topic Re: Empty inbox on webmail in Email

Empty inbox on webmail

Oxgangs! — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 15:00:24 GMT

Webmail has empty inbox. How do I restore old emails?

Re: Empty inbox on webmail

Gondola — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 17:21:23 GMT

Do you have the email messages saved to your computer or backup drive?

Are you connecting to the online mailbox using webmail or IMAP email client software or email app?

The reason for asking is because TalkTalk do not have a backup store of mail messages to repopulate the online Inbox so the only messages are those you have elsewhere.

Re: Empty inbox on webmail

Oxgangs! — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 10:51:48 GMT

I have emails on the PC but can’t see those on webmail on IPad or iPhone.

on iPad messages appear and then disappear after I sign out and sign back in again.

Mail App on iPhone doesn’t have any inbox messages either.

thanks.

Re: Empty inbox on webmail

Gondola — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 11:11:21 GMT

The description of what's happening suggests that the email account on the PC is set up as a POP3 email account.

The default setup of a POP3 email account is that it connects to the online Inbox only and downloads all messages from the Inbox to the PC and then deletes the online Inbox messages. This is why you see the message on the iPad when that message first arrives in the Inbox. The iPad is set up as an IMAP email account that simply mirrors what's in the online mailbox in all folders not just the Inbox. But then when the PC downloads and deletes the Inbox of messages the iPad no longer sees that message in the online Inbox.

If my diagnosis is correct then the simple fix is to look at the email software on the PC to confirm it is definitely set up as a POP3 account. Then to look at the incoming server settings to find a setting that tells the software to never delete from the server or to keep a copy of messages on the server.

To make sure those downloaded messages aren't lost then make a backup copy.