If you have gmail set up as POP and change to IMAP...

[QCassidy352]

what happens? I'm looking to change a POP account over to IMAP but I don't want to lose anything in the apple mail inbox nor do I want messages from gmail to appear twice in mail (once from POP and once from IMAP). I have a feeling this is easier than I think it is, but I don't want to royally screw up the account owner's email here.

Thanks!

 

[QCassidy352]

Surely someone has done this... please help?

Maybe an example would help. Say you have a gmail account set up as POP. There are currently 100 messages in the inbox on the server and 125 messages in the inbox in mail.app. 75 of these overlap, meaning the server has 25 unique message and mail.app has 50 unique messages.

If you deactivated POP and activated IMAP, what would happen to the 25 messages on the server? The 50 messages in mail?

 

[GoCubsGo]

I did it and IIRC I didn't lose anything.
I would backup via Time Machine first just to be safe. I didn't have TM when I did it so it was a greater risk.
I also archived all e-mails just to be safer.

 

[QCassidy352]

Thanks! That addresses my main concern, but I'm also wondering: did the 25 messages on the server appear in mail? Did the 50 messages in mail appear on the server?

 

[aristobrat]

Instead of monkeying with the existing POP gmail account, can't you create another gmail account in Mail.app, but make that one IMAP?

The IMAP one should mirror exactly what's available via the gmail web interface.

 

[QCassidy352]

Instead of monkeying with the existing POP gmail account, can't you create another gmail account in Mail.app, but make that one IMAP?

The IMAP one should mirror exactly what's available via the gmail web interface.

That would certainly assure that nothing is lost, but it would also create duplicates of everything currently in both places (75 messages, in my example) in mail.app. Right?

 

[steve knight]

once you know the imap account is up todate then delete the pop account. you can always copy and paste messages from the pop to the imap account. thats what I did to get all my emails on my new imap account on gmail.

 

[Queso]

Instead of monkeying with the existing POP gmail account, can't you create another gmail account in Mail.app, but make that one IMAP?

The IMAP one should mirror exactly what's available via the gmail web interface.

This is what I did when I moved from POP to IMAP. Since your POP folders are stored locally on your hard disk you can deactivate the POP link whilst leaving the folders in place, then create a second account using IMAP, link the mailboxes to the relevant Gmail folders and synchronise. Anything that's missing after the sync can be dragged from the POP account to the IMAP one, which will synchronise up to Google as fast as your broadband link will take it.

Best thing I ever did e-mail wise. My iMac at home, MBP for work and my iPhone all sync the same set of e-mail folders thanks to Gmail

IMAP is also far more secure. People forget that POP3 sends your mailbox password in clear text.

 

[swiftaw]

Okay, here's what to do:

1. Are there are any emails that live only on your machine and are no longer on the gmail server? If not, go to 2. If so, in mail.app create a mailbox (Mailbox->New Mailbox) Call it GMail Temp and select Location as On My Mac.
Now, copy any mail in there that is no longer on the gmail server but that you want to keep.

2. Delete your POP Gmail account in mail.app

3. Create a new account setup as IMAP.

4. Copy your mails from the GMail Temp folder to one of the folders listed under Gmail.

5. Done.

 

[QCassidy352]

once you know the imap account is up todate then delete the pop account. you can always copy and paste messages from the pop to the imap account. thats what I did to get all my emails on my new imap account on gmail.

that's perfect. Thank you all very much! Now the only problem is I feel dumb for not thinking of this myself.

 

[steve knight]

once you know the imap account is up todate then delete the pop account. you can always copy and paste messages from the pop to the imap account. thats what I did to get all my emails on my new imap account on gmail.