how do I sync gmail (the actual email) between my Apple devices

[abs9986]

I want to sync my gmail between my mac and iPhone so that when I delete a message on my iPhone it will also delete the message in the mail app on my mac (which I use gmail for). I believe that I have gmail set up as an exchange account.

Thanks,

 

[pdjudd]

If it is setup as exchange, it should do just what you want it to do - that's the purpose of exchange. Googles documentation on their website should provide you with a guide on what to do.

 

[BrianBaughn]

And be sure you're email account is set up as IMAP on the Mac (and IMAP enabled at your Gmail account).

 

[abs9986]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Which is it imap or exchange

 

[aristobrat]

Both will sync like you want it to. POP is the protocol that you want to avoid.

 

[MRU]

IMAP will sync email between all device but will not allow access to Gogle calendar and contact syncing.

Exchange setup with the m.google.com settings will allow you're devices to sync Calendar and Contacts alongside Email.

Pop email only, traditionally downloads your material from the server and deletes it fom the server in the process, so can only sync to one device at a time otherwise you end up with your email scattered. However in google settings you can set it up that when accessed via pop it will eave a copy on the server.


That's your 3 options, take your pick.

 

[Arelunde]

OR, you can have gmail forward all your mail to iCloud mail account and it will be synced that way.

Better yet, dump the gmail and use iCloud - it a PITA to do, but sure simplifies everything, especially contacts issues.

 

[abs9986]

so I re-added my gmail as an IMAP for my mac mail. (Based on research I believe you cannot add gmail as an exchange account on the mac - on my iPhone I do use the exchange method).

So anyways, now my gmail is IMAP but I am having problems. First, it only syncs with my iPhone if I actually exit it and re-open. So if I delete an email on my iPhone - the email will still be on my mac mail unless I exit out of mail and re=open it. I want this to happen automatically.

Bigger problem - now I can't send and receive email through my mac. The gmail IMAP account downloaded all of my old messages but it will not receive any new emails. I tried writing emails to myself and it worked on my phone but not on my mac. I used the google recommended settings for mac mail and also have Use IDLE command if the server supports it is enabled (so I can have push)

I'm really getting frustrated .

 

[aristobrat]

So anyways, now my gmail is IMAP but I am having problems. First, it only syncs with my iPhone if I actually exit it and re-open. So if I delete an email on my iPhone - the email will still be on my mac mail unless I exit out of mail and re=open it. I want this to happen automatically.

It's been my experience that when you delete (or move a message to a folder) with IMAP, the server (where your email is ultimately stored) isn't notified of what you did until either your Mail client checks for email again. Once the server has been made aware of what you did, then the next time your other devices check in, they'll get the update (and delete or move the email accordingly). As long as your Mail clients are set to check your email on a schedule, then it should happen automatically. Doesn't mean it'll happen instantaneously though.

Bigger problem - now I can't send and receive email through my mac. The gmail IMAP account downloaded all of my old messages but it will not receive any new emails. I tried writing emails to myself and it worked on my phone but not on my mac.

So what happens? Are you getting any error messages on your Mac? With me, the Mail app tends to take the Inbox off-line when that happens. You'll see a funky icon next to your gmail Inbox.

 

[abs9986]

it looks like the issue just sorted it self out. maybe like you said the server needed to figure itself out. I'm pretty happy with gmail - is there any advantage to use an iCloud email?

 

[newagemac]

Better integration, better support for features, and consistency between the way your email works on your Mac, the web, and your iOS devices.

It also allows you to take better advantage of the way Apple separates calendars, chat, and contacts as apps while at the same time integrating them better with email.

And then with Mountain Lion and iOS5, everything from that point forward is really easy setup by just logging in with your username and password.