Serious IMAP problems with Lion Mail.app

Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I've been wrangling with this Since early September 2011. Here's the nutshell:

Lion Mail.app does not give an accurate count of email compared to the webmail server for the corresponding IMAP email account.

Tiger Mail and Snow Leopard Mail do, as do Thunderbird 8 and 9

I have done exhaustive troubleshooting and experimentation to solve this, including nuke and paving my Lion install, re-configuring the email accounts probably a dozen times or more, and even switching hosts!*

Apple says there's nothing more they can do, and that it's not their software, but that the host is at fault. I've just emailed them that the problem persists even with a new host, so I must give them the chance to respond to that revelation.

Point is: overwhelming evidence that Lion's Mail has serious issues with IMAP. I haven't done POP mail under Lion, so I can't speak to that.

Wanted to know if others have had my problem, and if so, what is the fix?

Overall Lion is pretty good. I can use Thunderbird until Apple fixes Mail, but I do want Mail to work properly.

Thanks for reading, thanks for any ideas!

Mac Cat



*I didn't do this lightly..I'd been trying to work with my former host, but it felt like they just didn't want to investigate and getting them to talk about this issue was like pulling teeth, so I unburdened them from my mail issues and....my money.
 
C

chas_m

Guest
Have you found anything like this in Apple Support Forums? Because I have to tell you it's pretty rare for me to hear "a new one" I've never heard before, but you've managed it.
 
OP
M
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I've posted on this on the Apple discussions board, but got no response.

I will concede that my story is a strange tale. Let me add that I've been a mac user for 20 years, going all the way back to System 7. I am a highly skilled, experienced Mac user, and I have seen a lot of weird issues in my day, the vast majority of which were solved very satisfactorily.

Also, I have spent in excess of 30 hours on the phone with Apple Senior Tech advisors working on this issue, them watching what I did using their remote connection where they can see your screen. I have performed every single test and experiment they suggested, and handed over every single bit and byte of information they requested of me.

I hasten to point out that other Lion users (or would-be Lion users) have reported weird things, like inability to even install Lion after trying several times. One guy reported, here, I think, that he didn't get the curly little arrow after replying to email messages.

That last point may be unscientific, or one could say that all new OS X releases have some measure of problem, but I have been able to eliminate 100% of the variables within my power, and so I feel that this strongly makes a case that something's up with either Lion and Lion Mail, or with Lion Main itself.

Perhaps I'm the one person in the entire Lion-using world to have this problem, but...have it, I most undeniably do!

thank you!

Mac Cat
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Points
6
i use the mail app to connect to my yahoo account.

I got emails instantly on my iPad and phone about 5 minutes later in mail, and sometimes they don't come through unless i remove the yahoo account and read it. also about once a day average it will say my password is wrong, when in fact it isn't. i repute the same one back in and hey presto it works .

Very Annoying... Also running lion, only recently changed to mac so i can't comment on leopard or tiger..
 
OP
M
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
i use the mail app to connect to my yahoo account.
Very Annoying... Also running lion, only recently changed to mac so i can't comment on leopard or tiger..


I'm sorry to hear that Murgy91...Snow Leopard, IMHO, was the high-water mark in a line of ever-better OS X's...

I truly feel that Lion has the potential to be even better, but there are serious bugs in need of squashing..

Somebody on another forum said he never upgrades until the 3rd revision..we're at the second revision right now (10.7.2) so let's hope 10.7.3 comes with a giant-size can of Raid built-in.

mcat
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Points
6
I'm sorry to hear that Murgy91...Snow Leopard, IMHO, was the high-water mark in a line of ever-better OS X's...

I truly feel that Lion has the potential to be even better, but there are serious bugs in need of squashing..

mcat

i suppose you don't miss what you haven't had.

So far i love my Mac, very frustrated about certain things thigh a few are just what I'm use to i suppose like enter been rename instead of open.

Most frustrating thing is my Mac came without the option to burn movie files to a dvd, i had to download 3rd party software which personally i think is ludicrous, can't believe they stopped installing idvd with it...
 
OP
M
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Ah...that I can help you with.

You may know that the OS X Finder has the ability to burn data dvds..you make a Finder folder, throw in your flicks then from the pulldown menu with the gear icon, select Burn...

Note: you can choose an option to leave your disc editable, meaning if you don't fill it first time, you can burn another session when you have more stuff.

Now, to make a playable DVD, you'll need iDVD, which does a pretty darn good of making it both easy and effective to create something you can slide into the home DVD player, or any computer with a DVD drive.

iDVD is included on a disc with your mac along with iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band and a couple of other things which I don't use, and don't recall what they are..

Do either of those fit what you're trying to do?

mcat
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Ah...that I can help you with.

You may know that the OS X Finder has the ability to burn data dvds..you make a Finder folder, throw in your flicks then from the pulldown menu with the gear icon, select Burn...

Note: you can choose an option to leave your disc editable, meaning if you don't fill it first time, you can burn another session when you have more stuff.

i tried that and worked spot on for a data dvd, i did think it was a playable dvd which i felt like a total noob afterwards!


Now, to make a playable DVD, you'll need iDVD,

iDVD is included on a disc with your mac

i bought my mac about 1 - 2 months ago, and as far as I've read they stopped shipping them with iDVD, i have iPhoto & iMovie but no iDVD and a few other bits of the iLife Suite. A Very frustrating move by apple!

Sorry for taking the topic off subject btw.
 
OP
M
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I think I recall hearing about that move..I agree, not too cool of them.

It's that bundle of i-apps that makes moving to a Mac so appealing, but I do think it's worth your money if you get iLife. They are very good, solid apps that git 'er done and are fun to use..

I guess the topic has drifted a mite...


mcat
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Points
6
i do hope the imap problem gets fixed thgh.. would be good to hear of others have this problem..
 
OP
M
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
thank you...as do I.

This morning, I tried an idea, on a hunch...I made all of my mail still on the server, Local, On My Mac mail. This effectively made all my accounts empty of mail on the server side..so amounts will be small and I should be able to see right away if things get weird.

Now, getting somebody to DO something about it is another matter, but maybe this will be the magic trick that clears it up...
 
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
It's nice to know I am not alone in this

Hey guys, I am experiencing the exact same issue with the exact same frustrations and results.

I havent nuked and paved (I'm a recent apple convert, this is my first apple experience) and I have spend hours with senior consultants, etc trying to get this infuriating problem sorted.

I 'crossed over' due to the reputation and marketing that says apple 'just works' - i have found just the opposite. This email caper has been 'solved' by senior tech advisors at least 3 times now, and with the exception of a couple of really lovely people the staff seem to be clowning around there.

iCloud is a joke, my mac can't even save a pages doc to it for my iPad2 3G to access! I can't get over how seriously I have been taken for a ride about all this..it seems apple sell us what we want, but only give us what they think we should have. The reality is so very much different to the marketing. If I had 5 mins with an apple exec that had some influence I would be able to add 10% to their annual 'migration' sales figures with the list of problems I have encountered and the answers to these problems I would suggest.

With 530,000 google results returned on one particular search I did regarding this particular issue the last senior guy I spoke to even had the gall to refuse to admit that there was a wide spread issue with imap compatibility.

I have had terrible service to date, and I am ready to drop this mac and iPad combo off to the head office and demand a refund...seriously, if they can't fix a problem this small (or even admit it exists) then I am absolutely done.

I paid the big dollars for the in home repair warranty, but they won't send someone out after I have spoken with at least 10 operators (receiving as many answers)...it isn't a hardware problem.

I only found out it was an issue when speaking with my host -'unlimited-space' - who informed me of the broader problem and why it happens with their accounts sometimes. I must say this company has, so far, been absolutely amazing (3 phone calls in first week to make sure I was happy, returned all messages to them on phone within 4 hours, polite, etc) and I have faith that they are correct this is a problem apple needs to address.

I recently swapped over from web alive (NEVER again, avoid them like the plague and the worst service ever - apple are at least polite) and though this problem occurred there in early days it seemed to settle down somewhat and only happen once per fortnight or so since October when I got this iMac.

I too store my emails on my mac, not on the server, but it doesn't help me in this case.

If anyone has the answers, please let me know! Likewise I will share any insight I gain on the problem (I joined this forum just for this thread).
 
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
130
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Russia, Moscow
Your Mac's Specs
MBA 13", 2.0 i7, 8GB, Intel HD 4000 512MB, 250GB, 10.8.3
well, I can say that I'm having a similar problem in the sense that Lion Mail 5.1 is terrible with IMAP setting. Why on earth they took down POP I don't know, but it was a mistake!

When I switched from my 2009 MBP, running Snow Leopard and Mail 4.5 my mail concern was the set up of new Mail and unfortunately that concern has become a reality. When I set up my account, I realised that it can only do so in IMAP, meaning that all my 30,000 emails on my gmail were being downloaded onto my Mac. To make things worse, these 30k emails were properly sorted and organised in folders which were ready to be imported to the new Mail. So, all in all, I get double amount of emails - on "my Mac" from the imported sorted folders and from teh downloaded IMAP setting, which I can't delete, since then they will be deleted from the server.

What to do!!
 
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I know that I have had constant problems with my mail accounts since the switch to Lion. It's the same stuff as all of you, the password is "wrong" and when I re-enter it, sometimes it works fine, sometimes not (on Gmail). My yahoo account, I can't even access on Mail. I'm kind of tech savvy, so it's frustrating to me when I can take apart a macbook pro but I can't get my e-mail to work. If anyone has a fix or discovers a fix, I'd be more than grateful!
 
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Ok, I fixed it. I tried this before, but I deleted my old yahoo account and created a new one, but I also tried changing my yahoo password and that must have done something, at least for the moment. We'll see if it lasts.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top