Issues Receiving Email with Time Warner Cable

Apple maintains a database of "recommended" settings for each provider. Presumably these settings come from the provider themselves.

Mail Settings Lookup - Apple Support

(IMAP, mail.twc.com, incoming port 143, outgoing server SMTP port - 587, use password, authentication checked).

The incoming port settings from that database do not match what you have here. Have you tried these?

jmb1954 wrote:

I was using the following on the Time Warner Cable website. Note 143 for Incoming Server.

1. IMAP settings:

   • Account Type: IMAP
   • Incoming Mail Server: mail.twc.com
   • Incoming Server –IMAP port: 143
   • Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): mail.twc.com
   • Outgoing Server – SMTP port: 587*
     *Note: If you are able to receive, but not send, emails while on your mobile device, you'll need to use your mobile carrier's outgoing SMTP server and port.
   • Inbound & Outbound User Name: Enter full email address
     • johndoe@[division].rr.com
     • johndoe@roadrunner.com
     • johndoe@twc.com
   • Inbound & Outbound Password: Email Password (same as Web Mail)
   • SMTP Server Requires Authentication: Checked
2. Enter your full email address and password.
3. Select Save.
4. Your device will verify your account settings.
5. If you need to edit your settings, select your email account from the Accounts list.

.

FYI

This post is what I meant by "clear and detailed explanation". The rest of your post may be clear to you because you know what settings you've tried. We don't have any idea what they are. If you still experience problems, tell us what settings (IMAP or POP, port numbers, secure connection) you're using.

On the phone, go to Settings/mail. Tap on Accounts, then tap on the TWC account. At the top it will say either "IMAP" or, "POP Account Information." If it is POP then each of your devices operates independently; that is, mail cannot sync between devices, and if any device is set to remove mail from the server after it is downloaded then that mail will not be accessible on other devices. IMAP should sync between devices, however, if you delete a message on one device it will be removed from all of them.

As I don't have TWC I can't check the instructions. Normally, when you create an email account on an Apple device it will default to IMAP if the provider supports it, or POP if it doesn't. Most providers now support IMAP. If it's IMAP it should sync; in that case, please describe in more detail what you mean by "difficulty receiving/syncing."

Just saying it doesn't work does not supply anyone with enough information to help you. What doesn't work? What is the issue you are seeing? What steps did Apple give you? What steps did Spectrum give you? How did they differ?

jmb1954 wrote:

Many thanks for the response. I went through what you recommended a while ago as I picked up on what you recommended on other sites. This is what personnel at Apple recommended. I am still stuck as this hasn't worked.

All I have read is that you've tried something but that "something" does not work. I have no idea what you've tried until you explain in details what "tried something" means and what "does not work" really mean.

Your initial question was not clear at all. It isn't until this post that we even knew it was IMAP and not POP. To have "difficulty receiving/syncing email" wasn't clear either. What did "difficulty" mean, for example? Were receiving and syncing one problem, or two problems?

Anyway, so the problem is that you receive messages on your computer, but sometimes not on your iPhone or iPad. That's still not completely clear. When you DO receive messages on your iPhone do you always receive the same message on your iPad? Or is it random, where you receive on one or the other, but not on both? Do you ever receive messages on an iOS device that you do not receive on your computer?

Note that messages do not sync BETWEEN devices. Messages sync between the server and each device separately. So if you receive a message on one device, you must also receive it from the server on each other device. If you delete a message on one device, it is deleted from the server, and the next time your other devices sync with the server that message will be deleted on each of the other devices. You need an Internet connection from each device to receive messages on it. I know that sounds obvious, but if your iPad is a WiFi only model its WiFi is off when it is asleep to preserve battery life. Likewise if you have cellular data turned off for mail on your iPhone or your cellular-enabled iPad. In either case, unless you have Cellular Data enabled both for the device and the Mail app you only have an Internet connection for mail when the screen is lit.

Then there is when your iOS devices sync with the server. For TWC, which does not support PUSH, the options are Manual, meaning it only downloads messages when you open the mail app, or Fetch, where you specify a time schedule for downloading messages like every 15 or 30 minutes. With Fetch the email app asks the server if there is any new mail on the schedule you chose. For this to work you must have Background App Refresh enabled for the mail app. It is enabled by default, but you can turn it off.

So first check the settings I have mentioned. If they are all OK and you still have a problem, post back. One of the volunteer users here can suggest some other ideas.

You're welcome.