Imap next to useless

[#1]

I've battled with plusnet email for ever. Having been a customer since around the time the company started I can honestly say the email service has been awful for about two decades.

I've recently bought a new mobile and set out to finally have working plusnet email on my phone (having resorted to using webmail most of the time on my previous mobile)

I've spent the last couple of days trying outlook on android, Gmail and Samsung email, using the server settings as published by plusnet and some of the "fixes" others have posted on this topic.

The best I can get is folders synchronising (but no emails in them), or a couple of folders with 30 or so messages synced (but not all of those 30). Outlook asks for credentials every so often.
The main inbox with a few hundred mails (still only 250mb) never syncs.

It's as though the imap service is just useless at plusnet, and has been for years.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to fix this, or a home email service that I can use for my wife and I, and just be rid of this service from plusnet.

The pain of changing dozens of accounts and contact details at various companies to another email address seems like it will be easier and quicker than having plusnet actually address this, seeing as they haven't bothered in the last 15-20 years.

[#2]

I tried one more app, email from edison on android and it now appears to work.

The only difference I could see is that you can set the security to "auto", rather than specifically select a method. Ports remain the same at 993 and 587. This app synchronised folders. This possobly then appears to be some sort of issue with negotiating security methods between the various apps and PN.

[#3]

There are lots of issues reported across the internet of issues with Outlook when used on android to many email providers.

There are also some oddities with OL sync with folder structures similar to those you described - they are usually sorted by specifying “inbox” as the root folder. I’ve not yet worked out why some mailboxes need it and others do not, both with PN and other email providers.

[#4]

Hi just to let you know that I have been with PN  for many years , and had the same experience . The customer service has fallen ,slow broadband , certainly not good for fibre .

I notice this since BT bought PN .

That will do 

I think anything will do as long as we get your money

Highly disatisfied

[#5]

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@Townman wrote:

There are also some oddities with OL sync with folder structures similar to those you described - they are usually sorted by specifying “inbox” as the root folder.

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That suggests that OL doesn't sync properly when a new "account" is added. It should create a structure to match the server.

[#6]

@PeeGee 

Possibly!!

I suspect it is equally (indeed more likely) as much to do with which email client 'built out' the standard system folders.  Creating a mailbox via the user portal only creates the inbox; drafts, sent and trash are not created at the same time.  The creation of those folders is folders is left to the whims of the first email client which connects to the mailbox and has a need for the system folders.

This is one reason why if you want to use Win10 Mail, it should be the very first client which connects to a brand new mailbox.  If it is used to connect to an existing mailbox, then you are likely to end up with multiple sent items folders and the IMAP drafts folder is not likely to be used properly at all.

Outlook 2016/19 being used as the first client usually sets everything up fine.

Using Webmail as the first client also works fine, however I have then found that (often but not always) OL requires the root folder to be specified.  I have yet to discern fully the interactions which brings about the need to specify the root folder and why sometimes the system folders appear as subfolders of inbox and other times they do not.

There is a lot of discussion on this topic to be found from a Google search.  Some refer to the root folder settings, others mention AV interference...

IMAP Folder structure in Outlook does not match folder structure in Webmail--how to resolve? (micros...

IMAP Folders disappeared in Outlook 2016 - Microsoft Community

IMAP: Outlook 2016 doesn't see all the folders available on - Microsoft Community

Also ... IMAP: Folder structure and Junk E-mail filter - MSOutlook.info

Several IMAP server implementations, including (older versions of) Horde, work from the Inbox folder as a root folder. New folders can then indeed only be created directly under the Inbox folder which can interfere with Outlook’s internal folder structure.

The result is that you don’t have a Junk E-mail folder and that this feature doesn’t work.

To solve this, you can set the “Root folder path” option in your account settings.

[#7]

@Townman 

Not sure I understand the logic here. The initial folder structure is built when the account is created on the server (and independent of the type of access) - until that is in place the client is not able to connect. When the client then connects to the server using IMAP, it shows (a subset of*) the server folders - there are no corresponding folders on the client system, only local folders that are unknown to the server. It is then possible for the client to add folders on the server.

When you connect via webmail, you see the layout generated by the webmail interface, which may or may not represent the server layout.

I access four IMAP servers with my client. Two, including Plusnet, have an INBOX with subfolders and two have the default folders at the top level.

Phil

* some folders may be" hidden" by default, which varies by client