Please help setting up iphone with gmail

Question

Please help setting up iphone with gmail

Hi,

I have a gmail account and would like to check the email in it on my iPhone. The exact setup I'd like is as follows:
I'd like my iMac to download the email from Google using POP.
I'd like Google to delete the email from the server when it is downloaded by my iMac.
I'd like my iPhone to be able to check to download email from Google using POP.
But, I do not want Google to delete the email from the server when it is downloaded by my iMac.

That way I am not storing anything permanently on Google (I prefer local copies to storing something on someone else's servers permanently), I have a copy of every email on my desktop computer, and when I'm on the rode I can read new emails that have come in while my desktop is shut down.

I think I have the first 2 steps set up. In other words, my iMac is downloading email from Google and Google is deleting email upon download. But, I don't know how to set the iPhone up (nor do I know whether the settings are on the iPhone alone or in gmail as well). And, I'm hesitant to set the iPhone up until I know I can have it check Google without deleting from the server so that I make sure the email is available for my desktop computer as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted on Aug 22, 2008 4:55 PM

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Answer 1

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Aug 22, 2008 5:08 PM in response to Stephen Levin

Doesn't Gmail offer IMAP email?

Your post is a little confusing, you have step 2 as:

"I'd like Google to delete the email from the server when it is downloaded by my iMac."

and step 4 as:

"But, I do not want Google to delete the email from the server when it is downloaded by my iMac."

These two statements contradict each other. Did you mean to say iPhone instead of iMac on step 4?

If yes, set up Gmail on your iPhone, then go to:

Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > (name of your account) > Account Info > Advanced. Under "Deleted Messages" tap on Remove and set it to "Never".

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Answer 2

Aug 22, 2008 5:10 PM in response to Stephen Levin

This will be difficult.

If you have the email client on your computer removing messages from the server when downloaded, you can't launch the email client on your computer until the iPhone's Mail client has checked the incoming mail server for new messages, and you cannot have the iPhone's Mail client removing messages from the server when downloaded or those messages will not be available for download with the email client on your computer.

A POP account is designed to be accessed with a single email client only.

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Answer 3

Aug 22, 2008 7:38 PM in response to deggie

Yep, that was a typo. I meant iPhone in step 4.

One of the things that is confusing me is that Google has its own setting for how to handle email after it is downloaded. How does that setting play with the settings on the iMac and iPhone.

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Answer 4

Aug 22, 2008 7:43 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I don't need the email on my iPhone all of the time. I do need it on my iMac all of the time so that I have a record of the emails. I just plan on using the iPhone to check emails when I'm out of the office. Then when I'm back in the office I'll download the emails. That way I have a heads up on who is looking for me when I'm on the road and can handle any issues quickly when back at my desk.

I'm not sure why you say POP is designed for a single email client only since there is an option to leave the email on the server. I get that I won't have all emails on both devices, but I don't need to.

Given that fact, was the prior person's response correct or do you think it won't work?

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Answer 5

Aug 22, 2008 7:59 PM in response to Stephen Levin

I'm not sure why you say POP is designed for a single email client only since there is an option to leave the email on the server.

For a number of reasons.

Difficult to have more than one email client actively accessing the incoming mail server for a POP account at the same time. If one email client checks the incoming mail server for new messages when another email client does the same, or just before or right after, the incoming mail server will lock the inbox mailbox preventing the 2nd email client from accessing the incoming mail server. The error message provided to the 2nd email client will be the password is incorrect, or the message has already been downloaded from the server, or can't be downloaded from the server, etc.

You can't store sent messages on the server with a POP account - unless you Bcc yourself having the sent message received at the incoming mail server so there is a copy of the sent message with another email client used to access the account.

I didn't say accessing a POP account with multiple email clients is not possible or doable, but regardless the setting available to leave messages on the server when downloaded by an email client for a POP account, a POP account is designed to be accessed with a single email client only.

An IMAP account is designed to be accessed with multiple email clients with the ability for multiple email clients to be accessing all server stored mailboxes for the account at the same time, the ability to store sent messages on the server so messages sent with one email client are identical with another email client used to access the account, and the ability to create additional server stored mailboxes for the account which will be available with all email clients used to access the account and will be kept synchronized with all email clients automatically.

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Answer 6

Aug 23, 2008 5:25 AM in response to Allan Sampson

Allan,

Thanks for the info. My guess is that while you are technically correct, Gmail's implementation goes beyond the original implementation of POP (it does allow you to keep email on the server, etc.). For my needs, I don't need synchronization from multiple devices, I will not have 2 devices open and checking the account at the same time, and I will not be responding to emails often when checking with my iPhone (so when I do, I don't mind sending myself a bcc although I think that when you send a message in gmail there is a way for it to be there for download to your email client - but maybe that is just from the web interface). All of that being said, plus the fact that I prefer to keep my email locally and not on a 3rd party server and the fact that I don't need access to my historical email on my iPhone is why I plan on using POP.

Given my usage pattern, I'm confident it will work for me. I'm not confident on how to set up the iPhone to achieve that though. If you or anyone else has specific suggestions on how to configure the iPhone to check Gmail using POP without downloading the email, please let me know.

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Answer 7

Aug 24, 2008 10:14 PM in response to Stephen Levin

any suggestions?

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Answer 8

Aug 25, 2008 11:32 AM in response to Stephen Levin

OK, so - here is what I've done. I've set my iphone up using the Gmail button. I other words, it is an imap account. On my mac I set Apple Mail up to use POP. As a result, I can see my recent emails on the server using the iphone imap then when I use my computer in the office, I download a copy. I've decided to set my computer to not delete on download using POP so now I have copies of my email locally, on Gmail, and just recent emails on my iphone.

Any reason why you wouldn't want to mix imap and pop?

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