junefromllanarth

Q: iphone 5C message "storage almost full" due to emails stored. How can I delete mail from my iphone without also deleting it on my desktop?

My iphone 5C is showing message "storage almost full". This appears to be due to my phone picking up loads of sent email messages going back several years. I want to delete these on my phone without deleting them on my desktop. But the two seem to be linked. Every time I delete/edit on my phone, it also affects my desktop. How can this be so? and can I unlink them? I have 5.9 GB capacity and haven't a clue what my operating system is, but my settings, general say it "version 7.1.1 (11D201). Doesn't make sense to me, but it might to somebody! I bought this phone brand new in June 2013.

iPhone 5c, iOS 7.1.1

Posted on Jul 1, 2016 4:17 AM

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Q: iphone 5C message "storage almost full" due to emails stored. How can I delete mail from my iphone without also deleting it on my ... more

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  • by chris_g1,

    chris_g1 chris_g1 Jul 1, 2016 4:39 PM in response to junefromllanarth
    Community Specialists
    Jul 1, 2016 4:39 PM in response to junefromllanarth

    Hello junefromllanarth!

     

    I can certainly understand wanting to get the most out of your iPhone's storage.  Thanks for all the details so far. There's some things to try out.  

     

    First, with the iPhone 5c running iOS 7.1.1, you'd want to upgrade the software to the latest version, iOS 9.3.2.  You can do that with iTunes on a computer or directly on the iPhone: 

    Update the iOS software on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

    I would recommend a backup to iTunes or iCloud before the upgrade to make sure your data is saved:

    How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

    After the backup and upgrade, check the available storage and you can also use the steps in this article to see what exactly is using up the space: 

    Check your storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

     

    For the question about the emails on the iPhone matching what's on your computer, that is expected with most email accounts as they use IMAP so that any sent or received emails sync across your devices and that includes deleted emails, too. 

     

    Best regards.

  • by junefromllanarth,

    junefromllanarth junefromllanarth Jul 2, 2016 3:17 AM in response to chris_g1
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 2, 2016 3:17 AM in response to chris_g1

    Thanks for taking time to reply Chris; but this doesn't answer my question.

    I want to know how I can keep e.mails stored on my desktop computer but remove them from my phone (storage issue)

    I don't feel upgrading my software is relevant and in any case am always reluctant to do this - unless it brings a solution to my problem (see above)

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Jul 2, 2016 2:33 PM in response to junefromllanarth
    Level 8 (37,864 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 2, 2016 2:33 PM in response to junefromllanarth

    You have an IMAP account, and it is working the way it was designed; whatever is on the server will be replicated on all devices that access that server. What you can do is create a separate folder on your desktop and archive older emails (both sent and received) to the archive folder by just dragging them to the archive. This will remove them from the server, and they will no longer sync to your iPhone.

     

    As to the upgrade, it's a good idea to stay current with updates on any operating system, as most updates fix security flaws. There are dozens of these between your version and 9.3.2. It's also a good idea after an update is released to wait a week or so and get feedback about any issues in the latest update. But this is really a separate subject from your email question, and updating will not change email behavior.

  • by junefromllanarth,

    junefromllanarth junefromllanarth Jul 4, 2016 9:50 AM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 4, 2016 9:50 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Hello Lawrence,

    I really appreciate you taking time to reply to my post.

    I don't have a lot of knowledge as to how these systems work. Your suggestion was one way of dealing with it, but It seems that IMAP is the real problem - the first word being "integrated"? I absolutely do not want my desk top computer and phone integrated. It would seem the solution would be to get rid of IMAP, and use POP(3?). There is talk of this on the web. I'm trying to work out how to do this on my phone.

  • by Courcoul,

    Courcoul Jul 4, 2016 10:30 AM in response to junefromllanarth
    Level 6 (14,193 points)
    Jul 4, 2016 10:30 AM in response to junefromllanarth

    Who's your mail provider?

     

    On some of the different providers out there, the way they work permits the iPhone to limit how far back in message history it goes. So you can establish that the phone  only goes back one month, for example. My corporate Office365 account offers that option, but my Google and Apple accounts do not.

     

    If it is available and you want to try if it works for what you want, look in Settings / Mail, Contacts, Calendars / <your mail account> and see if there's something labeled Mail Days to Sync.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 4, 2016 10:31 AM in response to junefromllanarth
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 4, 2016 10:31 AM in response to junefromllanarth

    Who is your email provider, and what type of email account (POP or IMAP) is it.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Jul 4, 2016 12:58 PM in response to junefromllanarth
    Level 8 (37,864 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 4, 2016 12:58 PM in response to junefromllanarth

    IMAP is designed to keep content synced across email clients on different devices. POP3 is an older protocol invented when no one expected to ever have more than 1 email device. If you do have more than one they are treated separately, so messages are sent separately to each device, and must be deleted from each device. You can check which you have by going to Settings/Mail, Contacts, Calendars and tapping on the name of the account. It will say POP, IMAP, or possibly Exchange, gmail, or iCloud. If it is IMAP and you want to force it to be POP you have to "fool" iOS into using what it considers an inferior protocol. You start by deleting the account, then follow these directions to create it as a POP account: Forcing creation of a POP or IMAP email account