iPhone: The Missing Manual

The "Two-Mailbox Problem"

It's awesome that the iPhone can check the mail from a POP mail account, which is the sort provided by most Internet providers. This means, however, that now you've got two machines checking the same account—your main computer and your iPhone.

Now you've got the "The "Two-Mailbox Problem"." What if your computer downloads some of the mail, and your iPhone downloads the rest? Will your mail stash be awkwardly split between two machines? How will you remember where to find a particular message?

Fortunately, the problem is halfway solved by a factory setting deep within the iPhone that says, in effect: "The iPhone may download mail, but will leave a copy behind for your desktop computer to download later."

Tip

If you must know, this setting is at Settings→Mail→account name→Advanced→"Delete from server"→Never.

Unfortunately, that doesn't stop the opposite problem. It doesn't prevent the computer from downloading messages before your iPhone can get to them. When you're out and about, therefore, you may miss important messages.

Most people would rather not turn off the computer every time they leave the desk. Fortunately, there's a more automatic solution: turn on the "Leave messages on server" option in your Mac or PC email program. Its location depends on which email program you use. For example:

• Entourage. Choose Tools→Accounts. Double-click the account name; click Options. Turn on "Leave a copy of each message on the server."

  Tip

  Also turn on "Delete messages from ...