Why do my 'read' Inbox emails disappear from the new Microsoft Outlook program?

[KGR]

In the new Microsoft Outlook program, any Inbox messages that I have read on my phone or in BellMail disappear.  I can still see them on my phone & BellMail, but not in Outlook.  I went through may days of chatting with Microsoft but they have not been able to help.  I have reviewed the server setting recommendations on the Bell Mail site and these look OK.  Would appreciate if someone could provide some help with this.  Thanks

[Vanadiel]

Do you use pop or Imap for e-mail retrieval?

[KGR]

IMAP.bell.net 

port 993

[Vanadiel]

It should synchronize and pull all your e-mail from the server if you are using imap.

[KGR]

Yes that is my understanding....but it is definitely not working.

[dks]

Thank you for your question. This is not a bug, but a feature. Seriously. I have seen this on my devices years ago and why I prefer POP/SMTP. 

The way IMAP works is that when you read your mail on your primary device ( your phone?) it marks them as read and they won’t be seen on other devices. Once mail is read on your primary device it can’t be seen on other devices or programs. That’s possibly why you don’t see mail in Outlook. 

The solution is to switch to POP/SMTP and to set the server retention setting on all devices to Never. When you download your mail on your primary device, all the messages go away, as that server setting removes mail immediately.

I hope that makes things more clear.  

[KGR]

thank you so much for this explanation. Should I be changing to POP in Outlook or in Bell Mail or in my iPhone mail?  

[dks · Accepted solution]

If you want to read your mail across all devices and only delete it on your primary device, switch all your devices to POP/SMTP. Don’t use IMAP at all. I use Outlook standalone on my PC’s (desktop and laptop) and Apple Mail on my iPhone and iPad. Only Outlook on the desktop deletes mail on the server. The rest are set to Never. 

[DB147]

Hi there,

Thank you for the information. I have had the problem like KGR just with the new Outlook only. I've never had a problem previously with IMAP settings with phone, PC etc.  Is this a change/feature with the new Outlook?

[dks]

No. It is part of the IMAP protocol. I have known about it for 20 years. 

[KGR]

Apologies but this doesn't seem to be working for me at all.  I changed my settings on my iphone mail to pophm.sympatico.ca and got a warning that “The IMAP Server is not responding. Check your network connection and that you entered the correct info in the Incoming Mail Server field”
“This account may not be able to send or receive emails.  Are you sure you want to save?”  

Unfortunately now I can't get any new emails on my iphone, so I will need to change it back.

Also, I am not able to edit the settings in MS Outlook (incoming server = imap.bell.net).  I also don't see where I can change the settings in Bell Mail.

I was not having this issue at all with the old MS Outlook, just the new one and this has been going on since Feb 2024.  So there must be some incompatibility issue with the new Outlook.  I wonder if it has something to do with me being on sympatico.ca rather than bell.net?

[dks]

You will probably need to do all changes in your settings, not just pophm. Instructions for Outlook 2013 are here, but they don’t change. https://support.bell.ca/internet/connection-help/outlook-2013.how_to_set_up_bell_mail_in_outlook_201...

There are also help articles for the iPhone.