Switching email account from POP to IMAP

[DerekM]

I am a long time user of an @OPTUSNET.com.au email address.  I currently access my emails via Microsoft Outlook (office 365) on a desktop computer.  I have just purchased an iPad and have established access to the email account on that device.

I am now learning about POP and IMAP.

My existing @OPTUSNET.com.au email account is set up as a POP account but I am thinking that I would like to change this to IMAP.

I have read numerous chats but not one that outlines how I change an existing POP account to IMAP.

I have tried to do the change within Microsoft Outlook but when I go into the settings the Account Type is showing as POP3 and is not able to be changed.

Can someone please assist.

[YetAnotherAcc]

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@DerekM wrote:

My existing @OPTUSNET.com.au email account is set up as a POP account but I am thinking that I would like to change this to IMAP.

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Actually, your existing mail account is neither POP or IMAP, its just the access method to your account that is POP.

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I have read numerous chats but not one that outlines how I change an existing POP account to IMAP.

I have tried to do the change within Microsoft Outlook but when I go into the settings the Account Type is showing as POP3 and is not able to be changed.

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In outlook you can't change an account type once its set up, you will have to create a new account and choose IMAP during its creation.

[Steven_YC]

Hey @DerekM, great question to ask.

As mentioned by @YetAnotherAcc, provided you are already logged into your Optusnet Email on the iPad, you will just need to sign out of this. From there, you can follow the instructions here  and re-log in and this time, you'll just need to choose your preferred method, in this case, IMAP.

It should take a couple of minutes to log in and the account type will be your chosen one.

[DerekM]

@Steven_YC 

Thanks for the prompt response.

I have followed the instructions that you have provided and have been able to set up the optusnet.com.au email address as a IMAP account on the iPad.

Do you know if I have to do anything with the Microsoft Outlook email account on my desktop or is it ok for this to stay as a POP account

[Steven_YC]

@DerekM

This shouldn't impact your current log ins in the Optusnet emails. 

It also really depends if you want to keep IMAP or POP in this instance. Both have their Pro's and Con's and will depend on your usage on the computer. Leaving it as POP shouldn't matter too much

[YetAnotherAcc]

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@Steven_YC wrote:

Leaving it as POP shouldn't matter too much

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That will totally negate the purpose of switching to IMAP because once you open outlook it will download all the mails off the Optus server leaving nothing for the ipad to see when it connects..

[Dave-P]

Agree with YetAnother. You'll soon get tired of seeing emails on the POP that you already deleted via IMAP.

Just create an IMAP account in Outlook. From memory, you need to go into Advanced and set TLS and port 143, because port 25 and no security won't work.

And delete the POP account.