IMAP

Summary

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), also referred to as IMAP4, is is the modern favoured incoming mail protocol and benefits those with consistent internet connections and multiple devices. Rather than doewnloading messages to the email client in use the client will only request the message headers for recordkeeping and they display the entire message as represented by the server. This allows all indexing to be handled by the email server and in turn allows all mail clients connected to see the same information.

General Troubleshooting

Standard troubleshooting is always applicable however IMAP allows for some extra processes. You can freely delete and readd any IMAP account from an email client as all data is stored on the server. This is especially helpful for iOS devices that seem to hold older information even after account changes (see below for more information). IMAP is also the protocol used by the webmail which means that if the webmail works you can be 99% sure any IMAP connection to the email server will as well.

Outlook 2013 Specific Errors

As opposed to almost any other email client ever, Outlook 2013 does not autodiscover the IMAP Path Prefix for our mail systems. Under the Account Settings > More Settings > Advanced you will need to set the IMAP Path Prefix value to INBOX (capital letter do matter). This is the case for all of our email systems (possibly excluding webmail03, further testing needed).

iOS Specific Errors

iOS enabled devices (iPhone, iPad) are unable to autodiscover the Trash and Sent mailboxes. this can be configured under the Advanced setting on the mail settings and will be labeled as "Mailbox Behaviors". Simply adjusting these to use the similarly named folders on the server will correct any errors of this nature.

iOS enabled devices also have a tendency to hold settings which have been changed (such as passwords or server names). Many time you will have to remove the IMAP account entirely and start over to correct persistent username/password errors.

Combined IMAP Inboxes

In most email clients having multiple IMAP accounts set up will cause you to have separate inboxes for them. Luckily most email clients will list a top level inbox that is shared amongst all accounts (such as Apple Mail and iOS). If an email client does not automatically create a combined inbox (such as Outlook) there is no way to force it to do so. If you want the convenience of a combined inbox you will have to recreate the accounts as POP accounts or create a forwarding rule.