No, it's POP3.
Hotmail doesn't support IMAP account afaik.
Before I switched to IMAP, I used pop3 on my main computer and on my iPhone. I had the pop3 settings set up to 'leave messages on server' for the iPhone, and delete them from the server ( the default) for the main PC. That way, I saw only messages that arrived while I was out first in the iPhone, but then downloaded them all to the PC when I got home. From what I remember, the ones I had previously read on iPhone were still unread on PC. I assume this is because pop3 is more of a one way trip. It fetches emails to the client, but does no status changes the other way. Or does only in some implementations.
Where the default is to delete from the server, there is nothing to update, so maybe the very rarity of leaving messages on the server means that if read status is updated in some implementations, others do not do this ?
Although I don't use Hotmail, I am still using pop3 exactly as you describe which as you know means re-screaning the messages again on the pc. A real waste of time.
I've never used IMAP and am therefore interested in your experience after switching. What problems did you encounter? Would you do it again or go back to pop? Do you need to change anything on the server or with the isp or just in Aquamail? Other thoughts?
Thanks.
Would not switch back, but it may be more than ever vital to back up emails as they live on the server, so can be blitzed by your isp by accident, and the best you will get is 'sorry'.
Deleting an item on the server deletes it everywhere, a point I will repeat at the end, so important is it!
However, I would not have changed if I only accessed my email from one device. Unless you use webmail a lot, it is not worth changing if you only have one device (PC/tablet/phone).
On my main PC, imap is set up to synchronise all messages and to download the whole of each, otherwise if your connection was down, you may not see all messages, or perhaps old ones. This could put you in a bind if the email you wanted was the one that told you your isp's helpline number!
The other thing I find useful is that sent messages are available on all your devices. When I used pop on the iPhone I copied everything to myself to partly get around it. This will become more interesting when conversation mode is available on aquamail.
You must find out how to use IMAP on your server, but I don't recall having to actually change much or anything on it. Do watch your email storage quota. As emails stay on the server, you can blow your quota.
One piece of advice, though. When you make the change, your new inbox on the server is in principle empty unless an email comes in. It is not completely trivial to populate this with the thousands of messages you already have on your PC. I am not going to spell out how to change from pop to IMAP using aquamail, as i did it using thunderbird. But in principle you stop your email client accessing via pop, but don't delete the account. Then you must set up a new account, using IMAP. So now you have two accounts with the same name, or at least pointing to the same server. One has all your pop email on your device, and is no longer fetching anything from the server, and the other has nothing on your device yet but uses imap. Copying the old emails to the new account is easy in principle, but should be done so that the oldest are copied first, as otherwise the IMAP setup to keep (say) only the last 2500 messages or some such on the device will keep the wrong ones. This step is complicated by the possibility a new email will arrive while you are copying the old ones. Nothing should be lost though.
I personally googled how to change from pop to IMAP using Thunderbird (I have it on my PC). The steps are very clear.
I read it several times, made sure I understood, made backups, then followed the steps one by one. I did not delete the old accounts immediately. Indeed I still have not, though they have been set to never fetch any mail and are excluded from the smart folder. This is because once you have deleted them they cannot be brought back.
Only after I set up IMAP on my PC and checked it out did I set up aquamail and then change the iPhone to use IMAP too. Before starting to switch, I stopped ALL my devices fetching mail using pop.
Don't try to follow my 'steps', as it is not a complete process. There are good sources on line at least for Thunderbird and outlook.
Finally, don't forget that if you simply delete an email on your tablet using aquamail, or on your PC using Thunderbird, it is GONE, Gone, gone,.... Everywhere. Aquamail can allow you to hide an email though I have never used it.
