Outlook 2021 IMAP problems

[HCHTech]

I'm struggling with this setup. Customer has business email with Network Solutions, and we're setting up a new laptop. He purchased Office Home & Business 2021, so we're not in M365-land. Windows is 10 Pro, 21H1, Office is fully patched.

When I configure the IMAP account in Outlook using the NetSol specs, everything is accepted, the account is created, and the set of folders is downloaded and populated. All, that is, except the Inbox. The folder is created, but it doesn't get any content. There is existing content in the Inbox if I log onto webmail. Also, If I send a message to my address with Outlook, I receive that email. If I respond to it, I see the response in Webmail, but it doesn't download into Outlook. Also, If I create and send an email in webmail, that email does show up in the sent items folder in Outlook. So basically, the Inbox isn't syncing.

I have checked what I believe to be all of the obvious things (is the Inbox in the list of subscribed folders, is it included in the send/receive group, etc.). I've created a new profile at least twice in this process, without impacting the problem unfortunately.

Because the other folders "work", this seems like it is a problem on Network Solutions' end, or there is some bug in the new desktop version of Outlook that I haven't run into yet. I remember in years past having to edit the prefix of some IMAP folders to fix syncing problems, but I don't think that's the corner I'm in. Network Solution support is basically washing their hands of the problem after 2 "server resets" and confirming I had the account setup to their liking in Outlook.

I'm going to just try to get them to migrate to M365, but I'm hoping I can get this working in the interim. Has anyone run into this behavior in the past?

 

[thatdude]

This could be as simple as going to the View Menu and clicking on IMAP Messages. Try this:

1. Click on the Folder that should have something in it, but nothing is there, like the Inbox
2. Click on the View menu up top
3. Click on the Change View button at the top
4. Click on IMAP Messages

If you don't have the option for IMAP messages in the Change View it could be something else.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

The "root" folder path setting?

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

In my IMAP account, the default mail folders like Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, etc are subfolders of my Inbox folder. I have been able to set the Sent Items and Deleted Items folders of my IMAP account so that they now work, but the Junk E-mail filter does not work. Why are my folders all...

www.msoutlook.info

For me...Outlook and IMAP don't belong together....like oil and water.

 

[thatdude]

Sorry @HCHTech, I quickly read through your post and thought you had things working in another version of Outlook with another IMAP provider. Yeah, do what @YeOldeStonecat especially if you're not as familiar with IMAP.

And as @YeOldeStonecat said Outlook and IMAP don't belong together. Just wait until you start getting upwards of 1GB of email to "synchronize." **** starts going bad pretty quickly. I've done two email migrations in the past couple of months where both clients were using IMAP. It is an extremely big pain to get all the email to show up like it should after migrating to M365. We're still having issues with one of the users from that migration.

In the dark ages when the choices were shell out tons of money for an Exchange Server, use POP or IMAP.....I always went with POP. It's way less buggy.

 

[britechguy]

Also, if you weren't the first person to touch this Outlook installation, definitely check that he hasn't created any rules that would dispatch with incoming messages that would typically land in inbox before they even get there. I've seen it happen.

I know that many besides @YeOldeStonecat have said IMAP and Outlook don't mix, but I've set up virtually nothing but IMAP in Outlook for years now, and have never had a single issue. It's a rock solid email protocol that God knows how many residential and very small business users have been using with Outlook for years and years and years now. If Outlook were not to "play well" with IMAP the hue and cry from a massive embedded user base would be deafening!

Although I don't use Outlook as a "daily driver," my main email accounts are also set up, and are IMAP, in Outlook 2016 on this machine and another I have, but very seldom use. Nary a burp over a long period of time.

 

[britechguy]

I always went with POP. It's way less buggy.

All I'll say here is that our personal experiences are diametrically opposed. I'd rather gnaw my fingers off than use POP when the choice is between POP and IMAP. And, these days, most people want to access the same account from multiple devices, and unless you reconfigure what are generally the default POP settings you end up with asynchrony of which devices receive what very quickly indeed.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yeah I wouldn't roll back further and for for dial up days POP...I'd gnaw off my fingers...and toes....also! POP was designed for single computer fetching the email. IMAP got popular later (although it had been out at least as long as POP) when people started checking email from multiple devices. yeah POP has that "leave email on server for x amount of days" option...but...messy.

Oh the cry for massive embedded user base is quite loud at times! I'm not the only tech to avoid Outlook at IMAP. Such fun when Outlook upgrades happen, and/or mailbox size gets towards large and Outlook gags on it.

 

[britechguy]

mailbox size gets towards large and Outlook gags on it.

It happens, but that's when it's long past time for cleanout.

I am completely over trying to make it possible for any user, business or residential, to keep every blessed piece of email they have ever received. Email is no different than regular mail, there are select few things that warrant filing and the rest should be deleted as soon as they have been viewed (or even before, for some messages).

I refuse to enable hoarding, whether cyber or real world. If you're not willing to clean out your mailbox when it's got tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of messages that, just at cursory glance, are not important then you become some other tech's problem.

One of the beauties of being my age (just under 60) and doing this as a side gig is that I do not have to even make the vaguest nod toward supporting untenable behaviors. I'm happy to set limits and stick to them. And educating clients about what they should not do, and I will not support should they choose to do so, are a part of the value I add.

Personally, I have yet to ever encounter a mailbox that Outlook gags on, but I absolutely know that this happens. I've lucked out with clients that really don't hoard, with very rare exceptions, and haven't hit the tipping point if they do. They've been warned, too, if the occasion presented itself (it doesn't in all cases).

 

[HCHTech]

The "root" folder path setting?

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

In my IMAP account, the default mail folders like Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, etc are subfolders of my Inbox folder. I have been able to set the Sent Items and Deleted Items folders of my IMAP account so that they now work, but the Junk E-mail filter does not work. Why are my folders all...

www.msoutlook.info

Yep - this was it. The root was set to "Inbox". I removed that so the field was blank, saved and it did a rebuild (which didn't fix it). I edited it again, put "Inbox" back in, it did another rebuild, and now the Inbox is syncing. Go figure. Your memory is clearly better than mine. I owe you a pint!

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Personally, I have yet to ever encounter a mailbox that Outlook gags on, but I absolutely know that this happens. I've lucked out with clients that really don't hoard, with very rare exceptions, and haven't hit the tipping point if they do.

I've seen it a couple of times...I recall it being A) GMail users, B) Approaching 20 gigs worth of mailbox. Just had some quick messaging with a client (discussing boats, not computers) via FB chat a bit ago and he was one of the ones whos Outlook gave him fits years ago..he's a mortgage guy, one man show, I recall it being back in end of the Outlook 2010 days, into Outlook 2013.

Doing the volume of email servers for clients that I did, just got spoiled by.....Exchange...raise the limits, and Outlook works just fine no matter how large the mailbox is. I've been doing this game for 30 years, I still have a couple of emails from way back, my mailbox is probably 25 gigs. My wife is in Real Estate, she's a one woman show, but I'll admit she's very good at pulling attachments out of email and saving in her OneDrive structure...she's a very busy Realtor and her mailbox...last time I look (probably a year ago), was around 35 gigs. That's factoring in her good housekeeping with her volume.

EMail systems less than full business grade solutions like Exchange or Notes...yes, they need tending to, mailbox limits, etc.
Good email systems such as Exchange or Notes...ability to keep working smooth as butter even if you lift limits like mailbox sizes (back in the days of on-prem Exchange)..or with no mailbox size limits (like 365)...just capacity by license. The only quasi reason to limit mailbox sizes was so that the businesses IT budget could keep the price of the server down...didn't need a truckload of hard drive space for Exchanges info-store..and didn't need a huge backup system. But once 365 hit....reason for limits are now...poof....gone. Factor in 365s easy archiving...and those 50 or 100 gig default limits by license are gone.

 

[carmen617]

Network Solutions is a really crappy email provider - I have a bunch of clients who use them, and every one is a pain in the neck. What I have found is that, if you log into their Network Solutions account and find the mail settings there, those won't work. If you log into their webmail, and go through the help to see the client email settings, you are much more likely to find settings that actually work - and are completely different from what you find on their website.