to briefly look at, but then store later (or the attachments, ect.) that the iPhone can't handle, so I wait until my desktop downloads and cleans server off. That way, I know, no matter where I am, if I'm NOT at my desktop, it will still be ok. Yes, sometimes I have to clean my iphone inbox in situations where my iphone hit the account before my desktop does, but I'll gladly do that...

 

[captain]

I'll tell you why Cap. I get some mail that I may want to briefly look at, but then store later (or the attachments, ect.) that the iPhone can't handle, so I wait until my desktop downloads and cleans server off. That way, I know, no matter where I am, if I'm NOT at my desktop, it will still be ok. Yes, sometimes I have to clean my iphone inbox in situations where my iphone hit the account before my desktop does, but I'll gladly do that...

That still makes no sense Keith... If you cant see it in IMAP then you cant see it in POP3. IMAP gives you the ability to delete those crappy emails you never need while using your phone and when you get to the office only the good emails are still there... If you accidentally delete an email then it will be in the synced deleted folder...

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

I use go daddy so I can check emails from anywhere in the world.
As Keith says iPhone doesn't show all attachments and some are company related.
I need to save those for work. Others I delete. Everything non essential gets deleted immediately from phone.

Am I doing it wrong? If you know an easier way please explain in English ?

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Well, I've tried every suggested setting (plus more!) and the IPhone can't access via IMAP without causing the Outlook client send/receive to fail. My android IS connected via IMAP and works fine with the Outlook client. Those same settings from my android device applied to the IPhone still hose up the Outlook POP connection.

I GIVE...thanks for the help guys.

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Ok, I lied, still goofing with this stuff. The house commander uses Outlook as a file repository for everything. (I've tried to change her ways...) If we convert her email account from POP connection to IMAP, then every email she has locally in Outlook tries to replicate to the server.

If you know a way around that, then we might could make this work.

Why dont you guys run IMAP so you can sync all your emails? I dont get why you would want to have to delete emails twice...

 

[captain]

Charlie just create a temp folder and move all of your emails from your inbox over to them... Once you do that then move outlook over to IMAP to, give it some time and let it sync up, when that is done then move all the emails in the temp folder back to the inbox and then all of your devices will sync

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Will it not synch the messages when I move them back to the inbox? When I tried some stuff as a test, I created a new folder on a different PC running Outlook. With the IMAP connection it created the new folder on the server.

Charlie just create a temp folder and move all of your emails from your inbox over to them... Once you do that then move outlook over to IMAP to, give it some time and let it sync up, when that is done then move all the emails in the temp folder back to the inbox and then all of your devices will sync

 

[captain]

Will it not synch the messages when I move them back to the inbox? When I tried some stuff as a test, I created a new folder on a different PC running Outlook. With the IMAP connection it created the new folder on the server.

You need to go into outlook and tell it what folders you want to sync.. if you are going to sync it with a phone then you want to limit what you sync because of size. I sync just the inbox, deleted and a couple of other folders...

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Crap and thank you in the same email...need to go check this out.

You need to go into outlook and tell it what folders you want to sync.. if you are going to sync it with a phone then you want to limit what you sync because of size. I sync just the inbox, deleted and a couple of other folders...

 

[skydivr]

I don't sync my email folders when I sync my iPhone. Only contacts, notes, calender. I have no desire to attempt to actually STORE mail on my iphone.

The only reason/time I want any mail going to my iphone is when I am NOT at my work computer. My work computer is my "master' .pst file; that is the one that gets backed up.

What works for me is that when I'm away from my office (travelling, weekends, etc.) I just briefly look over new mail, reply to stuff I want, and delete all I don't - or want to look at later - as I know it will all show up again when I get to work and run my email program. It might not work as well if I had a LARGE volume of email a day, but with an average of 50/day it's well within my ability to handle. When I get back to work, it's easy enough to permanently delete what I don't want (junk, stuff already dealt with, dated info) and keep the stuff I wasn't able to work on until I got back).

Can't say it would work for others, but it's been working GREAT for me for several years. Everybody's got their own system.