Forum Discussion
PhilC43
Jun 03, 2020Copper Contributor
Windows Mail App does not work with Gmail accounts
The recent update to the Mail App for Windows 10 (Version 16005.12827.20200.0) has caused numerous problems with the Gmail integration. Sent mails are not appearing in the Sent Mail folder - instead...
CKP45
Oct 11, 2021Copper Contributor
I have similar experience. F.e. GMail messages which are unread and AT FIRST appear in Mail App's "unread" filter in "All Mail" folder can be made to utterly disappear simply by moving them from one folder to another within the Mail App. After the move, they are not anywhere in the Mail App, even though the changes will be reflected correctly in GMail via browser interface. It's like the messages get "old" and lose their "hotness" -- changes to message attributes (label, folder, read/unread, flag) are not synched to them by Mail App unless the message is ARRIVING at the time of the change to the attribute. So, absent the message being identical to its arrival state, it is a non-message, and the Mail App no longer sees it.
Personally, I like to keep incoming mail messages in my In-Box until I have acted upon them. So, I'll generally have four or five messages sitting in the In-Box, unread, for a while. With any other mail app, this is fine; they sit there. With Microsoft Mail App, they disappear. Next time I log in, they aren't seen by the Mail App any more, and I don't know what or where they are. I left them there as a reminder, so I wouldn't have to remember them, I don't know what their contents are, and therefore I cannot search for them by content. I had a job to do; Microsoft hid it from me permanently, and quite effectively; now it won't get done.
There are plenty of other symptoms. The culprit seems to be, that the "folder" concept (used by most conceivably normal email systems) versus the "label" concept (used idiotically by GMail alone for very little good reason except that they like to push us around by demanding we change our thinking habits) are contradictory in some manner or other. Most IMAP setups should be able to handle GMail's "label" concept but evidently Microsoft Mail App cannot do it, and instead of showing messages that it knows are there, it hides them.
This is un-tenable. Microsoft Mail App ought to handle the simplest of GMail messages, but it cannot. I ought to be able to replicate my GMail folders either on a web browser or, via IMAP, in the Mail App, but I cannot, because Microsoft cannot handle GMail's "label" concept (or, differently put, because GMail's "label" concept conflicts with most email systems' assumptions about labeling and foldering).
- swiftechkevinOct 11, 2021Copper Contributor
- CKP45Oct 11, 2021Copper Contributor
It's the standard default IMAP arrangement. Thanks for your interest and attention.
By the way, I have some work-arounds. One work-around is to go into the GMail browser interface, where I can clearly see all the messages sitting there in the inbox, and there I create a brand new label (can't be one I've ever used before) such as "primary" or "skeezix" and then label the messages in question with it. This will force Microsoft Maill App to "re-see" the messages in question, at least in so far as I can find the new folder (same name as the new label) and then look in that folder for the missing messages. It doesn't force Mail App to "re-see" the messages fully; they still won't appear in the In-Box nor will they appear via a search through the "all mail" label for unread messages. A second work-around is to have the good sense, whenever in the Mail App, to NEVER EVER change the "folder" that a message is stored in. Don't hit "Archive" (this moves things to "deleted/archive" or to "archive" or to "archives" depending on the phase of the moon?), don't drag-and-drop to a new folder (drag-drop will remove FROM the old folder, but not place INTO the new folder, thus accomplishing the disappearment of the message(s)). Third work-around is to find unread messages, but you have to use a trick to find them. Mail App won't find them properly. Instead, you must search in "all mail" for "is:unread" text string. This trick alone will find unread messages. I can't just use the Mail App's "unread" filter, that won't work. I have to use the text string "is:unread" to find unread messages. The contradiction in "unread" status -- Mail App won't even find NEW messages that are unread, if I just use its own "unread" filter -- indicates (I think) that GMail puts an "unread" LABEL on the message, rather than actually changing its STATUS as un/read, whereas MS Mail App cannot understand LABELS. So, again, the culprit seems to be, that "folder" (all other sane decent emailers) versus "label" (GMail alone) is inconsistent.
- swiftechkevinOct 11, 2021Copper ContributorYeah. The meshing of those two systems using IMAP leaves a lot to be desired which is exactly why I asked. I set mine up as POP3 for that very reason about 6 years ago and apparently it hasn't improved. I don't need additional copies to match on googles servers. I just have a gmail account because I have an android phone and because.... I wanted to be one of the first 50k people to have a gmail account when they began offering them years ago. lol. I almost never login to the account. Can't even say when the last time was that I did. I just use POP3 in outlook to download it and then since it's in outlook, I don't have to worry about what gmail is doing. And if I want to view it in webmail I use outlook webmail.
One nice thing is that MS now supports custom domains for the home version of outlook and they also support gmail accounts. If you use outlook because you prefer it, there's no reason to use IMAP. Just use gmail as "the server" and use outlook.