As an iPhone owner if you have a Gmail account, then the only way to access Gmail on your iPhone was through the browser, all you needed to do was go to m.gmail.com to get the full Gmail experience including conversation view, search, and more. However that was not the ideal way as IMAP is the best way to access your email from multiple devices (e.g. iPhone or laptop).
So if you were one of those who had petitioned for Gmail IMAP then today is your lucky day as Google has just announced free IMAP for Gmail which will make the user experience to check your emails on your iPhone even more better.
Check out the video of how to setup IMAP on your iPhone in a matter of minutes after the jump.
"IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. It is a method of accessing electronic mail or bulletin board messages that are kept on a (possibly shared) mail server. In other words, it permits a "client" email program to access remote message stores as if they were local. For example, email stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office, and a notebook computer while travelling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth between these computers."
When you were using Gmail from the browser you were using POP, which is similar to IMAP but lacks one of the critical features when you are using multiple devices to access your email account: your changes made on other devices aren't seen in Gmail when you log back in. Instead you are presented with a list of unread mail, and you must re-read and re-sort everything.
With IMAP as you would have figured out from the description will now sync your Inbox across your computer and iPhone instantly and automatically. Whether you read or write your email on your iPhone or on your laptop, changes you make to Gmail will be seen from anywhere you access your inbox.
Check out the video below of how to setup IMAP on your iPhone in a matter of minutes.
huh.. i dont have fowarding and pop/imap, just fowarding and pop only
what's the difference with this and just adding your gmail account to the "mail" function on the iphone?
good shit guys
this is great.. worth doing
Yeah, I'm not sure I understand what this does that's different from just setting up Gmail with the Mail app on the iPhone.
Anyone care to clarify?
when u have it the regular way, when you check your email on your phone it is then marked as read. when you go home to your gmail, its unread… this way when u check your mail on your phone, it marks the email on your computer as read….
just do it. life will be better
yeh dan is right, & you also have access to your inbox/outbox/trash/drafts.. with everything updating dynamically as you move/trash mail..
Same issue gmails not giving me thouse options? Whats the deal?? Only pop no imap
For anyone that didnt know this. In my long standing gamil account I dont have the option for imap. Google help says this
"Why don't I have IMAP in my account?
We're working hard to roll out IMAP access to all our users, but it'll take about a week.
To use IMAP, you must have your interface language set to 'English (US)'. You'll know that IMAP is available in your account when the Forwarding and POP tab in your settings becomes Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
Until then, thanks for your patience!
–Anyway their on it – comming soon
Hey Jason, i had exactly the same problem yesterday when i checked my gmail. Interestingly enough, few hours after posting my comment, my "Fowarding and POP" tab became "Fowarding and POP/IMAP." So i guess if you just stick around for a bit more, you'll have it too.
I think it's a great idea, I was waiton for imap from day I started using GMail. And now I'm even more excited with my new iPhone. It's a great timing I must add.
I have an unlocked (using AnySIM software) Mac version 1.0.2 iPhone. I'm also using AT&T, but without the specifically signed-up for iPhone contract.
Here is my problem, I can seem to IMAP my Yahoo e-mail using the "mail" icon on the iPhone. I have successfully IMAP Gmail, but it gives a message of "Cannot Connect Using SSL" when I tried to configure Yahoo email. I tried using "other" instead of selecting "Yahoo" to set up the account. Once in the configuration screen on the iPhone for "incoming mail server" I put the host name of "imap.apple.mail.yahoo.com" and for "outgoing mail server (SMTP)" I put the host name "smtp.apple.mail.yahoo.com". Is either of the host names for incoming or outgoing servers wrong? Is there another name that might work? Is this a common problem if you have an unlocked iPhone, in that it won't sync with Yahoo mail?
Thanks for your help.
I have an unlocked (using AnySIM software) Mac version 1.0.2 iPhone. I'm also using AT&T, but without the specifically signed-up for iPhone contract.
Here is my problem, I can seem to IMAP my Yahoo e-mail using the "mail" icon on the iPhone. I have successfully IMAP Gmail, but it gives a message of "Cannot Connect Using SSL" when I tried to configure Yahoo email. I tried using "other" instead of selecting "Yahoo" to set up the account. Once in the configuration screen on the iPhone for "incoming mail server" I put the host name of "imap.apple.mail.yahoo.com" and for "outgoing mail server (SMTP)" I put the host name "smtp.apple.mail.yahoo.com". Is either of the host names for incoming or outgoing servers wrong? Is there another name that might work? Is this a common problem if you have an unlocked iPhone, in that it won't sync with Yahoo mail?
Thanks for your help.