Why Isn't My Email Syncing Across All My Devices?

Why Isn't My Email Syncing Across All My Devices?

Why Isn't My Email Syncing Across All My Devices?

Understanding IMAP vs. POP, and how to check which one your device is using.

If a message you read (or deleted) on one device still shows as unread on another — or mail disappears from your phone after your computer checks it — the most common cause is that one of your devices is set up as POP instead of IMAP.

The short version:

  • IMAP keeps everything in sync — read, unread, deleted, and organized the same way on every device, because it always talks to the mail stored on our server.
  • POP downloads mail to just one device and often removes (or hides) it from the server afterward, which is why other devices stop seeing it.

We recommend IMAP for anyone who checks email on more than one device.

Step 1 — Check Which One Your Device Is Using

iPhone / iPad

  1. Open Settings, then tap Mail (on newer iOS: Apps → Mail).
  2. Tap Accounts, then tap the account you want to check.
  3. Tap your email address again near the top of the account details. You'll see IMAP or POP listed right there under Account Information.

When setting up (or checking) a mail account, the IMAP / POP tabs appear right at the top of the screen.

Android

  1. Open your Mail app's settings and select the account in question.
  2. Look for Account settings → Server settings (wording varies by app) — the incoming server type is usually labeled there.

Computer (Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird)

Open your account settings and look at the Incoming Mail Server or Account Type field — it will say IMAP or POP directly.

Step 2 — Switching to IMAP

Most mail apps don't allow you to simply switch an existing account from POP to IMAP — instead, you'll need to remove the account and add it again, choosing IMAP this time.

Important — back up your mail before removing a POP account. POP accounts are often set up to delete messages from our server once they've been downloaded to a device. If that's the case here, the only remaining copy of some messages may be stored locally on that one phone or computer — and removing the account also clears that app's local mail storage. Please complete Step 2a below before removing anything.

Step 2a — Check What's Actually on the Server First

  1. Sign in to Webmail at https://webmail.usgo.net and check whether the emails you care about are visible there.
  2. If everything you need is already in Webmail, you're safe to proceed — switching to IMAP will simply pull all of that mail back down to your device, and nothing will be lost.
  3. If you notice messages on your device that are not in Webmail, those only exist locally on that device right now. Back them up before continuing — for example, forward important messages to another email address, save attachments elsewhere, or (on a computer) export them to a file. If you have a lot of messages to preserve, contact our support team first and we'll help you back them up safely.

Step 2b — Remove and Re-Add the Account

Once you've confirmed (or backed up) anything that's only stored locally:

  1. Remove the existing POP account from your device (this only removes the account setup and its local mail cache from the device — it does not affect anything already safely stored in Webmail).
  2. Add the account again, and choose IMAP when prompted for the account type.
  3. Enter your email address and password as usual, and let the app finish syncing. Everything stored on the server (including what you just confirmed in Webmail) will come back down automatically.

Still Not Syncing Correctly?

If every device is already set to IMAP and things still aren't matching up, please contact our support team with:

  • Which devices and mail apps are affected
  • Whether IMAP or POP is currently selected on each one

We're happy to double-check your account settings and get everything back in sync.


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