How do I configure a comcast imap account?

Assuming you have the correct imap config on your Mac then you must config your iOS devices. On the ipad>setting>Mail then delete your Comcast accounts. Then add in an account. Insert a false password initially then wait for the Verify. Once that fails you'll be shown an imap/pop choice screen. Choose imap and make sure you edit in the proper changes.

ie

mail.comcast.net > imap.comcast.net

type in your correct password , there should be two entries.

in port 993

out port is 465

if you have more than one imap account with Comcast then add the next account and repeat above.

Can't assist you with your archiving habits.

What I do: I've been archiving my email in folders I created for years. OSX after Snow Leopard made that work very tedious. BUT signing in to icloud and letting icloud do the job is better. So I can delete or add my email accounts either pop or imap with Comcast and my archived icloud mail is always present.

iOS devices, configure your imap mail accounts. Its not synced and not automatic.

IMAP is a big improvement to Comcast email. Some good answers have been provided and were helpful to me. The most important trick I learned is item (5) below. I'd like to add a few details, since I just spent much time today setting up both an iPhone and iPad, and making some mistakes. You may not need all details below, depending on the complexity of your situation.

(1) BEFORE DOING ANYTHING, clean up your email on the Comcast web site. Delete everything you don't need. Move as many emails as possible out of the

Inbox and Sent folder into separate folders. Create temporary folders if necessary. The reason for doing this is so that once you convert to IMAP, you run the risk of having the Inbox and Sent folders on your iPhones/iPads overwritten when IMAP merges the emails on your various devices. This can happen because each device will hold a limited number of emails in each folder.

(2) BEFORE DOING ANYTHING, go to the Preferences > Email > Email Deletetion Schedule on the Comcast site and set the Inbox and Sent folder to Never delete. Otherwise you may lose emails when IMAP merges the emails on your various devices. If you don't care about week-old emails, nevermind.

(3) Go to https://xcsignup.comcast.net/onboardingapps/imap and signup for IMAP. Wait for the email from Comcast before proceeding.

(4) Pick your least used device (iPhone/iPad) to start with. Go to Settings > Mail... if you already have Comcast on this device, do not delete it yet.

(5) Choose Add Account > Other > Add Mail Account. Enter your name, a dummy email (xxx@somewhere.net), a dummy password, a dummy description. Click Next. [If you enter your Comcast email here, it will set up a POP account and your efforts will be for naught.]

(6) Now enter your real Email address. Under Incoming Server, enter imap.comcast.net, your user name (email address) and password. Under Outgoing Server enter smtp.comcast.net, your user name (email address), and password. Click Next. Hopefully, verification will be successful.

(7) I'm flying a little blind on the next step. You need to continue with further setup. If it is not obvious here, go back to Settings > Mail... , choose the newly setup account. It will be called Comcast if it is your only account, or it will be called by your email address if you set up a duplicate account.

(8) Under Outgoing Mail Server, go to Primary Server. SSL should be turned on. Under Authentication, choose Password. Set the server port to 465.

(9) Click Done twice to get back to the Account screen. At the bottom, choose Advanced. Set the Drafts mailbox to Drafts on the server. Set the Sent Mailbox to Sent on the server. You may have to scroll way down to find it. Set the Deleted Mailbox to Trash on the server. See item (13) below for more info on Sent, Drafts, and Trash.

(10) Click Done until you are all the way out.

(11) If you have duplicate accounts at this point, exit Settings and go to Mail. Go to your original account and check your Inbox, Sent, and Draft folders for any emails that are not on the server. While in one folder, click Edit, select all the emails you want to keep, and Move them to the desired folder in the new account you just set up. Don't bother with emails that are on the server, since these will already be in the new account. When you have kept all old emails, go back to settings and delete your original email account.

(12) Perform the same process on all your other devices, if any. At this point, they should all be synchonized with each other and the Comcast web site.

(13) Go back to the Comcast web site. If you have multiple mailboxes named Sent, Sent Mailbox, or similar, then send a test email and see which folder the sent item goes to. Then go to your duplicate folders, move all emails into the active Sent mailbox, and delete the duplicate mailboxes. Do the same thing for Drafts. Likewise, if you have multiple Trash, Deleted Mailbox, or similar, then delete an email and see which folder the deleted items goes. Delete the other trash-like mailboxes.

(14) Test sending, reading, moving, and check for synchronization between devices. Good luck!

One other thing, I did this and it worked like a champ, I was able to receive but not send. Under "outgoing server" where it says "user name" and "password" optional. It isn't. once I filled that it sending worked fine. I also upgraded my Outlook version to 2013 from 2007. The 2007 version allowed for imap servers but did not work properly in deleting mail that was deleted on my phone.