Synchronization between webmail and iphone

@haz10 Thank you for reaching out to us here at the Xfinity Community Forums regarding this concern of synchronization of folders between Comcast webmail and third-party mail service through Apple. While I personally do not utilize Apple mail to test the synchronization of mail folders myself, the synchronization would be based between both Xfinity and Apple by ensuring your Mailbox settings are identical for both (for example, they would all need to be IMAP or all POP3, not one or the other)

Thanks. Very interesting. I have Comcast email accounts on my iMac (configured through the Apple mail client) and Comcast email accounts (the same email addresses as on the iMac) configured on my iphone 8.

All my Comcast email accounts on my iMac have been configured for incoming mail as POP 3 since their inception in 2011. Since 2018 and until very recently, the incoming email on my iphone was configured as IMAP and it worked with no problems. Synchronization between webmail and the iphone happened with no issues until recently. Recently, on my iphone, I also noticed some changes that I never made.

A new mail account called "COMCAST" appeared out of the blue on my iphone. Settings for Mail on the iphone for this account show that it was added as a IMAP. It is "connected" to my main email address. It has an INBOX with 27 folders. These folders include the "standard" ones (Drafts, Sent, Junk), some new ones I didn't see before: Trash, Deleted Messages and a folder for each of my other 3 email accounts (that are empty). The rest are older folders I created in webmail. No new folders I created recently in webmail are there. The INBOX itself has all my incoming messages for my main email address until 11/30/22. In addition, on my iphone I keep getting an "account "error which states: "Cannot get email. No password provided for "COMCAST". Please go to Mail Account Settings and enter a password".  If I go to Settings, it seems that there is a password for this account I never created. I have no idea what it might be....   This might cause the authentication errors that XfinityGABRIELS mentioned.

My main email address also appears separately on my iphone as a separate mail account. It is configured as POP 3. It has only 2 folders: Inbox and Trash. The Inbox has all current emails sent to my main email address and old ones going back for a few years (1814 emails). This "split" of incoming emails didn't exist before the recent strange changes.

I will not describe what's happening with SENT mail from my main email address as it becomes too confusing with two sent mail folders in each of my email accounts....

I appreciate the suggestion, but I prefer to post publicly, so that people with similar questions benefit from the conversation. There might be others in the same situation and they might add value to the discussion or learn from it.

I am including screen captures of the 2 email accounts on my iphone that I described above, avoiding any personal info: the new COMCAST account I did not create that is connected to my primary email address (mail account #1) and the account for my primary email address (mail account #1). The number of folders in the COMCAST account required 3 screen shots. The COMCAST account does not appear on my imac or in webmail. The many folders are a messy compilation of the standard folders, plus new folders + older folders I created  in webmail. 

You can also see a SENT folder and a SENT MESSAGES folder. The SENT folder has the current emails sent from in my iphone from my primary email address. The SENT MESSAGES folder has some old messages sent from my iphone in 2020, with most of them only showing the subject. When one clicks on these, a message states: "This message has not been downloaded from the server". I have no idea about why this folder was added by Comcast and its purpose in life.

I wish someone from Comcast who knows what's happening with email, synchronization of email between webmail and the iphone could explain what's happening.

I posted the following and included 3 screen captures. Are the rules for what's "private" described anywhere? Are folders called Florida2019 or Vera2016 or email #1 "private"? I crossed out all email addresses, but this post was still classified as PRIVATE and I have no idea why. It is really annoying. I am not attaching the files to see what happens. Maybe someone from COMCAST can send me a link to the rules. Thanks.

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I am including screen captures of the 2 email accounts on my iphone that I described above, avoiding any personal info: the new COMCAST account I did not create that is connected to my primary email address (mail account #1) and the account for my primary email address (mail account #1). The number of folders in the COMCAST account required 3 screen shots. The COMCAST account does not appear on my imac or in webmail. The many folders are a messy compilation of the standard folders, plus new folders + older folders I created  in webmail. 

You can also see a SENT folder and a SENT MESSAGES folder. The SENT folder has the current emails sent from in my iphone from my primary email address. The SENT MESSAGES folder has some old messages sent from my iphone in 2020, with most of them only showing the subject. When one clicks on these, a message states: "This message has not been downloaded from the server". I have no idea about why this folder was added by Comcast and its purpose in life.

I wish someone from Comcast who knows what's happening with email, with synchronization of email between webmail and the iphone could explain what I am experiencing, why folders created in webmail are no longer synchronized to the iphone and why this COMCAST account appeared.

Thanks. This post seems relevant, except that it happened almost two years ago when the problem was supposedly resolved. I will carefully read it again.

In my case, as I described in this thread:

1. Synchronization of subfolders created in webmail with my iphone 8 mail worked fine until December 2022 when it stopped happening.

2. A new mail account called "COMCAST" appeared out of the blue on my iphone. This account doesn't exist anywhere else. Settings for Mail on the iphone for this account show that it was added as IMAP. It is "connected" to my main email address. It has an INBOX with 27 folders. These folders include the "standard" ones (Drafts, Sent, Junk), some new ones I didn't see before: Trash, Deleted Messages and a folder for each of my other 3 email accounts (that are empty). The rest are older folders I created in webmail.  The INBOX itself has all my incoming messages for my main email address until 11/30/22.

3. In addition, on my iphone I keep getting an "account "error which states: "Cannot get email. No password provided for "COMCAST". Please go to Mail Account Settings and enter a password".  If I go to Settings, it seems that there is a password for this account I never created. I have no idea what it might be....   This might cause the authentication errors that XfinityGABRIELS mentioned.

4. My main email address also appears separately on my iphone as a separate mail account. It is configured as POP 3. It has only 2 folders: Inbox and Trash. The Inbox has all current emails sent to my main email address and old ones going back for a few years (1814 emails).

It seems that some changes were made either by Comcast or Apple for email around the end of November which resulted in the changes and problems I am experiencing. Prior to these latest changes all my email accounts on my iphone were configured as IMAP.

I have no idea of the potential consequences of deleting the POP3 account on the iphone (which now gets ALL my incoming emails for my main email address). If I were to delete the POP account, would the incoming email be added to this new COMCAST account's Inbox? Before I understand what the impact of deleting the POP account is, I would be concerned to do it. I would not want to wake up with potentially not getting the emails for my main email address on my iphone. Hopefully XfinityGabrielS can address this new issue with synchronization. Thanks.

To answer to the question "Is everything showing up correctly when you log in through webmail on Xfinity?", I do not know, as I do not know what "correctly" means. There are new sub-folders I have not seen before; the "My Folders" folder (???) looks somewhat like the COMCAST mailbox on the iphone that I did not create...  Is this "correct" and to be expected?

Thanks. I already provided my info on direct message. I would like to keep the discussion on the Forum as others can benefit from it.

Hopefully someone familiar with changes made to email by Comcast and/or Apple at the end of November can add value and help.

No company in today's world can afford to be an island. When a company provides an interface to another company, the two companies usually work together to make sure that the interface works.

It would help to get a reply about what's "correct" in webmail, so that I can address the question I was asked.

XfinityAbbie, maybe you can send me a link to the rules about what's considered private info on this Forum, as I do not understand why some of my posts become PRIVATE and are not published.

... It would help to get a reply about what's "correct" in webmail ...

Webmail creates Inbox, Drafts, Sent, Spam, and Trash folders. Any other folders seen in webmail are ones created manually, or folders that existed on a 3rd party email client or app using the IMAP protocol.

... link to the rules about what's considered private info ...

Please see https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/guidelines/xfinity-forum-acceptable-use-policy/602d9c64c5375f08cd574236 and https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/guidelines/xfinity-forum-guidelines/602da8fdc5375f08cd20b38c.

Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.

Thanks, @BruceW.

PRIVATE INFO:   - The screen captures I tried to post 2 days ago and were marked as PRIVATE, have none the topics listed at the link you sent me, unless folders called Florida2019 or Vera2016 or email #1 are considered "private"....

"correct in Webmail": All my Comcast email accounts have in addition to what you listed as created by webmail: an "account ?" called MY FOLDERS which includes folders I have created in webmail and (empty) folders for each of the other Comcast email accounts + a Deleted Messages folder + a Sent Messages folder. Is My Folders an email "account" and who created it, if not webmail? Does every webmail user have My Folders and all of these other folders in italics?

While it might be helpful to understand who created these extraneous folders (most of them empty) and what are they for, the real topic of this thread is to determine why synchronization of folders no longer happens between webmail and the iphone and how to fix that. It seems that this might be a recurring issue.

... the real topic of this thread is to determine why synchronization of folders no longer happens ...

With respect, strongly suggest you sit down with a knowledgeable friend, or engage a Geek Squad type person to help you with this. IMHO there's just no way the denizens of this public forum can help you untangle this Gordian knot. You need the in-person assistance of a technical mind.

Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.

@BruceW, thanks. Unfortunately I have no knowledgeable friend or Geek Squad type person who can help. I wish I could find someone who understands Comcast's webmail, Apple's mail and the interfacing between them.  If the support staff of the companies involved cannot help, how can others do that?  Comcast has one email expert who helps on this forum and this kind of help with inside knowledge of the product is the one that solves problems.

Do you have the MY FOLDERS ("account" or whatever it is) in your webmail? If so, do you have in it the folders I listed above in italics [(empty) folders for each of the other Comcast email accounts + a Deleted Messages folder + a Sent Messages folder?] Maybe I can at least cross this question out of the long list of what I do not understand..

... I have no knowledgeable friend or Geek Squad type person who can help ...

Please see https://www.google.com/search?q=in-home+tech+support+near+me. Be sure to check reviews and ratings, terms and conditions before signing up with one of them. You don't need help from Comcast, just from someone who understands POP and IMAP email and the devices you are using.

... Do you have the MY FOLDERS ("account" or whatever it is) in your webmail? ...

I do. My https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite "folders" pane looks like:

There are folders below "My folders" I created in webmail.

Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.

@BruceW, thanks. I then assume that the "entry" called "My folders" is a "standard entry" in webmail. Do you use Apple mail as a 3rd party client? If not, then maybe the other strange folders I see in MyFolders were created by Apple during the time when synchronization with the iphone still worked, although Apple is not aware of anything like this.

I will check out what's at the link you sent. However, I respectfully disagree with what you mentioned about knowledge needed for fixing the problems I am experiencing. I believe that in-depth understanding of how Comcast's webmail works with 3rd party emails is essential and goes beyond understanding IMAP and POP. Basic understanding of IMAP and POP would probably not explain why:

- synchronization of folders between webmail and the iphone worked until the end of November

- I ended up recently with a COMCAST account in email on my iphone

- why now I have for my main email address an IMAP and a POP account, which have inboxes and sent mail folders used in ways that I cannot understand

- why mail accounts in webmail now have two sent folders and other extraneous folders.

I strongly believe that the answers to the above can only be provided by technical staff aware of how the interface between Comcast's webmail and 3rd parties for email works and also familiar with changes the involved companies might have made and familiar with known bugs. Since I have not changed anything on my end and usually things do not change on their own, I can only assume that something changed in the software provided by one or both involved vendors.

I am reporting here with the hope that I can get the needed help and also because I have a hard time believing that I am the only person in the world experiencing these issues, using Comcast webmail and an iphone. In addition, maybe end user experiences can help the vendors with debugging, if they care about the issues their customers are encountering.

Thanks for your patient help to those on this Forum.

Can someone explain what exactly the synchronization process between Comcast webmail and an iphone should do? Is there any assumption that all folders are synchronized, all emails in and out are synchronized? Is it supposed to be two way sync? If not, what exactly should an end user assume about how synchronization should work?

My husband has a Windows computer with Outlook 365 for email and an iphone 8 with the same iOS version (the latest released one) that I have. He never uses webmail and uses his iphone only seldomly for email. I looked at his webmail  account and folders, and at his iphone email folders.

Similarities with my configurations:

- a COMCAST IMAP email account on his iphone that he never created, associated with his only Comcast email address

- two SENT folders under this COMCAST account on the iphone, containing "arbitrarely" dated emails that he cannot relate to

- his My Folders in webmail also has folders for Deleted messages, Saved and Sent Messages that he didn't create. The Sent Messages has old messages from 2020.

Differences in configurations:

- he has only one email address/account

- his webmail has under My Folders an additional empty folder called "EDIT<0w>" that he did not create, which also appears in his COMCAST account on his iphone.

We ran a test on his computer: added a folder under My Folders in his webmail.  It was added on his iphone under the COMCAST account, which shows that some degree of synchronization happens for him, with his one Comcast email address. While the COMCAST account on the iPhone doesn't mirror the My Folders on webmail, it appears that end user added folders in webmail end up in the COMCAST account on the iPhone, when synchronization works.

Unfortunately, not knowing how synchronization between webmail and the iphone is supposed to work, I don't know what to delete or change in my much more complex configurations to restore folder synchronization.