why do my old/deleted emails keep reloading?

I use Entourage for Verizon email on my home computer, also have Verizon email access on my iPhone; lately, I will open Entourage and every old email I've received--deleted, filed, spam, etc.--will reload. I adjusted the settings so emails are deleted from the Verizon server after 30 days, but since then old emails still reload into Entourage on occasion, albeit only the ones received in the last month. I am at a loss. Verizon says it's not their problem, but clearly their servers are pushing out the old emails into Entourage. This used to happen once or twice a year and now it's more like weekly. Help?

Accepted answers

gs0b

Verizon email servers use the "POP" protocol. This is a simple store and forward protocol. When an email client connects to a POP server, it gets a list of all messages on the server and then downloads a copy of contents of any messages the client hasn't seen before (i.e. new messages).

The key part is what happens to the message on the server after the client has downloaded a copy. All modern email clients should have an option to either delete the message on the server or leave it as is. When you're only using one device to access email, you should configure it to delete the message to avoid confusion.

The tricky part with POP is when two or more devices are used to process email. If one device is set to delete messages, the other devices can miss messages that are deleted before they get a chance to see them. Because of this, most multiple device users will configure all clients to leave messages on the server. However, POP servers do not keep track of message status (new, read, deleted). Thus, it is up to each email client to keep track of which messages it's seen before. If the client forgets which messages it has read, it should get all messages on the server (again).

If no client ever delete messages on the server, the server will eventually fill up.

You can directly see and control the contents of the email server by using the Verizon web mail interface.

The bottom line is POP is not a good protocol for multi device email handling. IMAP is designed for this, but it is not available on Verizon servers. Email services such as Gmail and Outlook.com support IMAP and can be linked with Verizon's email to avoid these issues.

Good Luck.

All comments

gs0b

If no client ever delete messages on the server, the server will eventually fill up.

You can directly see and control the contents of the email server by using the Verizon web mail interface.

Good Luck.

sarahallen1

How do we link the Gmail with our Verizon account to avoid these issues?

yasdnil1

Thank you! This explanation makes complete sense. Not sure of my next steps but one will probably be to explore other email clients. thanks again!

bruteforce1

gsob

pop stands for post office protocol, as far as the server filling verizon has so many days assigned to folders and server so it does not fill up.there is a simple fix for the old mail turn off save mail on server or set the days to a certain amount to save.

gs0b

@bruteforce wrote:
pop stands for post office protocol, as far as the server filling verizon has so many days assigned to folders and server so it does not fill up.there is a simple fix for the old mail turn off save mail on server or set the days to a certain amount to save.

Yes, I know what POP stands for. The key point is POP is a store and toward protocol that does not easily support multiple email clients. This is a regular occurrence for those of us who want to access our email from more than one device. POP was designed back in the day when email was read on one and only one device.

Setting a POP client to not "save on server" does not solve the problem for users with multiple email clients. In that case, the client will download the message and then delete from the server. Then, when a different device or client is used to access email, it won't see the messages the other client downloaded and deleted. If a user sets all clients to this setting, the various clients will quickly become out of sync with different email on each one. A real mess. Leaving a POP client set to save email on the server solves this problem, but causes others such as the OP's issue.

The real solution is to use a server with modern multi-client email protocol such as IMAP (Interenet Message Access Protocol), Microsoft Exchange or others. Unfortunately, Verizon only provides POP on their servers.

Personally, I don't use Verizon email for much of anything. I use services that provide modern protocols and that I have better control of. Not only do I get better services, I don't have to worry about my email address changing if I switch ISPs.

Free email services such as gmail and outlook.com can pull email from a Verizon POP server while providing an IMAP interface for the various clients. Apple's products may be able to do this; I just don't know.

Good Luck.

bruteforce1

gsob

you can set save to server and the number of days on third party like windows mail,windows live mail,i think outlook has the settings too.

GJL1

This began about a month or so ago, Occurs naybe every other week. I've never had a problem before, wondering if it's AOL mail serves going nuts?

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