IMAP on my 5S driving me...nuttier.

[hakr100]

I use IMAP through the stock IOS7 app to handle my gmail on my iPhone 5S.

I also use IMAP on my desktop computer.

If I read a new email on my iPhone and then delete it, it also is deleted on my desktop computer, whether I have read it there or not. I'd like that NOT to happen. I'd like emails on my desktop to remain there in my inbox whether I've read them on my iPhone and deleted them...or not.

Surely there is a setting somewhere to do this. But where, I don't know. I used Thunderbird on my iMac.

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

 

[err404]

I'm not sure why you would want to be reading your emails twice. The whole point of IMAP is to provide better email status syncing between devices/apps. You may want to look into better ways of managing your email. Do a search on "zero inbox".
In any case if you don't want your email to be in sync, just use POP instead of IMAP.

 

[hakr100]

I'm not sure why you would want to be reading your emails twice. The whole point of IMAP is to provide better email status syncing between devices/apps. You may want to look into better ways of managing your email. Do a search on "zero inbox".
In any case if you don't want your email to be in sync, just use POP instead of IMAP.

Why? Because I like things done my way.

I suppose I could convert the iMac email to POP, but I was doing that previously, and I recall that deleting an email on my iPhone when it was using IMAP also deleted it on my iMac when it was using POP.

 

[sbailey4]

Yeah that's how IMAP works. Its actually a "feature" to keep keep things in sync across multiple devices. Sounds like you want real old school POP email. Or a better option is to use folders to manage your mail (not inbox) and move read messages to whatever folder. Can be as simple as a folder called READ or more complex with folders for subject matter, (i.e. receipts, customer x, shipping info, etc). The iPhone mail app allows for easy moving of messages to other folders within the mail app. Then everything is all neat and tidy and saved (which sounds like what you really want) Then use inbox for unread or items that still need attention.

----------

Why? Because I like things done my way.

I suppose I could convert the iMac email to POP, but I was doing that previously, and I recall that deleting an email on my iPhone when it was using IMAP also deleted it on my iMac when it was using POP.

Oh ok then, well if you really like duplicating efforts and want to manage every message on each device separately I suppose you will need to use POP. IMAP simply does not work the way you are describing.

 

[err404]

Why? Because I like things done my way.

I was sincerely trying to be helpful. We live in an age of information overload. It will always be valuable to learn new ways to deal with that information efficiently.

I suppose I could convert the iMac email to POP, but I was doing that previously, and I recall that deleting an email on my iPhone when it was using IMAP also deleted it on my iMac when it was using POP.

I would change your phone to use POP since you seem to view that as your secondary email repo. At a high level POP will just blindly make a copy of all messages in your servers mailbox to the inbox of your local mail app. IMAP on the other hand will more interactively work with the server-side instance of your mailbox to keep things in sync. That means if you delete a message from your phone using IMAP before your desktop POP client syncs the mailbox, it will not be able to copy the deleted email.
IIRC - older versions of iOS used POP by default for gmail. The current version uses IMAP. This may be why you have seen a functional change.

 

[Orlandoech]

Thats how IMAP works and is exactly why I use it.


What is the basic difference between IMAP and POP3?

IMAP can be thought of as "remote" e-mail storage, while POP3 can be thought of as a "store-and-forward" service. Ultimately they both accomplish similar tasks, but often one will suit your needs better than the other.



What are the Benefits of IMAP?

Since you can view just the header information without downloading the entire message, you can delete large messages without wasting time for downloading them. Also, because the messages remain on the server, you can access your mail from multiple locations at the same time and ensure that your messages are always available for you. And, since the messages remain on the server, if your computer crashes you don't have to worry about losing your messages. IMAP is generally faster and more reliable, especially with certain email clients such as Microsoft Outlook.




What are the Benefits of POP3?

Since all of your messages are downloaded immediately, after you check your mail at your computer, you do not need to actually be connected to the Internet to read your email. Also, because the messages are downloaded to your computer you do not need to worry about accruing disk usage charges because the messages do not stay on the servers. Just make sure your email client is set to delete email messages from the server after downloading them, or else all your emails will sit there, taking up space, until you use Webmail or an IMAP client to delete them!



What are the Drawbacks to IMAP?

There are few. Unlike POP3, IMAP requires continual access to the server during the time that you are working with your mail.* Also, because the messages are stored on the server, it becomes much easier to go over your disk quota on our oldest servers. And like any new service, there is a slight learning curve to get used to IMAP since most people are used to using POP3.
*Note: Some email clients have an Offline mode which can negate this drawback, effectively keeping a local copy of your email as well as the copy on the server. Please consult your mail client vendor for how to configure this feature if available to you.



What are the Drawbacks to POP3?

The major drawback to POP3 is that it is an older protocol that was designed before people were able to easily send large emails with attachments. Because POP3 downloads all the mail on the server at once, people are occasionally unable to successfully receive their messages because POP3 will get stuck or disconnect when trying to download large messages. To fix this, people will either need to contact tech support or log onto our webmail system to delete the large messages themselves. Also, if you use POP3 and are traveling or check your mail from multiple locations, you will not be able to view any of your old mail because the messages only exist on the computer on which you originally received your mail. Finally, some email clients, such as Outlook, are more prone to certain bugs (such as downloading duplicates of emails) when using POP3 than IMAP.