Hi folks, I am getting a moment to make this change to my westnet account from 
POP to IMAP. The text (in different font) below is that from a previous thread 
on the topic back in Feb 2014. I am running V8.2 Mail and OS X 10.10.5. Maybe 
Mail is a little different now and the instructions altered or maybe I am doing 
something wrong. I’ve made the copy of Inbox and Sent items into temp folders 
“On My MAC”. Then I uncheck the Enable button in my current account. No problem 
to here. 

Then I choose Mail > Add Account and select “Add other Mail account”. This is 
where I am unsure. I used the same account name, email address and password (as 
I am trying to change to IMAP) as current account and once I select Create, it 
simply enables the existing account which I just disabled. Perhaps this is not 
unexpected. I tried a different password and account name (same email address) 
- same thing - re-enables the existing disabled account.

What am I doing wrong or is the procedure different in 8.2?

For the moment I have re-enabled my Mail so I can still use it for this.

Regards

Pete.



Hi Laura,

I have cc'd your iinet &  Laura Webb <elja...@me.com> addresses, so hopefully 
you receive at least one of them.
Step 2. is VERY IMPORTANT: 
To avoid any potential disasters, save all the messages you have on your Mac to 
a different mailbox before you convert to IMAP.

How to convert a POP email account to IMAP
Most email providers let you choose between two ways to get your messages. You 
can have a POP (Post Office Protocol) account that downloads all your messages 
to your Mac, iPhone or iPad. Or, you can have an IMAP (Internet Message Access 
Protocol) account that leaves some or all of your messages up on the mail 
server so you can access them from any device. For example, with a POP account, 
if you check email on your iPhone, the messages downloaded there will only be 
there; when you get back to your Mac, you won’t see them in your inbox. With 
IMAP, they’ll be on all your devices.

If you’ve been using a POP account, but have grown frustrated with inaccessible 
messages, you can usually convert your account to IMAP. Most hosting companies 
and providers offer both options. However, making this conversion requires that 
you take precautions so you don’t lose any messages. Here’s how to make the 
switch safely:

1. Check with your email host

If you manage your email account yourself, check on your hosting company’s 
dashboard to make sure you can use IMAP. (It’s very rare that this is not 
available.) If you get email through your business or school, check with the IT 
department. Find out what settings you will need to access your email as an 
IMAP account, and whether anything needs to be changed on the server side. If 
you use Gmail, this help page will tell you how to change your Gmail account 
from POP to IMAP. (You have to enable IMAP on the Gmail website.)

2. Protect the message you’ve already downloaded

To avoid any potential disasters, save all the messages you have on your Mac to 
a different mailbox before you convert to IMAP.

IMAP stores some or all of your email on the mail server. The problem is, this 
means that any folders that are on your Mac may get overwritten, or deleted, if 
you don’t save their messages before making the switch. So, in Mail, choose 
Mailbox -> New Mailbox, and, with the location as On My Mac, create a new 
mailbox. Call it something like My Old Inbox. When you’ve done this, move all 
the messages currently in your Inbox to this folder. Do the same for your Sent 
Mail folder, and any Drafts you may have. Once this is done, you can change the 
settings for your email account.

3. Find your IMAP settings

Either your hosting company, your IT department, or your email provider will 
provide the settings you need to switch your account over to IMAP. For example, 
for Gmail, you will need to know the new Incoming Mail Server (imap.gmail.com), 
but your outgoing mail server won’t change. In most cases, you will just need 
to change the prefix in the Incoming Mail Server setting from pop to imap. 
Write these down. You'll need them in Step 5.

4. Disable your POP account

In Mail, choose Preferences -> Accounts, click on the name of your POP account, 
then on Advanced, then uncheck Enable this account.

5. Create a new IMAP email account

In Mail, you can’t change an email account from POP to IMAP. Instead, you need 
to create a new account. 

Choose File -> Add Account, and enter the information that you obtained in step 
3 above.

6. Check your email

If you entered the correct information, your new IMAP account should work right 
away. You will see an Inbox folder that is on the email server. Copy the 
messages you stored in your old inbox folder in step 2 to that folder, and they 
will be copied to your email server, so they will now be accessible from all 
your devices. Do the same for any sent messages or drafts.

Now that you have an IMAP account on your Mac, use the same settings to access 
your messages on another Mac, or on your iOS device(s).  On your iPad or 
iPhone, enter the necessary information in the Settings app, in the Mail, 
Contacts, Calendars section.

If you create more folders to store messages you’ll see them on all your 
devices. To do this, choose Mailbox -> New Mailbox, then in the popup menu at 
the top of the dialog box, choose the name of your email account. The folder 
will be created on your mail server, and any messages you store in that folder 
will sync to all your devices.

IMAP is much better for managing email across multiple devices. Change your old 
POP accounts to IMAP now so you can have access to your email at all times.



Cheers,
Ronni

17" MacBook Pro 2.3GHz Quad-Core i7 “Thunderbolt"
2.3GHz / 8GB / 750GB @ 7200rpm HD

OS X 10.9.1 Mavericks
Windows 7 Ultimate (under sufferance)




Pete


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