Comments on: Gmail IMAP vs. Push, sanity more important than Push?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:37:12 +0000

I also switched back to imap.. Push did not download attachmenst or pictures in email or use reply-to addresses when replying to emails that use a special address to reply to for comments etc.
I dont see whats so great about push, you can set imap to download every 5 minutes and every time you send.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:44:22 +0000

Yeah, the iPhone notifications are horrible. That’s something they could steal from Android, where notifications don’t make you hunt for an app, don’t alert more than ones, and are ignorable.

By: Semidoppel

Semidoppel — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:51:58 +0000

I can’t relate, I don’t have that iPhone. T_T

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:27:39 +0000

Formatted the iPhone and setup Google Sync. Everything works as it should now. All labels sync as far back as I specify in the settings. Now I feel like a bit of a doof using this post to rant. Good thing you insisted I had a iPhone + Google Sync functioning improperly.

By: Camron Flanders

Camron Flanders — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:17:29 +0000

Yep, you got it. I happen to have 8 unread in the 50 on here, with both blue dots next to them and the “All Mail (8)” title in the nav bar.

My inbox has 3 unread and 2 read, also showing up appropriately.

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:14:47 +0000

So 50 or so recent emails in your All Mail label show up on your handset – read or unread? Now I need to figure out what is going on with my setup.

By: Camron Flanders

Camron Flanders — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:11:20 +0000

That’s too bad. Mine (as well as everyone else I’ve talked to) operates _just_ like IMAP, but it doesn’t require polling to update changes (in either direction). Read, unread, etc all the same as IMAP.

The one downside to it (as of right now) vs. IMAP is that you can’t edit drafts on the iPhone. Personally, it doesn’t bother me. For the very few times I need to, I use their mobile site – which is _fantastic_ imo.

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:05:09 +0000

There must be something wrong with my account then. I just deleted Google Sync, disabled IMAP, and setup Google Sync again. Gmail pushes a notification telling me I have new mail but none of the previously read emails in Gmail (browser) are showing up on the iPhone (Mail client). Only unread email is showing up in my iPhone inbox.

Alerts popping up redacted. Meant audible alerts. Sorry.

By: Camron Flanders

Camron Flanders — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:58:50 +0000

And there are “notifications” sent to the device, so they aren’t “push notifications”. Look in your “Notifications” settings in Settings.app, gmail isn’t listed.

It’s a push email system utilizing ActiveSync, not a system using the Apple Push Notification Service — like boxcar is.

By: Camron Flanders

Camron Flanders — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:57:03 +0000

1. I have both a synced inbox AND labels with Google Sync.

2. You state:

“As soon as the setup info went live, I enabled Google Sync, flipped the Email toggle and waited. Minutes later, 5 unread email notifications popped up. Twenty minutes later, another 7. A short time later, even more emails.

Browsing the web, playing a game, or reading a Kindle book. There it was, yet another Push notification from Gmail.

What had I done? I realized that Gmail Push suddenly became the service I wished for and hated all at the same time. I mean, how could I focus on beating my personal best score in Orbital (iTunes) or Chain Rxn (iTunes) if the screen was routinely hijacked by Push notifications?”

The screen is _not_ hijacked, nor are there any pop-up alert notifications. I’m simply saying that I think something is wrong with your setup. On my phone, it operates exactly as my IMAP gmail account did — except it’s pushed, not polled.