Connection to MobileMe IMAP server drops constantly

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Level 1

56 points

Connection to MobileMe IMAP server drops constantly

I've had MobileMe and an iPhone 3GS for about a month now, and I'm seeing a persistent problem with Apple Mail and MobileMe mail. It will work normally for perhaps 15 minutes, give or take, but inevitably it will appear to quietly lose its connection to the server. I can tell because at first after I start Mail, I will get new mail notifications on my Mac and iPhone at about the same time (within seconds of each other), but later I will get new mail notifications only on my iPhone. Apple Mail will show all the signs of a hung connection to the server. After this has happened, it will take several seconds to either quit Mail or Take All Accounts Offline as though the program has to timeout on the lost connection. Get Mail will do nothing. If I don't touch it, Mail will begin to behave normally again after about 5 minutes, but as always it doesn't last. I was a TCP/IP programmer in a past life, and this has all the symptoms of a dropped connection. Other persistent connections on my home network to Yahoo Mail and Gmail are never dropped.

Has anyone else seen this?

Some of my mail settings, which were set automatically when I set up the MobileMe mail account in Mail: IMAP server is mail.mac.com, SMTP server is smtp.me.com, IMAP using SSL on port 993, using IDLE command if server supports it.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8), iPhone

Posted on Aug 17, 2009 5:43 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 17, 2009 7:30 PM in response to Geez Jan

With what frequency do you have Mail set to check for new mail?

Ernie

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Answer 2

Geez Jan Author

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56 points

Aug 17, 2009 7:42 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

Every minute.

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Answer 3

Aug 17, 2009 7:46 PM in response to Geez Jan

Try using every ten minutes, and then later change to 5 minutes. With some connections, every minute will be problematic because tasks are not finished until it tries to check again.

When you make this change, quit and then relaunch Mail.

More info, please.

Ernie

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Answer 4

Geez Jan Author

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56 points

Aug 17, 2009 8:08 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

Thank you for your insights. I have made the change and will report on how it goes over the next day.

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Answer 5

Geez Jan Author

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Aug 18, 2009 5:16 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

I'm still seeing the problem when checking for new mail every 15 and 5 minutes.

If there is any other information I can provide that would be helpful, please let me know. Thanks again!

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Answer 6

Aug 18, 2009 5:37 AM in response to Geez Jan

Odd, to say the least! Try deselecting Use IDLE on the MobileMe account. Also open Activity -- click on Window in the menubar, and choose Activity. Watch this monitor to see when the connection is dropped.

Ernie

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Answer 7

Geez Jan Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 18, 2009 7:21 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

Activity was very instructive. I feel silly not having noticed that menu option on my own.

Activity revealed that Mail was still contacting the SMTP servers of a couple of accounts that I no longer use, including one server which is no longer running. I had deleted those accounts from Mail, so at first I was very confused about why it was still contacting them. Then it occurred to me that I may not have deleted the outgoing SMTP servers when I deleted the accounts, which I hadn't. Now that I have, my first impression is that the problem is resolved, although I'll keep watching it over the next couple of days. It looks like every so often Mail checks every SMTP server connection, and it was hanging on the defunct servers.

Perhaps Mail should prompt you if you also want to remove an account's SMTP server when you remove the account, especially if that is the only account that is associated with that SMTP server.

Also, I don't see the point of periodically testing an SMTP server that no email account in Mail is associated with.

Anyway, thanks for your interest and assistance, Ernie! I'll watch Mail for a couple of days, but I think it's already behaving better. It's been an hour with no hung behavior.

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Answer 8

Geez Jan Author

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56 points

Aug 19, 2009 4:07 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

I spoke too soon. It's still hanging. I'm now starting to suspect the IDLE command.

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Answer 9

Aug 19, 2009 4:42 AM in response to Geez Jan

Did you continue to have the Activity monitor open, and watch when connection is dropped?

Ernie

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Answer 10

Geez Jan Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 19, 2009 5:45 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

I set check for new mail to 30 minutes and turned IDLE command on. Here's what I'm seeing in Activity:

Initially, it will work as I expect. Almost as soon as a new email arrives (as I can tell because my iPhone alerts and I can see it on www.me.com) I'll see the email in Mail. It works normally for 10-15 minutes, give or take.

When it stops working normally, what I see in Activity is: Mail checks the server occasionally but doesn't retrieve the new emails. Even when I click Get Mail I can see it checking the server, but it doesn't come back with new emails. If I take the account offline, Mail will hang for about a minute on the IDLE command before disconnecting. When I bring it back online, the new emails will come in.

I read up on the IDLE command, and when it's used it supposed to allow the server to essentially push new emails down to the client. As far as I can tell, it's not working properly in my case.

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Answer 11

Aug 19, 2009 6:55 PM in response to Geez Jan

I haven't seen it, and I've been using MobileMe for a while. It's had its spotty periods, but for the past number of months it has been pretty good for me.

Side note, if you are using IMAP IDLE, you will get push from MobileMe. Setting your check settings to every 1 minute is pretty excessive. I'd recommend 60 minutes if you have IMAP IDLE turned on as you're going to get push anyway.

I notice with push enabled on the phone, and IMAP IDLE on MobileMe on my Mac, that I get a notification on the computer and on the phone within 1 or 2 seconds of each other, every time. Stop polling so much and save some client and server resources 🙂

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Answer 12

Geez Jan Author

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56 points

Aug 20, 2009 12:14 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

My PowerBook was having the same problem as my iMac with email not coming in, so I decided to take it into the office and try it on another network. Mail and MobileMe worked perfectly for over 5 hours, so I think it's safe to say it's not Mail or MobileMe.

Tonight I'll connect the iMac directly to the ISP cable modem and determine if the problem is my ISP or my network gear.

Thanks for your help!

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Answer 13

Geez Jan Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 21, 2009 8:33 AM in response to Geez Jan

Last night I connected my iMac directly to my cable modem and the problem went away, so I suspected my router, a Linksys WRT320N, brand new and with the latest firmware from Linksys.

I have a Time Capsule which we've been using with the WiFi and Internet sharing functions turned off, so I pulled out the Linksys and made the Time Capsule the router, and now everything seems to be working normally. All the emails are received by Mail from MobileMe quickly as expected.

The Linksys router was doing something wrong, but now just I'll let it collect dust.

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