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Why is Gmail not pushed to iPhone?

M

mrochester

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 8, 2009
5,091
3,069
Hi all

Excuse my ignorance but I really don't understand why gmail doesn't get pushed to the iPhone. In settings I have fetch new data set to push, yet mail only arrives every 15 minutes (which is what the fetch setting is set too). I have a WP7 phone too, and gmail is pushed to that. However, I can't see any difference in how the account is setup on either phone so I don't understand why it works on one but not the other.

Has anyone got a really simple explanation for this?

Many thanks

M.
 
You need to set up gmail as a microsoft exchange email account for it to push properly. Drawback is that you then cannot search the servers for old emails. I prefer having my emails sent to my iPhone almost instantaneously, so I have my gmail set up as exchange and have a safari bookmark for gmail.com if I ever need to search for an email.
 
Thanks, but I have already read that there is a workaround. What I'm trying to understand is why it doesn't work in the first place if anyone can explain that.
 
The simple answer is, you can get push gmail. It's just not called "push". If you are asking why not just make it a button you can turn on and off, probably because gmail also have the functionality to sync calendars, contacts, etc. Could be because google is a competitor and apple doesnt want to make it easy. In any case, again the asnwer to your original question is that you can get push notifications for gmail.
 
If you're referring to push as in, every time you get an email you get a popup saying you got an email, I think this is impossible with GMail, no matter how it's set up.
 
Gmail wasn't originally developed with a Push function. While the servers were always capable of receiving emails on time, the exchange synchronization method wasn't employed until much later. Android phones have the Gmail sync on automatically but on iOS devices, it's not enabled by default since the Gmail activesync was not built into iOS.
 
murdercitydevil said:
If you're referring to push as in, every time you get an email you get a popup saying you got an email, I think this is impossible with GMail, no matter how it's set up.
Click to expand...

I'm referring to push as in as soon as the email arrives on the gmail server, I get notified on my iPhone (much the same way as you do with a MobileMe account).

So it's something that's missing from iOS devices that stops it working?
 
mrochester said:
Thanks, but I have already read that there is a workaround. What I'm trying to understand is why it doesn't work in the first place if anyone can explain that.
Click to expand...

What do you mean, "workaround?"

2 people advised you to re-setup your e-mail as an Exchange account. Is that what you've done? That's not a workaround so I really don't know what you're talking about or who you're responding to.

mrochester said:
I'm referring to push as in as soon as the email arrives on the gmail server, I get notified on my iPhone
Click to expand...

What does this mean? A red badge? A sound? A blue-pop-up-box? There's a lot of things you could be talking about, you need to be more specific about what you want to happen.
 
mrochester said:
I'm referring to push as in as soon as the email arrives on the gmail server, I get notified on my iPhone (much the same way as you do with a MobileMe account).

So it's something that's missing from iOS devices that stops it working?
Click to expand...

My phone goes "ding" the instant an email hits the gmail server, so....I'd call that push email.
 
mrochester said:
I'm referring to push as in as soon as the email arrives on the gmail server, I get notified on my iPhone (much the same way as you do with a MobileMe account).

So it's something that's missing from iOS devices that stops it working?
Click to expand...

People already told you how to do it: all you have to do is set it up as an exchange account and it will work the same way mobile me does...

And it's not a "workaround", it's how google tells you to set up your gmail for push...
 
I think the confusion is that he's specifically looking for a "push" implementation when Google used ActiveSync instead.

To OP: ActiveSync does the same thing as push, only it's a technology that's owned by Microsoft. Set up your gmail account on your iPhone using Exchange (which employs the ActiveSync protocol) just like everyone is telling you to do.
 
What do you mean, "workaround?"

2 people advised you to re-setup your e-mail as an Exchange account. Is that what you've done? That's not a workaround so I really don't know what you're talking about or who you're responding to.
Click to expand...

I don't have to setup an Exchange server to get Gmail to push to a WP7 or Android phone, so it looks to me like this is a workaround to get it to work on an iOS device! It's basically not working the same way on an iOS device as it does on a WP7 or Android device and I'm wondering why not.

My phone goes "ding" the instant an email hits the gmail server, so....I'd call that push email.
Click to expand...

What are your mail settings? I have mine setup to push, but only get GMail emails through every 15 minutes when the device manually fetches.
 
mrochester said:
I don't have to setup an Exchange server to get Gmail to push to a WP7 or Android phone, so it looks to me like this is a workaround to get it to work on an iOS device! It's basically not working the same way on an iOS device as it does on a WP7 or Android device.



What are your mail settings? I have mine setup to push, but only get GMail emails through every 15 minutes when the device manually fetches.
Click to expand...

Look. At. The. Link. I. Posted.

You don't need to do anything advanced. You don't even need to use your computer. You set up Gmail as a Microsoft Exchange account. You barely have to do anything

Try it, send yourself an email, and boom you'll see magic!
 
mrochester said:
What are your mail settings? I have mine setup to push, but only get GMail emails through every 15 minutes when the device manually fetches.
Click to expand...

Please go to:
SETTINGS > MAIL, CONTACTS, CALENDARS > FETCH NEW DATA > ADVANCED > ...and then click on the e-mail account.

Do you see PUSH - FETCH - MANUAL in there or just FETCH - MANUAL?
 
Yumunum said:
Look. At. The. Link. I. Posted.

You don't need to do anything advanced. You don't even need to use your computer. You set up Gmail as a Microsoft Exchange account. You barely have to do anything
Click to expand...

I'm not asking how to do it (because I can follow the instructions myself), I am trying to find out why I need to do it in the first place.

Do you see PUSH - FETCH - MANUAL in there or just FETCH - MANUAL?
Click to expand...

There's only Fetch or Manual for my GMail account
My MobileMe account shows Push, Fetch and Manual.

What is it specifically about iOS devices that means there isn't a "Push" option under the GMail account? This is what I'd like to know!
 
mrochester said:
I don't have to setup an Exchange server to get Gmail to push to a WP7 or Android phone, so it looks to me like this is a workaround to get it to work on an iOS device! It's basically not working the same way on an iOS device as it does on a WP7 or Android device and I'm wondering why not.
Click to expand...

It's not a work-around, it's a different protocol. It's called 'Exchange'.


mrochester said:
What are your mail settings? I have mine setup to push, but only get GMail emails through every 15 minutes when the device manually fetches.
Click to expand...

Follow the above explanations please. Stop asking the same question when everyone in this thread has answered it. You didn't set it up properly. That's why it's not working.
 
mrochester said:
I'm not asking how to do it (because I can follow the instructions myself), I am trying to find out why I need to do it in the first place.
Click to expand...

Because when Google made G-Mail they decided how it would work and that's how they decided to make it.

Go ahead and call Google if you really care, we can't read their mind.
 
Could you please take the time to read the responses you are getting?

Gmail uses ActiveSync (a Microsoft technology) which is just like Push, but not the same thing. That is why you must set it up through Microsoft Exchange on the iPhone. Naturally you would just set it up normally on the Android and WP7 as this is their implementation of what Apple calls Push.

Edit: Amazing how many very similar responses this gets at the same time. So many people trying to help, but the OP just doesn't want to read our answers!
 
mrochester said:
I'm not asking how to do it (because I can follow the instructions myself), I am trying to find out why I need to do it in the first place.
Click to expand...

I don't know if anyone has a real answer to that. It could be for a lot of reasons. Maybe Google's trying to make the experience bad so you'll switch to an Android phone ;)

Android does have the best Email experience, I hate to admit it... I missed the sweet Gmail app once I switched to iOS
 
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