Is Push supposed to be for unread mail only?

Question

Level 1

15 points

Is Push supposed to be for unread mail only?

I have my iPhone set to receive Push notifications for Mail.
When I get new mail, I get a badge on the Mail icon and I get a banner notification when I have that turned on. All good so far...

However, when I read the email on one of my other devices (two computers or iPad) the 'read' status doesn't get pushed out to the phone. The only way the Mail app on the phone updates to the current state of my inbox is if I go to the app and force a refresh.

Is this a bug or a feature?

The only discussions of it I could find on here are from 2008, but I didn't want to resurrect an old thread so I'm asking again. From what I've seen it was never resolved back then, so I can only assume it's meant to be this way, but I can't see why. If you want Push, surely it's so that you can know the status of your inbox by just glancing at the icon, not having to go into the app and manually force an update. If Push is only ever supposed to send 'unread' notifications, not 'read' or 'deleted', isn't it kind of pointless? If I'm misunderstanding the concept, please educate me.

Posted on Jun 26, 2012 9:21 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jun 26, 2012 9:40 AM in response to GadgetGav

Push notifications is not the same as push access for received email.

If the email account provider supports push access for received email which is supported by Yahoo when creating the account with the Yahoo account preset, with an Apple iCloud account, and with an Exchange account. If not one of these accounts, push access for received email does not apply. Fetch only.

With push access for received email, when a new email is received at the incoming mail server the email is pushed out by the incoming mail server to the device without the device having to manually or automatically check the incoming mail server for new email which is Fetch.

Reply

Answer 2

GadgetGav Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 26, 2012 9:44 AM in response to Allan Sampson

Hi Allan,

My problem is with Apple iCloud mail. Are you saying that should clear badges and notifications when I've read the mail on another device?

Did I maybe set something up wrong when I first created the account on the phone? I've upgraded the phone since the original iPhone, so maybe it still has some old settings that it has brought along all these years.

Reply

Answer 3

Jun 26, 2012 10:45 AM in response to GadgetGav

Hi, it's the way iCloud email (and me.com before, I believe) work. They don't push the emal read notification to all devices until the app is opened.

Yahoo and gmail(through exchange) and maybe hotmail all work the way you expect though and send the read notification to all devices.

I'm not sure the reason why iCloud works that way and is one of the reasons I don't use it.

Reply

Answer 4

Jun 26, 2012 11:11 AM in response to GadgetGav

With push access for received email, when a new email is received at the incoming mail server the email is pushed out by the incoming mail server to the device without the device having to manually or automatically check the incoming mail server for new email which is Fetch.

An Exchange or IMAP account's Inbox mailbox is synchronized with the server when the mailbox is opened - read/unread/deleted, etc. The mailbox should be synchronized with the server when a new email is received via push access or fetch.

The same applies with Yahoo which is psuedo push access, and with an Exchange account.

Reply

Answer 5

GadgetGav Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 26, 2012 12:18 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I'm not really sure what "push access for received email" is, despite reading both your posts multiple times.

Are you saying that if I turn of Push and set my iCloud mail to Fetch instead, I'll have the functionality I'm looking for where a message that's read or deleted on another device no longer shows up as new on the phone? (assuming of course enough time has elapsed for a Fetch cycle to have been completed)

Reply

Answer 6

Jun 26, 2012 12:43 PM in response to GadgetGav

Which part of this is not understood?

With push access for received email, when a new email is received at the incoming mail server the email is pushed out by the incoming mail server to the device without the device having to manually or automatically check the incoming mail server for new email which is Fetch.

Reply

Answer 7

GadgetGav Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 26, 2012 1:39 PM in response to Allan Sampson

You seem to be describing the difference between Push, which sends out notification to the iPhone when ever a new message arrives, and Fetch which requires the iPhone to check with the server for new messages.

I get that difference, so no need to cut & paste that paragraph again...

What I don't understand is how that applies to my problem.

If I receive a new email, the badge icons on my desktop, laptop, iPad and iPhone all show that there's a new message, so I know Push is working. When I read the message on my desktop machine, the laptop icon reverts to no badge and the message is marked as read almost instantaneously. On the iPhone and the iPad, that doesn't happen until some other event makes the mobile app check in with the server. That event can either be opening the app or another new message arriving.

Detailed example:

I send a message from GMail to my iCloud mail, subject 'Test 1'

The message appears on all 4 devices

I read the message on the desktop

The laptop immediately marks it as read, the iPad and iPhone still show '1' on the Mail icon

I send a second message from GMail to iClound, subject 'Test 2'

The laptop and desktop show one new message. The iPhone which happened to have the Mail app running buzzes as if there's new mail, but retains the '1' badge because it simultaneously marked Test 1 as read and received Test 2

The iPad which wasn't running Mail, shows '2' as a badge but on opening Mail, the app checks with the server and changes the number of new messages to '1'

My question is why does having the iOS devices setting for 'Fetch New Data' set to 'Push' not result in the same behaviour as seen on the MacOS Mail app? Is the fact that a message was read or deleted not considered new data?

Maybe I'll just experiment and put the iPhone on Fetch and leave the iPad on Push and see which gives me the more useful functionality.

Reply

Answer 8

Jun 26, 2012 2:02 PM in response to GadgetGav

You obviously didn't get it or I would not have copied/pasted that paragraph again and I think you still don't. You need to understand that first - what push means.

Receiving an email and new mail notification by itself does not mean push is working. It means a new email was recieved at the incoming mail server and downloaded by the email client, which can be received via push or fetch.

The primary function of push access for received email is as I've provided several times now.

When a new email is received at the incoming mail server, the email is pushed out by the incoming mail server to the device without the device having to manually or automatically check the incoming mail server for new email which is Fetch.

I also provided this.

An Exchange or IMAP account's Inbox mailbox is synchronized with the server when the mailbox is opened - read/unread/deleted, etc. The mailbox should be synchronized with the server when a new email is received via push access or fetch.

Reply

Answer 9

GadgetGav Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 26, 2012 2:05 PM in response to Allan Sampson

If you're convinced I don't get it, how do you think that repeating the same words over an over is going to make me get it? I can keep reading the first instance of those two paragraphs if I just need to see the words again. If I'm not understanding what you're trying to say, find a different way to explain it or just give up.

Reply

Answer 10

Jun 26, 2012 5:26 PM in response to GadgetGav

To answer your question, in my experience with iOS mail accounts (iCloud, Yahoo, my Corporate Exchange, and GMail as set up as Exchange), none of them reduce the badge count of new messages unless (a) at least one new message is pushed to the account and you've read (or deleted) from another device more messages than what's arrived, or (b) you open the Mail app.

I don't know if this is by design, a technical limitation, or a lingering bug ... but the bottom line is that iOS Mail will not do what you're expecting.

Reply