Resolved Mail App (iCloud) not Syncing Across Devices

[JDB96]

I have recently switched over from using Gmail as my personal email provider to iCloud. I figured that I already use iCloud for everything else so I may as well use it for emails too.

The trouble is the iOS Mail App is not behaving in the way that I think it should do (or at least the way I was used to with Gmail). When I get a Mail notification on my iPhone and iPad, I will read/delete/archive it on one device but the notification or app badge doesn’t go away on the other device until I’ve actually opened the Mail App and let it sync.

With Gmail if I deleted an email as soon as I received it on my iPad for example, the notification would disappear from my iPhone before the display had had time to turn back off.

I assume that the Mail App with iCloud is supposed to behave in the same fashion as Gmail, and it isn‘t just lagging behind on features?

I have tried restarting both devices and signing out and back in to iCloud and neither of those things have fixed it. I may end up moving to Outlook or another app if this persists, which is a shame because I really like the stock App.

 

[0128672]

I assume that the Mail App with iCloud is supposed to behave in the same fashion as Gmail, and it isn‘t just lagging behind on features?

I wouldn't assume that. On my home network it does work this way most of the time, but there are times it's not in sync. If I leave the Mail apps open on my devices, it does stay in sync all the time.

 

[tootyfrooty]

On the iPhone go to [Settings] then [Passwords & Accounts] then switch on [Fetch New Data] Then on the last screen make sure PUSH is enabled for your iCloud account. When this is on emails will be PUSHED to your iPhone and your emails will sync using IMAP. It using more battery if you have this on. Hope that helps

 

[0128672]

On the iPhone go to [Settings] then [Passwords & Accounts] then switch on [Fetch New Data] Then on the last screen make sure PUSH is enabled for your iCloud account. When this is on emails will be PUSHED to your iPhone and your emails will sync using IMAP. It using more battery if you have this on. Hope that helps

That's a good suggestion. I thought Push was on by default, but it's been a long time since I've set that up. On iOS/iPadOS 13.6 you don't have to switch on Fetch New Data; it's just a menu item. If you tap on it, it opens the details allowing you to enable Push.

 

[JDB96]

Thanks for the suggestion but unfortunately Push is already on.

 

[tootyfrooty]

Is it on in both parts? Main toggle switch and in the iCloud settings?

 

[tootyfrooty]

Other checks... battery not in low power mode, as this will disable push mail

 

[JDB96]

Is it on in both parts? Main toggle switch and in the iCloud settings?

Yep, see screenshot attached. I even turned it on for all folders thinking that might help, it hasn’t. Low power mode off too, I am actually getting the emails pushed to me, it’s just the syncing across devices once I’ve read/archived/deleted it that doesn’t take text until I open the App on the other device.

 

[tootyfrooty]

Ah.. I see. IMAP messages will not pre-sort mail until the app is opened. It will only push the header information of the email.

 

[JDB96]

Yes you are right, I’ve been googling further and found that iCloud doesn’t support background sharing of read status. It is a feature of IMAP and one would think that a company like Apple who are generally excellent at syncing stuff across devices might actually use it, but that is not the case.

To live with it or switch back to Gmail ?

 

[tootyfrooty]

I use gmail as a provider but the apple mail app for checking mail. Which I think is a good combo, google are the best for weeding out spam.