POP Mail account recovery.

Question

Level 1

4 points

POP Mail account recovery.

Seeking to fix a Mail (POP account) log-in problem on my MacBook, Apple support instructed me to delete the mail account (in settings) and recreate it. The result deleted most of my mail (> 2 years of mail). Upon calling back, support told me this was a mail service provider issue, so I then called the mail provider and was told that POP accounts, when deleted, cannot be recreated -- and that Apple support should have known this.

The POP account was never deleted from my iPad and iPhone. Nonetheless, the deletion of mail was mirrored on those devices. Should I assume the service provider has an incremental backup for recovery? It all seems too crazy for the massive loss of mail. Thanks! Michael.

MacBook Air

Posted on Dec 7, 2022 7:51 AM

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Answer 1

tbirdvet

Level 6

14,387 points

Dec 7, 2022 4:42 PM in response to MscBa

This is the process to try to recover a mailbox:

To restore mailbox:

Open Finder

Click “GO” in top menu bar then click option key

Open mail folder

Open V9 (or similar) folder

Then find the folders labeled with cryptic titles (at this point you could open TM if you want to go back in time)

Look down through those folders to find a mailbox (note: there may be more than one with same label).

If it contains email you want you can copy to desktop

Go back into mail and import that folder from your desktop

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Answer 2

Dec 7, 2022 8:08 AM in response to MscBa

That is how old protocol POP accounts work. You can check with your email provider regarding whether or not they retain backups/archives.

Use IMAP protocol rather than POP protocol for email. IMAP retains email on the email server. POP protocol downloads email off the server to your device.

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Answer 3

Dec 7, 2022 8:49 AM in response to MscBa

MscBa wrote:

Thanks for your response.

I was expressly told they do not retain a copy. As a major email provider, I remain skeptical they do not. Researching further ...

Sorry that you find yourself in this situation but no one is responsible for your data except you. Going forward, make sure you use IMAP protocol and maintain your own backups.

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