Synchronize question

[nancyspeed]

macOS Mojave
iMac Retina 27" 2017


MacBook Pro, Early 2015
macOS Mojave

I am not new to Macs but do have a question that would be suitable for this forum. I have researched it and cannot find the question.

I would like my email on my MacBook to sync with my iMac. It did this (as did my iPhone) and now they have quit. I don't quite care if the iPhone doesn't as I rarely check email there. And I do not know why the MacBook quit. They are iMap accounts.

I would like to know what actually takes place when you go under mail preferences and, under "mailboxes" click on "synchronize" or "synchronize this account." And then choose which email account you need to synchronize.

My rather ignorant question is which device will synchronize with what? I do not want my iMac synchronizing with my MacBook or my I Phone. I want them to synchronize with my iMac.

All the appropriate boxes are checked under "Accounts" I think under the MacBook and the iMac. I have not checked under Accounts my yahoo account because I don't want all my thousands of emails on my yahoo account loaded again onto my computer.

Please tell me what I am doing wrong.

Thanks guys.

 

[ferrarr]

I would like to know what actually takes place when you go under mail preferences and, under "mailboxes" click on "synchronize" or "synchronize this account." And then choose which email account you need to synchronize.

Whichever device you are using, will "sync" with the email server. Not with what is on other devices.

To sync between devices, you would need to have that managed through the email provider. I know iCloud does this for iCloud.com email. I also know Hotmail will do it as well, but I'm not sure how to set it up for Yahoo! though. The best thing would be to confirm Mac Mail settings on both devices are the same. Are you using the same macOS version on both devices?

 

[nancyspeed]

I'll check my settings. Thanks.

 

[badshoehabit]

I use Thunderbird and it is synced across all three of my Apple devices via iCloud. On the MBP there are better folder/subfolder systems and spam filters but otherwise all mail is received simultaneously.

 

[nancyspeed]

I use Thunderbird and it is synced across all three of my Apple devices via iCloud. On the MBP there are better folder/subfolder systems and spam filters but otherwise all mail is received simultaneously.

I do use iCloud, but my email is not ****@icloud.com. When I look at my email iCloud account there is nothing there. Email is checked on my "accounts" section in email preferences. Everything else on my systems are in iCloud and syncs with my other computer and phone.

I think I am just expecting something that can't happen. I finally did go into my yahoo account and create folders (which would be a folder on "att" vs. "on my mac". Things do sync there correctly. I think I incorrectly assumed "on my mac" folders would appear on both computers no matter which computer I "made" the folder.

And I still cannot make my iMac quit saving "1 of 1,008" drafts no matter what I am told to do. Moving the "draft" folder off my iMac hasn't helped.

 

[IWT]

@nancyspeed,

As you are a long-time user of Mac products, your Apple ID may not be ****@icloud.com; but ****@me.com

The @me.com was used for iCloud. The email for the App Store and iTunes could be ****@whateveryouchose. (This is the case with me and many others.)

Ian

 

[badshoehabit]

Mine isn't an icloud email address either. Below is what I see when I go into System Preferences > iCloud (full name etc blacked out for security) on MBP, ditto phone and ipad. Folders aren't replicated on my other devices but I haven't tried to set them up like that. Mail that would automatically go into a folder on MBP is simply listed in order of arrival on others. But I do find that if I open mail on the MBP first, all messages are deleted on the other devices. I can manually save an email to one of the folders on my phone and do this for the likes of travel tickets. Sometimes I find myself forwarding a message from the MBP to myself then trying to catch it on my phone before the MBP takes over.

 

[nancyspeed]

Update: Enabled yahoo mail (which is what ATT mail really is) and everything synced in the yahoo inbox. Odd that my sent att.net mail box syncs but the att.net inbox doesn't.


Thanks for all the help. I'll just fiddle with it and see what happens.
All of my sent mail syncs properly across devices as do all of my documents, including what appears on the desktop. It is just my incoming mail that is not syncing--when I delete it on my iMac it still appears on my my MacBook.. It's not that big of a deal. I haven't checked the settings on my iPhone so that may have something to do with it.