FAQ: POP3, GMAIL, forwarding and you

[640k]

Once of the things I immediately noticed with the default email app is how terrible it is. It only loads x days of messages, it doesn't sync with extra folders, the scheduled synching is terrible and breaks often and it's a drain on the device's battery.

For a work-around resolution, the BEST method (short of downloading another application) is to use the GMAIL app and allow GMAIL to check your POP3 accounts for you. When new messages arrive, GMAIL pushes the update to your phone.


To setup GMAIL to check your POP3 accounts:

1. Log into gmail.com from a computer. You can perform these steps from the device's browser, but they're a little different and can be difficult to manage. Perform these steps from the PC as it is the easiest method.
2. Click on the Settings link in the upper-right.
3. Click on the "Accounts and Import" tab.
4. Under the "check mail using POP3" section, click the "add POP3 email account" button.
5. Enter your POP3 account's email address in the "email address" line provided in the popup window and click Next Step.
6. Enter your username and password for this account. Google will attempt to automatically fill in your POP3 settings for this account. If you do not know these settings, you can try proceeding with what has been filled out. Sometimes a quick Google search will help you to identify what they are (search for your account's POP3 settings; ie: aol.com POP3 settings).
7. While still on this window, I recommend selecting "label incoming messages" and then label them the email address for the account that you're adding. By doing so, you will create a folder (label) for each account that you add and when you receive mail on your device, you will know where it originated from. If you select "archive incoming messages (skip the inbox), they'll still go to the label you created, but you won't get notified of the message's arrival on your phone, because it's not hitting your inbox.
8. Click Add Account.

Now, for the cool part about GMAIL; you can also RETURN messages THROUGH those accounts, so it appears as if you're using, say, Outlook (or some fancy email client) instead of just checking your mail with GMAIL.

1. Under the "send mail as" section, click the "send mail from another account" button.
2. In the popup window, type the name you wish to be associated with the POP3 account and the email address and then click "next step".
3. Select the "send mail through (yourdomain.com) SMTP servers. Doing so will prevent messages showing "email@gmail.com on behalf of email@email.com" when replying to messages.
4. Enter your SMTP server information (use the information from the steps that you took to setup your POP3 account). You must make sure that you have the correct port number. Enter your username and password and select SSL if required (again, you can usualy verify this information with a Google search).
5. Click "Add Account".

If you refuse to get rid of your current POP3 account or you absolutely HAVE to originate emails from your old email account, but you still want to use my method, you can set that "other" email account as your default:

1. From GMAIL click the Settings link.
2. Select the Accounts and Import tab.
3. Under the Send Mail as section, select which account you want to be your default and all of your mail will originate from that account.

[thatoneguy247]

awesome, thanks

[SaffronPlatypus]

I don't understand why you would use POP3. The directions you said make sense, and work for most email solutions, gmail or otherwise, but POP3 is not appropriate here.

POP3 downloads emails for local use of data; your actions are not represented on the server. IMAP "syncs" your account, so that whatever you do on your phone/computer, you see on your account from any other device. It is the solution that is preferred in nearly all scenarios.

POP3 is a relic from when broadband connections were not available, and you could have your email download while you were at work. Now email can be checked at any time, and IMAP is more appropriate for ever scenario.

Give yourself, your family, and your IT department some piece of mind, and use IMAP!

[MS3Jon]

Originally Posted by SaffronPlatypus

I don't understand why you would use POP3. The directions you said make sense, and work for most email solutions, gmail or otherwise, but POP3 is not appropriate here.

POP3 downloads emails for local use of data; your actions are not represented on the server. IMAP "syncs" your account, so that whatever you do on your phone/computer, you see on your account from any other device. It is the solution that is preferred in nearly all scenarios.

POP3 is a relic from when broadband connections were not available, and you could have your email download while you were at work. Now email can be checked at any time, and IMAP is more appropriate for ever scenario.

Give yourself, your family, and your IT department some piece of mind, and use IMAP!

Great point. So how do we set that up?

[640k]

Originally Posted by SaffronPlatypus

I don't understand why you would use POP3. The directions you said make sense, and work for most email solutions, gmail or otherwise, but POP3 is not appropriate here.

POP3 downloads emails for local use of data; your actions are not represented on the server. IMAP "syncs" your account, so that whatever you do on your phone/computer, you see on your account from any other device. It is the solution that is preferred in nearly all scenarios.

POP3 is a relic from when broadband connections were not available, and you could have your email download while you were at work. Now email can be checked at any time, and IMAP is more appropriate for ever scenario.

Give yourself, your family, and your IT department some piece of mind, and use IMAP!

because;

1. gmail's checking through imap is provided through a third party and is only a temporary solution.

2. some email accounts, such as free broadband accounts from your cable provider, still use POP3 as well as existing IMAP accounts.

3. the default email client can cause problems and using gmail as your primary account on a google experience phone is a better solution than just using it as a backup mechanism.

[Dmstarr]

Thanks for bringing up this topic. I've been a bit frustrated with the email integration myself (I have SBC as a primary email). This may be a bit off-topic, but when I linked my SBC account to my GMail account, it started importing all of the email in my inbox. I thought it would just start from when I linked them together, but three months of emails later, I had to turn it off. Is there any way to link these two email accounts together and not have the entire contents of my inbox transfer over?

Also, two other questions:

Regarding the basic email application; I get notifications that there is new mail from my SBC account all the time, when there isn't any. Also, mail that I've deleted from my phone shows back up later, but not all the time. I have the "delete from server" option turned OFF.

And since this the method outlined above is the best "short of downloading another application", what is the BEST method, including adding another application? Is there a good email app out there?

Thanks!

[uksteve84]

Many thanks, great tutorial there.
I had tried using the stock email app for my hotmail account but it was utter garbage.
Now, following your guide i got them both in the same place, which is much better.

[niqueh]

I have comcast and still use POP3 to get the mail off the server and onto my computer where I can file it away on MY harddrives, where I want it. I get some of the emails on my phone, but none after I do the fetch on the PC, which would make sense cept I THINK I have emails pulling from outlook, so I'm not at all sure whats really going on.

I'm avoiding gmail because they data mine (or so I've been told), which I disapprove of, and I have no intention of setting up a second email acct.

Still this tutorial provides a middle ground.

[tigrr07]

I have a question about e-mail on the N1

I recieve e-mails fine using the basic mail app on the N1, but when I go to my outlook on my computer and download my e-mail, it gets deleted from my N1. Why is that? Is there a setting that keeps it on my phone till I actually delete it from my phone?

[damien8]

I have a question to add to this topic...

I have POP3 set up on my Gmail accounts for 2 external mail accounts. I've also added those email addresses so that I can reply from them, rather than the default Gmail address.

The problem is, when I get the mail on my N1, I can only reply from the Gmail address, not the other non-Gmail addresses.

Is there is a solution for this?