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iCloud and outgoing mail reliability

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exi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 16, 2012
440
78
I have sent a few emails recently to people who generally respond to emails. This, combined with the recent concerns regarding silent spam filtering, makes me wonder if iCloud mail simply is not as reliable as other services. If not this instance, in general.

All of my hardware is Apple-made. I was formerly a Gmail user of many, many years. I used to try to be platform-agnostic; I neither love nor hate any given company.

I am also a minimalist, and given that all of my hardware is Apple hardware, iCloud makes sense. But, if the mail service is not up to par in terms of reliability when compared to Gmail or Outlook.com, well, that's just not good.

That said, does anybody have any suggestions on how I might use another service and have it be as streamlined as iCloud is? Push support by way of ActiveSync is a must if not iCloud on phones and tablets. No traditional IMAP on mobile devices. Desktop service must be by IMAP IDLE or by Exchange / ActiveSync connection.

I do plan on trying Office for Mac 2014, and I plan on purchasing the iPhone 6 later this year, so iCloud still is asensible decision. I just need a mail service which is as reliable as they come.
 
Z

Zea74

macrumors member
Apr 14, 2008
32
17
Belgium
I've had recently some cases where after sending a mail (and having the sound disabled, thereby not hearing the 'sent' sound), I noticed the next day that the mail was actually still in the outgoing folder. Not sent. Quite annoying, as beyond that I'm quite happy with the iCloud service.
I haven't yet figured out whether the problem is related to the repeated 'could not connect to server' messages that I'm getting recently as well when checking my mail.
All of this on iOS devices - my Mac Mail is getting little attention these days.

I think that - until Siri starts being able to read your mails and react upon them - something like Gmail is still a perfect alternative. Though you might have glitches there as well, but that's another forum topic :cool:
 
E

exi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 16, 2012
440
78
Interesting. I've not seen anything like that yet.

Have you or anyone else had any other receipt issues after successful send? I love the simplicity of one service with mail, contacts, calendaring, tasks, notes, etc., all easily synchronized to all devices, but if iCloud mail is more likely to never make it to its destination when compared to Gmail or Outlook.com, that's not okay.
 
impaler

impaler

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2006
474
52
USA
exi said:
I have sent a few emails recently to people who generally respond to emails. This, combined with the recent concerns regarding silent spam filtering, makes me wonder if iCloud mail simply is not as reliable as other services. If not this instance, in general.
Click to expand...

Both the Apple Support Forums and these forums are rife with cases of silent email filtering. In Feb 2013, it was brought to light, and talked about a lot. And so far, not one word from Apple regarding reliability. I've had some of the same challenges, and simply don't trust it for important stuff I must receive. It's not that stuff is filtered without placing it in the junk box; it's that Apple doesn't tell us what its standards are.

If reliability is your main criterion, go back to Gmail. Or try Outlook. Or hosting your own domain.

I'm sure others will say, "Works for me"...that doesn't invalidate the fact MANY people have problems with it, and it's rarely mentioned or recommended as the right solution for a reason.
 
E

exi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 16, 2012
440
78
Thanks much. Yep, I remember hearing about the silent filtering messes a couple of times over the past year or so.

My thing is, how can I have as seamless a setup as iCloud allows among multiple devices but with reliability / predictability of another service?

Gmail phased out push for new devices awhile back, and Outlook.com doesn't allow any easy way to sync contacts or calendars to my laptop, not to mention that it does not support IDLE -- just IMAP.
 
impaler

impaler

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2006
474
52
USA
exi said:
Thanks much. Yep, I remember hearing about the silent filtering messes a couple of times over the past year or so.

My thing is, how can I have as seamless a setup as iCloud allows among multiple devices but with reliability / predictability of another service?

Gmail phased out push for new devices awhile back, and Outlook.com doesn't allow any easy way to sync contacts or calendars to my laptop, not to mention that it does not support IDLE -- just IMAP.
Click to expand...

Outlook does push to iOS devices and Macs under Mail. Works like a champ for me. You need to pick one ecosystem and stick to it, for total integration. Otherwise, I'd go with Outlook for mail (virtually unlimited space), and keep iCloud contacts across devices. Also can import contacts into outlook.com so they're the same. For me, Gmail is my backup, and I use Contacts Sync for Gmail from the Mac App Store, and it keeps the contacts in sync. So if I add to my Mac, iOS device, or on the web at iCloud.com, it is synched to Gmail for my use. Couldn't tell you if there's something like that for Outlook.
 
E

exi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 16, 2012
440
78
How is it that Outlook pushes to OS X? My understanding is that they only went live with IMAP without IMAP IDLE support.

I'd like to stay under one roof, but Outlook.com can't do calendars on OS X as far as I remember. Only thing I'm coming up with is Outlook.com / Gmail for mail, iCloud for everything else. Or something like what you suggested.

Any way I can have my cake and eat it too?
 
impaler

impaler

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2006
474
52
USA
exi said:
How is it that Outlook pushes to OS X? My understanding is that they only went live with IMAP without IMAP IDLE support.

I'd like to stay under one roof, but Outlook.com can't do calendars on OS X as far as I remember. Only thing I'm coming up with is Outlook.com / Gmail for mail, iCloud for everything else. Or something like what you suggested.

Any way I can have my cake and eat it too?
Click to expand...

Nope. Pick an ecosystem and stick to it.
 
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