Hi. I've been using mail2web services for a while. They were great until the last couple of weeks, now their service goes down like a pro.
So.. I started to look at alternatives.
fastmail -- nice account, IMAP.. but for the life of me I couldn't get it to "push" email to my phone. It supposedly supports IDLE, but I couldn't figure this out. Am I missing a setting somewhere? The thing never pushed mail to my phone at all.
1and1.com -- slightly more expensive exchange2003 account. No .CAB for the activesynch settings, they have to be input manually. No problem, until I set "as arrives" in scheduling and it asks me for an SMS gateway. Uh-oh. Im on Softbank and I know nothing about any gateway.
this post:
http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=410683
explains that Exchange works by sending a header SMS to instruct the phone to synch. However, mail2web never asked me for my provider or any SMS gateway.. so if this is how it works how did mail2web do it?
If anyone can shed some light on how to get this working properly, or where to find more technical details on how this stuff works I'd be a lot happier. As it is I'm having to check gmail periodically.
Thanks for your help!
I think your getting mixed up a bit sir, mail2web uses the push feature because it uses your GPRS connection to talk to it. If you ran a netstat program to see what the device is currently connected to you will see an active connection to mobile.exchange.mail2web.com, as soon as an email arrives it signals activsync on your device to synchronise your emails, the device simply tells you that there is an unread message. The connection is always on. If you have GSM signal but no active data connection you wont get your push emails.
The connection is always on but stuff is sent to and fro only when there is a change on one end (for example if you add a new contact.....it will sync with the mail2web server and the new contact will be on there aswell).
and FYI...mail2web has been a bit unreliable lately but its ok at the moment!?
Thanks for the info.
So..... do you have any advice as to how I would set up activesynch the same way to connect to 1and1?
When I set it up it asks me for the gateway, otherwise won't let me choose "when arrives" for scheduling, could this be a setting on my side, or a setting on their servers?
mail2web may be OK now, but for a non-free service 1 whole week of unreliability is enough for me. Who knows how long it'll be up before problems start again.
mrvanx said:
I think your getting mixed up a bit sir, mail2web uses the push feature because it uses your GPRS connection to talk to it. If you ran a netstat program to see what the device is currently connected to you will see an active connection to mobile.exchange.mail2web.com, as soon as an email arrives it signals activsync on your device to synchronise your emails, the device simply tells you that there is an unread message. The connection is always on. If you have GSM signal but no active data connection you wont get your push emails.
The connection is always on but stuff is sent to and fro only when there is a change on one end (for example if you add a new contact.....it will sync with the mail2web server and the new contact will be on there aswell).
and FYI...mail2web has been a bit unreliable lately but its ok at the moment!?
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mail2web seems back to normal service today... Nearly
But yes one week without push... including sometimes when your email just do not even reach your acount and bounce (ie they're just lost...) it's not really what we need
I hope in the future more and more providers will propose Exchange 2007 accounts by default...
I am also a former m2w user. canceled my account in fury after indeed more than three weeks of problems, topped with a week off.
Fortunately my school's email supports ActiveSync so I moved there.
I cannot recommend any particular commercial replacement.
I've heard a few folks using Goodlink, but I am not convinced.
Push email is no joke, once you have it and rely on it, and it goes bananas, the harm is real.
Do we know when mail2web is planning on using exchange 2007??
i had this error yesterday.fixed it by installing the sprint RUU...im back on fresh 1.1 btw...heres the deal though,yesterday i was getting picture mail errors,id get the "download" button,id push it..n it would give me a "download unsuccessful" message..tried it on the stock app and on handcent and id get the same thing..i looked it up on google n seems other people have this issue too,but no clear fix..just wondering what the problem is?and what's the fix besides resetting your phone back to factory settings...i'd really hate to do this over again if this starts happening..
ps: when i get pic mail,it shows up as a "download" button instead of the slideshow viewer.not sure whats up with this.
edit: i had called sprint customer support yesterday,they transfered me to tech support,tried sending me a picture n didnt work as well...so i just "reformatted" the hero to stock with the sprint ruu.
Im starting to think there was a problem with the Sprint picmail server or something because I had the SAME problem only mine just kept saying downloading and never opened. I then Ruu back to stock and rerooted and flashed Fresh 1.1 and everything was fine again but from what Ive read ALOT of people had this same problem so Im thinking it HAD TO BE something to do with the service. Which means I spent over an hour for nothing,lol
Word lol.freakin sucks.annoying as hell..u think it was just their pic mail service that as down or what couldb it be?cause when u reformat the phone it all starts working again....also,when u get pic mail,do u still get the slideshows or just the download button?
you guys made sure ya wasnt on wifi? my picture messages NEVER worked while i was on wifi on my G1 or Hero, i always wondered why though!
Yup.WiFi was off.I had that happening hen I first got the phone..but this time it had nothin to do with WiFi.it was more like an error.like if the download link was broken or u didn't have picture mail service..its weird.
Yeah there's a problem with MMS downloads when on wifi.
Think it has somethign to do with redirecting data through the wifi network when connected.
Yeah, it's not the Sprint network, its the phone. Pretty much all of out HTC Hero's suddenly develop that problem 4-5 weeks after purchase. A hard reset is typically the only fix. And no, currently pic mail cannot be sent or recieved on wifi. Though we are working to fix that bug. I get this issue countless times a day, along with "I can't play YouTube videos". And my all-time personal favorite, and the most common, is "I set a pattern lock and forgot it, and now it's asking me for my gmail information and I don't remember my email adress or password." But yeah, I've tried everything under the sun on our side of the network to fix the hero pic mail, and nothing works aside from a hard reset.
-Sir Stanley
-Sprint Adv. Tech. Escalations Dept.
Why bother!!
There are two issues here 1 is plain old sending email, the other is picture mail.
On wifi I can't send from gmail . I can send from accounts of both the isp and a web based mail provider. On 3g I can't send from the isp account. I can send from gmail and the web based account. Asking sprint why they block sending from the isp account, they reiterate some company policy. Asking the isp why they block gmail, same answer. As far as I can tell they both refuse to agree to share mail packet user info as it could lead to "spamming" (really loss of customer reliance on their services). Ok some redirection (and encapsulation) from sprint to the isp of email would be needed, but so what.
Now as for the second issue, If it sends email, the account will send picture mail. just verified it.
Could you clarify what you mean? What ISP are you talking about? If you have an email through your ISP, it could be your ISP blocks POP access to their outgoing servers. I know Cox does this, but I ahve found taht changing your outgoing port to 465 will still allow you to send. So if you are more specific with your problem there is a god cahnce I can help you out.
I was having sms/mms issues last nite while at a club...met a couple girls,they texted me,the phone vibrated,sayin i received texts then it would delete them...i was using hanecent...i uninstalled n tried chompsms,problem kept going...meanwhile,just out of curiosity,i tried to update the profile n prl,id get a "1012 error.cant update"....rebooted the phone a few times and nothin,i finally uninstallled chomp n handcent,n started using the stock message app,n voilllaaa..i would receive all sms n mms......this morning i tried doing the updates again and they actually worked....im not sure what the problem is/was...im guessing either 3rd party app's hide/delete messages or maybe a phone or network problem...as of now im leaning more towards the sms app's..cause as soon as i uninstalled,i had a buddy sending me pics n they started showing up.....theres an app in the market,called unread sms or somethin like that,which is to show hidden messages...i tried it but didnt work.just thought id point this app out so you guys know this is a known bug...hopefully newer 2.xxx roms will fix this,or maybe this problem will land in the right hands cause its freakin annoying and a serious ****-block lol....
Yeah, it's not the Sprint network, its the phone
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Not to completely disagree, but the only time I've had this issue is when my web signal is poor. I don't know why, but for as long as I've been with sprint, my major issue has always been why, at times, if my phone has a signal of any kind, it won't work. And that's been with any phone I've ever had with sprint.
As a matter of fact, the only time I get the "download" button is when the signal is poor. I had a "1" for web and received a mms. It kept failing, tried to browse the web, nothing. Waited about 30 minutes until I got back into good coverage, and it worked fine. That tells me it's the service not the phone.
Yeah, all day yesterday my phone wasnt recieving txts. Luckily I can just reprogram it. (you have to have your unlock code to do this.) But I use handcent, as probably does almost everyone here, and I've never had a problem with it. But there was a major txting issue with the heros yesterday, lot of customers complained about it. If it happens again call Sprint and tell them you need a ##DATA Restore done on your phone. That will take care of it.
Also, updating your profile is just updating your data profile, which is your username and password to use sprint data services. If your internet is working, no need to update your profile, and if its already working it's not suprising to get a 1012.
Your PRL is your preffered roaming list, just tells your phone which companys towers to use first if Sprint is not available. (Based on who is giving Sprint the best roaming rates for that period.) PRL updates only come out every quarter or so, so theres no need to try to update it. If you are within sprint coverage it makes no difference.
@Red250.
Hi. I spend at least 10 hours of every day helping Sprint Android users with every problem you can possibly imagine. I'm sure if you have no internet coverage that would be a problem with getting picmail, which is sent through the DATA network. But as long as you do have internet, they should come through. Yes, for the issue I am talking about, it IS the phone. When customers in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Washington DC, etc call in and have an EV on their screen with full signal, and they are getting a download button and download unsuccessful, I am definetely not gonna tell them they have insufficient coverage. So, considering you have only your own experience to go by and I have around 300+ cases per week from all over the country......I think that I can confidently say that I know what Im talking about.
sirstanley said:
Could you clarify what you mean? What ISP are you talking about? If you have an email through your ISP, it could be your ISP blocks POP access to their outgoing servers. I know Cox does this, but I ahve found taht changing your outgoing port to 465 will still allow you to send. So if you are more specific with your problem there is a god cahnce I can help you out.
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Thanks. I have no problems using the isp's pop servers from the wifi, being hosted by the isp. I can not access the isp's pop outgoing server from sprint's 3g. That would require sprint to have negotiated a service connection from the isp, which would have required sprint to repacket (forward) my mail packets -so my original packets would appear to originate from the isp's out going server.
Sprint and google have this service. Sprint and the isp have reciprocal server blocking.
This was significant to me 3 months ago. Now it's a fact that i have accepted. I do receive from all accounts on both wifi and 3g. If i really need to send across server blocks, I log into the web mail editor page for either.
sirstanley said:
Yeah, all day yesterday my phone wasnt recieving txts. Luckily I can just reprogram it. (you have to have your unlock code to do this.) But I use handcent, as probably does almost everyone here, and I've never had a problem with it. But there was a major txting issue with the heros yesterday, lot of customers complained about it. If it happens again call Sprint and tell them you need a ##DATA Restore done on your phone. That will take care of it.
Also, updating your profile is just updating your data profile, which is your username and password to use sprint data services. If your internet is working, no need to update your profile, and if its already working it's not suprising to get a 1012.
Your PRL is your preffered roaming list, just tells your phone which companys towers to use first if Sprint is not available. (Based on who is giving Sprint the best roaming rates for that period.) PRL updates only come out every quarter or so, so theres no need to try to update it. If you are within sprint coverage it makes no difference.
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Can u post what the steps to reprogram it were?..i already have the password/code thing..thanks
We honestly do not block any servers. Its a simple matter of whether you ISP Email provider allows access to their servers while not using their internet service. If they don't, I can usually find a workaround. For example, if you have a gmail, you could use gmails outgoing server instead. The email will still come from your ISP email adress, just relayed through gmails SMTP servers. But I can personally assure you that Sprint is not blocking your email. We spend hundreds of man hours every week trying to help customers set up their email on their device. Your email provider may be blocking you, but sprint is not. I am currently looking at a list of email server settings and ports provided by Sprint to help you, the customer, to set up your emails on our phones. So I assure you Sprint is not cackling evilly while we block your email servers.
To perform a ##DATA Restore, which completely wipes your programming and then reboots your phone, then takes it back through Hands Free Activation, completely reprogramming it using the correct settings from our network:
1.Bring up you Dialer
2. Enter ##3282#
3. When given choice of View or Edit, touch Edit
4. Enter MSL (Master Subsidy Lock)
5. Touch 'User Name'
6. Press 'Menu' Button
7. Touch 'Restore'
8. Touch 'OK'
No personal data will be lost, this only reprograms the phone. Please allow phone to go through hands free activation process upon reboot.
I'm definately not gonna argue you'll know more about it than I ever want to. I was just stating an exception to the same problem. But you're comment about major cities and full coverage leads me back to my first statement. 5 years of driving cross country in a truck with sprint as my carrier I've seen both ends of the signal spectrum. With 3 different phones, from a flip phone, to a palm treo, there's been MANY times I can have a full signal, and the phone won't connect, or full evdo and the internet won't work. That's honestly the only pet peeve I've ever had with my service.
In case you cant tell by my activity, I'm bored as hell at work. And yeah, Sprints service is not the best. We do get some of the nicer phones, and we focus more on technology than building towers. But we do have the most reasonably prices plans, and you get what you pay for.
bronxknight28 said:
you guys made sure ya wasnt on wifi? my picture messages NEVER worked while i was on wifi on my G1 or Hero, i always wondered why though!
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Had the same experience w/ my Hero... Would never work if WiFi is on even if I turned off the wifi as long as the message was sent when it was on it just would work. If u have that problem, turn off ur wifi n have them resend the message...
Hello, Is there a messaging app that actually uses the wifi connection to send/receive text messages? Out where I live, if I try to send messages, it takes a super long time for them to go through. Sometimes they don't go through the first time and I have to walk to the door and try again. However, my wifi connection is full strength, high speed. I have no idea why it won't use the wifi connection to send/receive txts.
I have gone through the whole list of "fixes", and none of them work. It's not in Airplane mode, the app cache has been cleared, the network settings have been reset, the sim card has been removed and reinserted, the app has been removed/reinstalled, tried using different messaging apps (so far used the one that came with it, Cricket Messages or what ever it is, and Google Messages, as well as a few others). Nothing seems to work.
I would like an app that uses the wifi, at least, to send my messages out, and doesn't have ads or in-app purchases. Is there such an app that gets good reviews and isn't some sort of spyware?
I will not use FB messenger, if that's an option. I don't use Instagram, either.