EAS doesn't work on my Lumia 928

[larrymcj]

I've configured an personal Outlook.com account and my an IMAP account and everything I do on Outlook.com or my IMAP account syncs "TO" to the phone just fine. But any actions I take on the phone (with either account) do NOT automatically sync to the Outlook.com or IMAP accounts (e.g., deleted messages, marking read/unread, flagging, moving messages to a folder). If I press SYNC, then everything works as it should and changes in Outlook.com and my IMAP email account just fine. With Exchange Active Sync (on the Outlook.com account) and IMAP for the work email, these things things should be synching automatically BOTH ways. I have ensured the settings on both accounts reflect downloading items "As they arrive".

Since this happens with two types of accounts (EAS and IMAP) I have to think it's an issue with the phone. Both accounts worked just fine on my iPhone 5, and if I can't fix this I may have to go back to the iPhone before the 14-day return period expires on the Lumia 928. Oddly, Microsoft pushes so hard to get people back into their ecosystem, and then they make it so difficult for such simple things to work. FWIW, I'm a retired geek who worked in computing and IT for the past 25 years, and I don't think this issue is a user-related...but I sure hope it is. Thanks for any help.

 

[stmav]

This topic has been discussed in many threads. At present what is happening is the phone, not the user. There were comments about it being a battery saving feature or something. If manually syncing is that much of an inconvenience for you, then windows phone might not be for you. Go with what makes you comfortable.

 

[tk-093]

Are you saying email you delete locally will never sync back up to oultook.com, or will it eventually?

It's my understanding that the the ActiveSync protocol standards are for things like deletes on the local client that they will not push back up to the server. Instead they will sync on an interval like 15 minutes or something, or when the device is pushed new email. Microsoft wrote it that way to save battery back in the day.

Now people who license ActiveSync, Apple, Google, Sammy, etc. are free to impliment the protocol anyway they want, which is why you see it push deletes up right away on devices like the iPhone.

 

[larrymcj]

Email synched on your phone will NEVER sync back to Outlook.com or an IMAP account. I left it without manually synching overnight and the changes still hadn't been applied on the server the next morning. Also, I'm very aware of the tie between synching and Battery Saver mode...but I have Battery Saver turned off, so it shouldn't affect it.

And yes, the inability to NOT be able to have a two-way sync is a major inconvenience...and I would think most people would feel the same way. If it didn't work on any phone, the I would consider it simply a feature limitation and live with it. But that it works fine on an iPhone and not a Windows phone is just another really dumb implementation issue by Microsoft. They want the world to stay in the Windows ecosystem, but then they do things like this which make absolutely no sense. This makes email on a WP about on par with POP3. Sorry for the rant, but only a true Microsoft ****** could live with this.

However, thanks so much for your explanation that it is definitely a phone issue. I had searched the forum using every search term I could think of before I asked the question, but did not find anything on the subject.

 

[SamMyers]

I can't speak in regards to IMAP, but I use it with EAS without any issues. I read a message on the phone, it is nearly instantaneous at reflecting that on my desktop or outlook.com account, and vise verse. The only real issue I have is EAS does NOT support sending with an alias at this time. Thus, anything I send from my phone shows sent from my outlook.com account rather that my real corporate account.

 

[poddie]

I can't speak to IMAP either. I don't use it (nor would want to).

Again, the EAS functionality is by design. If you think about how syncing works, it makes perfect sense. It would have to literally do a sync every time you read an email or deleted one to have it instantaneously reflected. Windows Phone is designed to be as efficient as possible... that's why it isn't as power hungry as Android. So it essentially stores up the read and delete actions, and sends them on the 15 minute interval or when the user hits sync. So instead of 20 sync actions, you delete your 20 emails and then hit sync or just wait and only have one. For most of us, it's easy enough to go through the emails and just hit sync when we're done if we are switching back to our desktop at that point.

You could argue that a setting would be appreciated, but for the vast majority of users it makes much more sense as it is. Also fyi, nasty little comments about how it's no better than POP (laughable) and "fanboys" aren't really the best way to get people to help you.

 

[Calvin Cooper1]

Email synched on your phone will NEVER sync back to Outlook.com or an IMAP account. I left it without manually synching overnight and the changes still hadn't been applied on the server the next morning. Also, I'm very aware of the tie between synching and Battery Saver mode...but I have Battery Saver turned off, so it shouldn't affect it.

And yes, the inability to NOT be able to have a two-way sync is a major inconvenience...and I would think most people would feel the same way. If it didn't work on any phone, the I would consider it simply a feature limitation and live with it. But that it works fine on an iPhone and not a Windows phone is just another really dumb implementation issue by Microsoft. They want the world to stay in the Windows ecosystem, but then they do things like this which make absolutely no sense. This makes email on a WP about on par with POP3. Sorry for the rant, but only a true Microsoft ****** could live with this.

However, thanks so much for your explanation that it is definitely a phone issue. I had searched the forum using every search term I could think of before I asked the question, but did not find anything on the subject.

My 928 syncs just fine. If I delete or move something on the phone it is moved in outlook, gmail, or hotmail. No problems. Did you set the frequency up? Mine is set for every 30 min, but there is an "as they arrive" option which is basically full time. I think there is a setting in Gmail you have to access from a pc to tell it to sync like this.

 

[larrymcj]

Calvin, the problem is inherent in Windows Phone 8 and there is no workaround. If you have email set to receive downloads "As they arrive" you'll get just that...instant push to your phone. However, in that setting if you delete a message, move a message between folders, turn on/off flags...those items will NOT be reflected on your server (in my case, Outlook.com). In this setting if you want any actions taken in your phone to be reflected on webmail or server, you must press the SYNC button, which isn't a big deal, but it's not how it's supposed to work. If you set downloads to "Every 15 minutes, then you get a TWO-way sync and everything syncs automatically, without having to press SYNC.

Microsoft has confirmed this is the case and their "reason" is if EAS pushes such updates every time they happen, then it could affect battery life. My response to that is to let the users decide. This works just fine with iOS and has no impact on battery life.

 

[anon6002755]

Calvin, the problem is inherent in Windows Phone 8 and there is no workaround. If you have email set to receive downloads "As they arrive" you'll get just that...instant push to your phone. However, in that setting if you delete a message, move a message between folders, turn on/off flags...those items will NOT be reflected on your server (in my case, Outlook.com). In this setting if you want any actions taken in your phone to be reflected on webmail or server, you must press the SYNC button, which isn't a big deal, but it's not how it's supposed to work. If you set downloads to "Every 15 minutes, then you get a TWO-way sync and everything syncs automatically, without having to press SYNC.

Microsoft has confirmed this is the case and their "reason" is if EAS pushes such updates every time they happen, then it could affect battery life. My response to that is to let the users decide. This works just fine with iOS and has no impact on battery life.

Can you tell it to push other folders other than your inbox? Sorry I can't provide advice. Just lurking.

 

[Huime]

I can't speak in regards to IMAP, but I use it with EAS without any issues. I read a message on the phone, it is nearly instantaneous at reflecting that on my desktop or outlook.com account, and vise verse. The only real issue I have is EAS does NOT support sending with an alias at this time. Thus, anything I send from my phone shows sent from my outlook.com account rather that my real corporate account.

Same here. But sometimes server side update may take up to a couple hours for me which is fine for my use.

 

[larrymcj]

If the phone email setting for downloads is "As they arrive" the only that that is pushed immediately from the phone is sent messages. Nothing else will be updated on the server side until you press SYNC on the phone. I'd even be happy with an update sync to Outlook.com every few hours...but never? Come on, Microsoft! I've been trying to live with the "Every 15 minutes" setting where at least I get an automatic two-way sync and don't have to remember to press SYNC every time I use my phone's email.

 

[larrymcj]

I can't speak in regards to IMAP, but I use it with EAS without any issues. I read a message on the phone, it is nearly instantaneous at reflecting that on my desktop or outlook.com account, and vise verse. The only real issue I have is EAS does NOT support sending with an alias at this time. Thus, anything I send from my phone shows sent from my outlook.com account rather that my real corporate account.

Sam, if your phone's download setting is set to "As they arrive" NOTHING will automatically update to your Outlook.com account automatically until you press SYNC on the phone. Unfortunately, that's that way Microsoft designed it, and has been my complaint all along. Sent messages will leave your phone, but stuff like deletions, flags, moving messages to a folder, etc. will not show up on Outlook.com until a manual sync is done. Changing the download setting "Every 15 minutes, Every 30 minutes, etc." will let it sync instantly from the phone, though.

 

[larrymcj]

I can't speak in regards to IMAP, but I use it with EAS without any issues. I read a message on the phone, it is nearly instantaneous at reflecting that on my desktop or outlook.com account, and vise verse. The only real issue I have is EAS does NOT support sending with an alias at this time. Thus, anything I send from my phone shows sent from my outlook.com account rather that my real corporate account.

Sam, if your phone's download setting is set to "As they arrive" NOTHING will automatically update to your Outlook.com account automatically until you press SYNC on the phone. Unfortunately, that's that way Microsoft designed it, and has been my complaint all along. Sent messages will leave your phone, but stuff like deletions, flags, moving messages to a folder, etc. will not show up on Outlook.com until a manual sync is done. Changing the download setting to "Every 15 minutes, Every 30 minutes, etc." will let it sync instantly from the phone, though.

 

[tk-093]

That's not correct. I have my 928 set on As items arrive and deletes sync just fine. It deletes from all my devices. It worked that way on my 822 as well.

If the phone email setting for downloads is "As they arrive" the only that that is pushed immediately from the phone is sent messages. Nothing else will be updated on the server side until you press SYNC on the phone. I'd even be happy with an update sync to Outlook.com every few hours...but never? Come on, Microsoft! I've been trying to live with the "Every 15 minutes" setting where at least I get an automatic two-way sync and don't have to remember to press SYNC every time I use my phone's email.

 

[larrymcj]

That's odd. I'm retired from the tech industry and one my old clients is Microsoft. I made a couple of calls and this was confirmed by an employee. In fact, there is reference to it on several WP forums online, and I also checked with Nokia support...same story. The only way things like deletes will "automatically" sync to other devices (if your phone is set to 'As items arrive') is if you press the SYNC button in the phone's email. Then they definitely do sync.

I've tried this a dozen times...deleting messages, flagging messages, moving messages from the inbox to a folder, and then NOT pressing the sync button and leaving the phone all night. The next morning none of those things has happened in my Outlook.com account. But the minute I press SYNC, they all sync properly. I also checked with two other people I know who have the 928 and their phones do not sync automatically, either. Are you sure you're not pressing the sync button at some point on the phone...that would cause these things to sync across your devices.

In fact, this may be the reason I go back to my iPhone 5, which DOES sync automatically with my Outlook.com account.

 

[tk-093]

Now that I'm back from vacation I will do some more testing. But yeah, I'm not pressing the sync button.

My setup is:
Lumia 928 with 3 mail accounts, all set to as items arrive: Exchange 2003, Exchange 2010 and a Live account (actually @live.com, not @outlook.com) I'm also syncing those accounts on a Surface RT.

That's odd. I'm retired from the tech industry and one my old clients is Microsoft. I made a couple of calls and this was confirmed by an employee. In fact, there is reference to it on several WP forums online, and I also checked with Nokia support...same story. The only way things like deletes will "automatically" sync to other devices (if your phone is set to 'As items arrive') is if you press the SYNC button in the phone's email. Then they definitely do sync.

I've tried this a dozen times...deleting messages, flagging messages, moving messages from the inbox to a folder, and then NOT pressing the sync button and leaving the phone all night. The next morning none of those things has happened in my Outlook.com account. But the minute I press SYNC, they all sync properly. I also checked with two other people I know who have the 928 and their phones do not sync automatically, either. Are you sure you're not pressing the sync button at some point on the phone...that would cause these things to sync across your devices.

In fact, this may be the reason I go back to my iPhone 5, which DOES sync automatically with my Outlook.com account.

 

[tk-093]

Just did a quick test. Right now my 928 is my only mobile device syncing. My Surface RT and iPad are not online so they are out of the picture.

Corporate Email Exchange 2010: Deleted two emails from my 928 inbox, hit the windows key, and turned my device off and left it alone. I then just stared at my computer screen and my Outlook 2010 inbox. In about 9 minutes the emails I deleted on my 928 vanished from my Outlook inbox.

Live Mail: Deleted two emails from my @live.com inbox on my 928. After about 5 minutes I opened up my browser on my laptop and opened my inbox. Those two emails were gone (in the trash).

 

[larrymcj]

I understand it working with Exchange Server, but I assure you that on Outlook.com (old Hotmail) any email deleted on the 928 would stay in my Outlook.com inbox forever, or until I did a manual sync. If I delete them on my iPhone 5, they're deleted in Outlook.com almost immediately (within seconds).

In any event, for me it's a moot point as I boxed up the Lumia 928 and sent it back to VZW today. I'm glad sync is working for you.

 

[DavidinCT]

Agreed, I have my hotmail account set on every 30 min but, if I go in and delete 10 messages, it will not update till the next sync schedule. I wish MS would fix this, if you delete, move or change a email in any way, to sync right away...

 

[tk-093]

Agreed, I have my hotmail account set on every 30 min but, if I go in and delete 10 messages, it will not update till the next sync schedule. I wish MS would fix this, if you delete, move or change a email in any way, to sync right away...

Weird that it isn't working for you. I've set up my Live (outlook) using the Outlook (Exchange, Office 365) account option and not the Hotmail option under accounts and I've never had a problem with deletes syncing back up in a few minutes. Are you using the Hotmail setup maybe?