how to syc email across devices in mail

Hi Sinead,

If you have the same accounts on all your devices, then it should just work. Especially if they're on 2 or more Apple devices. If they're not syncing, then try deleting the email account using Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > choose the troublesome account, and select Delete Account. Then reinstall it. That should solve the problem. That should work if they're IMAP accounts. Not sure if it would work the same on older POP3 accounts.

That happens automatically if the mail account is either an IMAP or Exchange account.

The third type of account is the POP3 account and there is not way to sync them. Some account like GMail can be configured either way. However, many are just POP3 accounts.

Then just make sure that the account(s) are setup as IMAP on all devices. That is all you have to do.

Once you have this set up as IMAP all around, it will work like this:

Messages are kept on the Server. When you start a Mail app on any device, it will send first the headers, then if you open them, the messages behind them.

Safe Computing principles still apply: If you click on a link in an email, your Mac or whatever device you are reading it on may be subject to attack. If you want to follow a link, always re-type the link you see in a new Browser window.

If you Read an email on any device, the Server will mark it read. Look again from any device, and that message is shown as already Read. If you delete an email on any device, the Server will move it to the Server Trash, to be dealt with as you have specified (often deleted after a week).

Sent messages (from any device) are stored on the Server. If you are an especially prolific email sender, you may have to figure a way to copy the oldest Sent messages off in bulk and save them somewhere, or you will have to pay extra for an oversized mailbox on the Server.

The named message folders you may have created on your Mac have always appeared under a gray banner that said: "on My Mac". This now becomes a VERY important distinction, because that is literally what happens -- those message are removed from the Server and exist ONLY on your Mac (and not on your other devices).