Ipad imap account deleting mail from server

Isn't that the way IMAP works? All devices see an image of the server, and they all control the server. That said, look in the Mail settings for the account, and see if there's a setting for deletion.

Make sure you have your "trash" folder kept on the server as well on all devices that access that account. If your online account settings allow for it, then set a purge time for that online trash folder (mine are set to 30 days) and stop manually emptying the trash altogether. That way you have time to recover any unintentionally deleted mail and can recover them from any device accessing that account.

Otherwise as Diana mentions, your IMAP account is working exactly as it should. Deleting mail on any device accessing the account deletes it on the server, so its gone from the account, not merely one device.

nabilla12 wrote:

I've had my ipad for a few years and never had this problem until this week.

Perhaps you were not using IMAP account for that many years.

I use my ipad and a laptop for my business and mail I deleted on my ipad has started disappearing from the server, so I can't download it on my laptop.

I've set up the imap accounts again but same thing happens.

Anyone know what might be happening? Anything I can do besides not deleting on my ipad?

I'll reiterate what has been said, that is EXACTLY how IMAP account works. When you delete mail, you're removing them from the mailbox on the server. You're not removing them from the device. If you don't like it, remove your iOS mail IMAP account and use POP account instead.

POP is the original email protocol. When you request mail, it gives you everything new since the last time. The copies you have are yours to keep or delete, as you wish. Deleting mail from the server is handled separately. I use POP this way, so I have actual copies of the messages on computer and iPad. I delete most of them on iPad after reading, but I save some some of them permanently on the computer.

It's a little tricky to set up POP on a service that offers both IMAP and POP interfaces. The trick is to create the account, select Other, and give a bogus address, e.g. fred@junk.com. Since iPad cannot determine the settings, it gives you the full menu, and you can enter the settings, correcting the bogus address. Make sure you have them before starting: server URLs, needs SSL?, sockets for receiving and sending, required login authentication, etc. If you're using POP on your computer, you can get them from it.

nabilla12 wrote:

So, help me here, I'm not the best at this stuff.

Let us know who your mail provider is. Do not post your entire email address. Post the domain name instead (all characters after @ sign). Someone may be able to point you in the right direction.

nabilla12 wrote:

The imap account access the server so if I delete anything, it's deleted from the server? The pop account downloads mail to the ipad but doesn't delete it? I did notice a setting in the pop account - Delete from server - never.

That's correct. POP account downloads your mailbox contents to your device. If you delete items, you're deleting it from the device, not the server (unless the settings is set to delete from server). I never use POP account on iOS devices but I think items that are moved from one folder to another only happens on the device as well.

With an IMAP account, you're working directly with your mailbox on the server. Items that are moved, deleted etc are reflected on the server side on the fly.