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Level 2

192 points

Gmail IMAP does not sync

I've had my IMAP gmail account set up in mail.app for a few months. At first, it worked perfectly -- the two would sync up relatively quickly, both in terms of labeling/deleting email, and noting whether they were read or unread. About a week ago, mail.app started synching right after I would open it -- and then it would eventually label/delete email correctly, but would not change an unread message to read if I left it in my gmail inbox. Now, it isn't even labeling/deleting email -- it won't do anything except right after it is first opened. Manually telling it to synchronize has no effect -- the little clock icon in the account list doesn't even appear. I'm wondering if this has something to do with the 10.5.6 update -- after which, I did run the stand alone Mail update, hoping it would resolve this behavior (even though I wasn't having stability problems) -- but it didn't. Any ideas?

Late 2008 MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 10, 2009 12:35 PM

56 replies

May 18, 2009 2:43 PM in response to dai.hop

i have seval times via apple's feedback - http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

I urge everyone to as well!

4miler

Level 1

38 points

May 20, 2009 7:38 PM in response to discgo1013

Me as well. Recently, after upgrading to 10.5.7, my Google Apps IMAP - Apple Mail system has gone crazy. Before, with 10.5.6, the problem was that Apple Mail wouldn't quit -- which was easily solved by doing a forced quit. Now, with 10.5.7 the problem is worse. Now, Apple Mail won't sync with GApps IMAP.

e.g. when I delete an email in Apple Mail, that same email refuses to delete from Gmail IMAP. I go into GApps's webmail, and that email is still there.

I've ensured that, in Apple Mail's preferences, it deletes the trash when quitting -- but quitting out of Apple Mail doesn't cause the deleted email to also be deleted in GApps IMAP.

This wasn't like this before.

It is a real nightmare because I rely on Apple Mail and Google Apps IMAP for my work.

Ok, I can hear the chorus of you saying don't rely on a free email service for work email, but where can I find 6GB of IMAP storage at an affordable price?

cjMike

Level 1

5 points

Jul 12, 2009 10:07 AM in response to 4miler

Here's what worked for me:

I went an in the left hand column in the "Mail" main screen (the one that shows "Mailboxes, Reminders, On My Mac, etc").

Select the [Gmail]All Mail label in your account. Then go to the menubar (the same one that has the apple logo, "Mail", etc) and select "Mailbox" dropdown.

Then go down to the bottom where it says "Use this mailbox for" and select Trash.

The one caveat would be to be sure in your Account settings you dont have it set to purge your trash box (ie, Permanently erases messages when: NEVER delete) as it could wipe your All Mail.

No promises on if it works for you/messes your stuff up!

woodie

Level 4

1,086 points

Jul 26, 2009 11:28 AM in response to cjMike

I just went from GMail POP to IMAP-
POP works great - IMAP just seems to get stuck every so often -
Will apple ever fix this problem??????

Aug 24, 2009 2:19 PM in response to SG8765

I'm also in this boat, hopefully the changes to Mail.app in Snow Leopard fix this.

Aug 31, 2009 11:22 AM in response to Craikeybaby

I am using Snow Leopard but I have found that changing the imap port to 993 instead of 995 makes a great deal of difference to me. When using 995 (as published in much of google's docs), I get hang ups and have to restart to get it to sync... but with 993, everything goes well.

dai.hop

Level 1

0 points

Sep 1, 2009 6:28 AM in response to SG8765

Upgrading to Snow Leopard today has fixed this problem for me! I strongly suggest you all do the same.

JD Dave

Level 1

4 points

Sep 1, 2009 7:51 PM in response to dai.hop

yep it fixed it for me too! hooray!

Sep 2, 2009 4:45 AM in response to SG8765

It also seems to be fixed for me. Well done Apple!

cazzajay

Level 1

8 points

Sep 15, 2009 11:35 AM in response to Craikeybaby

i just tried using IMAP with GMX mail and it works seamlessly (using leopard, mail 3.6) - so this is either a gmail issue or a general incompatibility (neither company's fault)... but at least i now know Apple Mail can indeed handle some IMAP email accounts fine...

Ceres1

Level 1

75 points

Sep 17, 2009 12:58 PM in response to dai.hop

Upgrading to Snow Leopard has fixed this issue for me too, albeit not instant - the unread marks now sync correctly each time mail performs a check for new mail.

Not too happy that a complete OS upgrade was required just to get my unread marks to sync, but I will count my blessings that a major frustration in my life has finally been removed!

If you can upgrade to 10.6 then I strongly suggest you do. (ps. just updated to 10.6.1 and still works!)

C

Gmail IMAP does not sync