GMail IMAP- the bane of the traveler
This year has started differently for me than most as I am already in the middle of my third trip this year. In just over a month I have been on the road and in hotels for almost half the year. The trips have gone very well with the exception of one single thing that has continued to drive me mad.
I use GMail which in and of itself is not a problem. GMail is… well, GMail and it just works, the web version anyway. The problem sets in when you use the IMAP ability in GMail so you can use a client email app or a mobile phone to keep up with the GMail.
I have been confronted on all three trips with significant stretches when my notebook mail app cannot connect to the GMail IMAP server. When this happens my normal mail work is dead in the water and I have to resort to using the web version. Don’t get me wrong, the web version is fine it just means that I have an interruption in my normal work routine which is aggravating.
The real problem is that when my mail app can’t access the IMAP server then my iPhone can’t either as it uses IMAP too. That’s a real problem for someone on the road as it means you can’t get your email on the run. That’s a big no-no.
These outages are pretty commonplace I’ve discovered given all this travel. I usually see it happen at least once a day without rhyme nor reason and the outage lasts for variable lengths of time. Sometimes it’s only a little while but other times it can be for hours. This throws a monkey wrench in my normal work routine when typically I am trying to jump on, get stuff done and then jump off again. I have to change my routine during the outages and it’s enough to have me cursing Google frequently. I sure wish Google would learn to do IMAP correctly so it would just work. I suppose this is why Google keeps GMail classified as beta.
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I’m running into the same problems on my travels. Terribly frustrating.
Does Gmail have any plans to offer native MAPI support for third party clients?
I’ve been noticing flaky connections lately too though it seems to be happening more since they launched the offline access. Mobile access (via phone) has been just fine for me … it’s through the netbook on the go that’s making me batty.
Same problem myself. And I don’t travel. I’ve resorted to the POP access method – using Windows Live Mail as the client. Still does not connect sometimes. Just about ready to give it up as a failed beta – but too many people/places have that address
Why not just use the google iphone app or safari iphone webpage when these things happen? They are better than having to bootup and would continue to give you mobile access. I know, I know, it ain’t what is suppossed t obe, but it doesn’t mean things have to shut down, or have to boot up a webpage on a computer.
It is also what keeps Gmail free
I switch back and forth among a (work-provided) Windows laptop using the web version, a MacBook Pro using Apple’s Mail.app via IMAP and my iPhone using the native mail app via IMAP. I have very occasionally had the Mac fail to connect, but it usually only lasts a minute. The thing I love about this setup is that the mailbox looks basically the same from any of the clients, and I only have to handle each message once — when I delete one, it’s deleted everywhere, which is a critical GTD precept. I haven’t tried it from a netbook, though; I don’t know why that would be an issue.
Forward your gmail to fastmail.fm and use imap through it. Its never down and has the additional benefit of consolidating all your email. Might sound messy from my description, but I like it
I’ve not had any IMAP problems, but I’m not really on the road a lot, so don’t check email a huge amount with my iPhone, and have pretty much stopped using any other mail app. The Gmail client is really superior to any Mail app I’ve used, by a longshot, and the offline functionality seems to be working pretty well from my limited experience with it. I do wish there was a better way to handle multiple accounts but still keep them fairly separate.
I do wish there was a true Gmail app for the iPhone, because the native iPhone mail app isn’t that great, IMO. Sure, the Gmail web client works fine, but it adds an extra step and a bit of a delay to the whole mail checking process for me, since I don’t use push at all anyway. I sort of switch back and forth between using the web app and the iPhone mail app. I use the web for personal, and the native app set to check both personal and work (which I’m using through Gmail as well now).
When I had a WM6 phone, I didn’t like the Gmail app. Always crashed on me, was slow as hell, and generally, well, sucked.
I just don’t get it. Why is anyone still using a mail client? I gave up on that years ago and never looked back. Is there something about a mail client that is better than the web client? OK, maybe referring to an old email without connecting, but honestly, I always just connect through a browser (Firefox on the laptop, Blazer on the Centro) to do that anyway. It’s just not worth the trouble (dealing with mail clients) given all the various devices I use.
First, Happy Birthday!
Second, I have had many many many problems getting my iPhone to connect to Gmail via iMap. So many that I’ve finally given up and started carrying a BlackBerry (which for some odd reason works).
I haven’t been able to tell if ALL the blame lies with Gmail or if some is shared by iPhone.
have two gmail accts that I mostly access via iPhone IMAP, and I don’t recall the last time I had any problems. Looks like a case of ymmv. Since you/Om presumably pay for your corporate account, did you raise the issue with the big G?
I use thunderbird on my netbook (since gmail takes forever to load on my crappy wireless broadband) and I’ve never had these issues, and not on my ipod touch’s mail client which I also use daily.
Have you checked Gmail’s page for recommended client settings for the iPhone?
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=78892&cbid=-4k5hofgzdmia&src=cb&lev=answer#
I also have ran into that problem so I have deleted from my laptops, but on my BB Storm it works all the time. Hmmm I just thought it was something on my laptop that would cause it.
You should talk to Google support, I’ve never had IMAP issues. I use the web client + IMAP on my iPhone, and pull several different accounts into my Gmail account with IMAP as well and I have not ever had problems. It has always worked for me flawlessly.
@Chris Fabri: I use GMail to aggregate a couple of email addresses. With their recently release “multiple Inbox” capability, I suspect you could filter on your various addresses and create different inbox views. It’s in Google Labs now – give it a shot and see if it helps you keep your various accounts straight.
But you do ask an interesting question, one I’d like James and Kevin to ask the blog followers. Like you, I haven’t used an email client for years. Why DO ya’ll still use them? What do they do that keeps you coming back?
I doubt most of the connectivity issues has anything to do with Google. It has to do with non-standard ports being blocked/prioritized by router on the internet. These routers might be owned by government, ISP, your company etc. Unfortunately, in today’s internet only Port 80 and 443 are widely configured as open and even those are slowly being “managed” by OSI level 7 router/switches. In Summary, you should have IMAP problems with ALL vendors if you are moving around the physical net, I would not blame Google for this problem, they do NOT have different mail servers just for POP/IMAP, they are the SAME servers that serve up mail via the web interface.
I Have to agree, IMAP has been the bane of my existence sice I witched to using it instead of POP3 in outlook so my Mails stay in sync.
As for why use a client like outlook?
Well, it allows me to manage my Exchange account as well as two seperate Gmail accounts, and have access to my contacts, calender, To do List, Notes (Which I dearly miss on my iPhone).
And untill Google can develope a way to keep contats in sych, ala Google calander sync I can really see myself depending upon the web client full time, especially as I depen upon over the air sync for all my PIM data.
I just wis google would let those of us who are willing PAY for a more reliable IMAP service insted of bundeling everyone together.
Untill Google can get the basics right, I’m very sceptical of going compleatly in the cloud, especially for something which can be as mission critical as email.
I have Thunderbird set up on my PC to back up my gmail, but i always use the web to check it. I like it much better than 3rd party Mail clients (they seem really dated, what is this 1998) plus with gmail off line you don’t need the 3rd party bloatware.
some people show their lack of being able to grown with technology by holding onto these relics to do work on. it’s kinda sad to hear people get bent out of shape over something so small, that they could easily go around if they would just show a little backbone.
AndyT,
That’s not true at all. I run my own IMAP server (using dovecot) in addition to my GMail account and it is substantially more reliable than GMail’s server. GMail often responds to requests but fails to authenticate, which means that it can indeed talk to my client but is not working correctly.
Google wrote their own IMAP server, and it’s obviously showing some teething problems…
In the last 8 months I’ve not had a single problem. I now check my email almost exclusively on my iphone. I’ve also got gmail via IMAP on three computers as well as the phone and it’s flawless.
And the price is right.
Gordon
I think this is a YMMV, or Your Mileage May Vary, kind of scenario. I’ve solely used Gmail IMAP since October 2007 and I can count the issues that have impacted me on one hand. It was rocky at the start due to some issues between Gmail and Mac Mail, but once resolved, it’s been pretty rock solid. I use it in Mac Mail or on the web; no Outlook. I use it most on my iPhone (with two Gmail accounts) and have practically no issue.
Having said that: nothing was as reliable as my Hosted Microsoft Exchange account. However, I couldn’t justify the cost once Gmail IMAP was working well for me.
I gotta go with Gordon above on this one, and I’d also ask — are you using gmail for domains? Wonder if that’s the issue?
I use Google IMAP on my laptop at home (Thunderbird on Ubuntu 8.10), my phone when I’m out and about (Nokia N85), and Thunderbird from a thumb drive at work (Windows) … I’ve had maybe one issue in the last 6 months, and very few prior to that.
The reason I ask if it’s Gmail for domain is that my email for my website, which is a custom domain using gmail, has been flaky off and on to the point where I finally just forwarded it to my regular gmail account.
-ollysk2
Yes it is GMail for domains and I admit it’s not consistent from person to person. It happens far more frequently when I’m on 3G than it does over WiFi and I think that has is a contributing factor, although I have no idea why.
You pay for it JK, so use Google’s tech support! (and if they can’t fix it, well, another topic for a rant)
I stopped using mail clients back in 2003 when a hard drive crash took my emails south with it. I’ve not been a fan of keeping emails on the local PC since. Yahoo POP worked great for me while it was free (back in the Netscape days) and I also used fastmail.fm’s IMAP service for a short while too. I was very impressed with fastmail until Yahoo finally got their act together.
I now use yahoo exclusively via the web. No need for POP access or client software. Likewise, when I’m on the go, I use the yahoo mobile version with my pocket PC. Auto-notifications are easy to set up, so even if I’m not logged in I still get an arrival message for new emails.
I too would be curious to know why you guys (James & Kevin) continue to bother with mail clients, or explain what it is you cannot do via the web. My PPC is always on, my notebook is always online, I never miss an email, and all my folders/pim info stay in sync regardless of where I am or which device I use.
It’s not a severe problem, but my issue with Gmail IMAP is that IMAP and the web service synchronize pretty slowly. This is an issue because I don’t like to leave messages unread in my Inbox.
Instead of a netbook, I’ve been using a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. RAM and CPU time are at a premium, so it’s good to have a compiled mail program to do quick checks and to write simple messages.
Luscious, the only mail client I use is Mac Mail these days and even then it’s not all the time. I’d much rather use Google Chrome and Gmail like I do on all of my Windows machines, but can’t on the Mac since Chrome isn’t supported there yet. Once it is, Mac Mail goes bye-bye as well. I do use the Mail client on my iPhone because it works better for me than using Gmail’s mobile web version.
Well it is a commong thing that people dont get IMAP to work when traveling around.
Why? The ISP Block the ports that IMAP and Google uses.
Why do they do that? They do it to promote there own email and dont want anybody else to make there line busy with “external” mail.
So demand that the ISP opens the ports needed and make it work!
Have a nice day
THE UNFORTUNATE THING IS THAT IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL IT CAN COMPROMISE YOUR PASSWORD WHICH HAPPENED TO ME, I WAS HAVING THESE ISSUES AND I COULD NOT LOG IN PROPERLY SO I HAVE TO RESET MY PASSWORD THAT WAS THE BEGINING OF THE PROBLEMS WITH MY GMAIL ACCOUNT THEY FINALLY BLOCKED MY ACCOUNT DESPITE PROVIVING EVERY PROOF OF OWNERSHIP IT WAS NOT RESTORED HAD TO CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT THERE WILL BE A GREAT DISSASTER ONE DAY WHEN THEY TAKE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING AND THIER SERVICES FAIL WE WILL BE IN A MESS. I HAVE STARTED USING OUTLOOK FOR MY MAIL BACKUPS.
@Pam M. Thanks for the tip about the new Gmail feature. I saw that, but didn’t initially think it would work for what i wanted to do, but I’ll give it a check.
@Kevin C. Tofel – why aren’t you just using Gmail with Firefox or Safari on the Mac?
Chris, I often do. I switch back and forth as the mood strikes me, to be honest. One of my issues with Gmail on the web is that I have two Gmail accounts: one work and one personal. While that’s not a problem when using a tabbed browser, the Google Gmail Notifier only works with one account. If that wasn’t the case, I’d likely be on Gmail over web full time.
Weird, I’ve never had IMAP problems and I’ve been using Gmail IMAP since they first started it. I don’t use any other email clients than my smartphone anymore.
First it was with a Treo which was pushing my email constantly using IMAP Idle and Chatter EMail, and now its with a WM Standard Q9c.
Is it possible its an iPhone email client issue? Something with the way Apple has it configured or something maybe?
Kevin-
How do you do 2 different gmail accounts in one browser, but different tabs? You doing the multiple inboxes deal? I actually keep my work email running in safari, and my personal email running in Firefox and using notifier for that, which is actually where I do the rest of my web work. But I’m also doing that because I couldn’t figure out how to run 2 different accounts at the same time in one browser, so between Pam saying something about multiple inboxes and you using 2 gmail accounts in 2 tabs, I’ve clearly got something to learn here. I could still do my work email in a separate window of the same browser, and I could save some memory by not running a second browser. Hmm.
I’ve had serious imap problems on both my ipod touch and my macbook. Apple’s implementation simply doesn’t work well with people who get real amounts of mail.
I don’t know what you can do if you’re on a mac, but I have no problems with my ipod. The key for me is that I don’t get much mail in “Inbox”, which is the only folder that gets synced. 99% of my mail is from mailing lists of marginal interest and gets filed away into folders that my ipod does not sync.
Chris, I’ve actually never had any issues running two Gmail accounts in one browser instance. I suspect that’s because one is a standard Google Gmail account, while the other is a Google Apps account. Don’t know for sure, but I use them both all day long in Firefox andor Chrome, depending on the device I own.
Thanks for the details on the Kevin, I’m not currently in the same situation, but there’s some changes coming at work, so we’ll see. :)
Pam- I tried the multiple inbox thing a big, and my first impression is a big thumbs down. I may plan around with it a bit more, but I’ve actually turned it back off.
Kevin, sounds like you should IMAP your work account into your personal account, or vice-versa. Then use Gmail’s new multiple inboxes (in labs) to sort your work and personal emails apart. This should work well for you as you will only need to configure a single account on new devices.
@all actually we pay for the service and use google apps for our domain and the IMAP is still shite. Totally and utterly shite. I am equally frustrated with it as well and have been hounding Google to do something about it.
And I thought it was just me. I have 4 gmail accounts. I use Thunderbird on my Mac to get my email. 3 of the 4 ccounts are pop3 and I have no issues. The 4th is imap because I share it with another person. It frequently has problems logging in and I have to re-enter my password. Even the pop3 has problems, sometime it fails to get all the messages.
But hey, its free!
I’m glad it’s not just me. GMail on the web almost always works. AOL IMAP always works. But, GMail IMAP is very flaky. I notice outages almost every day, and I have occasional SMTP issues with GMail as well.
GMail IMAP problems?
Nope. Never. It’s been rock-solid for me ever since the feature first debuted. I’m a freelance worker, and rely on GMail IMAP for both my personal and work accounts and it’s solid on my desktop, laptop and iPhone.
I see only two possibilities here:
1) Google has deployed super-highly-available servers to Canada (where I live). No doubt to thank us for all the University of Waterloo grad students that we send them.
2) You’re running into firewall issues as you travel around.
My guess, it’s probably #1 … but hey, it could be firewalls too. ;)