In order to enjoy emails on our mobile or computer, There are different protocols that allow the servers of these emails to work in a synchronized way.. Thanks to these tools, we can have a perfect gear in the sending and receiving of messages.
An important issue that characterizes protocols is the distinction they make regarding the hosting of emails on the server. According to each one of them we will be able to see the email header before opening it, or download it directly and just read it.
We will teach you what are IMAP, POP3 and SMTP protocols and how they work in our emails. In addition, we will tell you how you should configure your Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo! Post.
What is IMAP or Internet Message Access Protocol and how does it work?
IMAP is an acronym for "Access Protocol for Internet messages", for its acronym in English. It consists of a set of certain rules that apply to the storage of email messages on the Internet mail server.
Thanks to this tool, can be worked directly from the server side, since it allows remote access and creates, modifies or deletes folders and files.
Our devices, they download only the email header, while the rest of the message remains on the server. In this way, users can choose which email to see and which not, being able to modify the folder of received files.
In addition, it has the advantage that all the devices with which we can access the server of our email account, are automatically updated. This is because the synchronization is permanent, according to the requirement of the email platform.
Not the same with POP, which is another protocol used in receiving email, since it works directly on our devices and its synchronization is carried out at certain times.
In which layer of the OSI model does IMAP operate and with which protocols does it interact?
Both IMAP for email recovery and SMTP, used in sending emails interact in the "seventh layer or level" of the OSI Model. That, although it is true, the user does not work directly with this level, he uses different software or programs so that they are the ones that interact to reduce the complexity that appears in the coding.
Recall that this level of the OSI model is to offer all applications to access the different services of the other layers and thus be able to exchange data. In this way, we can realize that IMAP interacts with protocols such as SMTP or POP (which we have already talked about).
But we can also name others, who are used in the transfer of files such as FTP, or DNS to translate the codes of Internet domains, or others used to access web pages, such as HTTP.
What are all the versions of the IMAP protocol that exist?
The versions that exist of the IMAP protocol are:
- IMAP2 protocol: In the first version and it was released in 1988. Its main function was to establish different mechanisms for emails.
- Third version or IMAP3: It entered the technology market in 1991, but it did not have much acceptance since it was a counterpart to the RFC 1176 access protocol.
- IMAP2 bis: This version had some limitations, as if the user lost data from a computer, he could not retrieve electronic messages, since it allowed him to have a single PC to interact with emails.
- IMAP4: It is the current version used. It was designed as a contrast to the IMAP3 version of the year 1991. Thanks to this, the protocol of the users changed, since they can now handle emails directly from the server.
- IMAP4rev1: Created in 2003. It has the advantage of being able to preview emails before downloading them completely.
How to configure POP3 of the main email services?
We can configure POP3 of the main email services on our mobile device on the PC. To do this, we must perform different steps according to each of these email service operators.
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Google Gmail
To configure POP3 in your Google account, you must enter Gmail and do this guide:
- Go to "Setting"This option is located in the upper right part of the screen and is represented by a gear icon.
- From the top menu, choose the tab "Accounts and import".
- Then head over to "Add an email account".
- At this time you must enter your email address that you want to attach to Gmail.
- Press "Following".
- Once you have written your address, press "Import emails from my other account (POP3)" and press "Following".
- Go to "Data on the POP server". You will have to write your username password and in POP Server, you will have to write the name the Port. For example, if you have a free Orange account, you will have to enter "Pop.orange.es" and "110" These data can be found on your particular mail server.
- In this step you will have to choose whether or not you want to keep a copy of your downloaded email on the server. For this you will have to mark or not the option "Leave a copy of the message on the server."
- Choose "Use SSL", where you must enable or disable this option according to your preferences.
- It is time to confirm that you want to send emails from your Google account. For that you must choose "Yes, I wish I could send mail like …" and then select "Following".
- Enter the name of the sender and the data of the SMTP server. If we continue with the example of Orange, you will have to write in "Outgoing Server (SMTP)" the number "25".
- Once you have done all these steps you should go back to "Add Account".
- Choose "Gmail confirmation – Send email as …".
Copy the email confirmation code, which Google will send you directly. Once you have entered this code, you will have to check your personal settings, in order to verify that the settings are correct.
Microsoft Outlook / Hotmail
Before starting the configuration in Outlook, you must authorize your POP account in Hotmail. For this you will have to make this little guide:
You must go to "Options", in "Mail" choose "Accounts" and then select "POP or IMAP". Once you have done these steps you must choose "Allow devices and applications to use POP" and then you will have to allow "Deleting messages in Outlook". Click on "Save".
After completing these steps, you should just open Outlook and follow these instructions:
- Go to Outlook and click "Archive".
- Then select "Add account".
- Choose "Manual configuration or additional server types".
- Click on "Following" and choose "POP or IMAP".
- In "IMAP and POP account settings", you must fill in your name and other information such as the password and remember them.
- Click on "Behind".
- Select outgoing server and choose "Use the same settings as my inbound mail server."
- Click on "To accept" and go to the lapel "Advanced".
- In Incoming server (POP3) writes "995" and in "Outgoing Server (SMTP)", you must enter "587".
- Choose "TSL" in "Use the following type of encrypted connection."
- Then select the setting you want if you want to leave a copy of the messages on the server or not.
- To finish click on "To accept".
Yahoo!
In the case of Yahoo! the configuration is the same as that of Gmail, you only have to change the "Incoming mail server (POP3)", where you will have to write "Pop3.mail.yahoo.com", in the Port "993".
In "Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)" you will introduce "Smtp.mail.yahoo.com" and in the port "587".
On both mail servers you must write "Yes" in "SSL required". In this way, you will have configured in a very simple way your Yahoo! Remember that if you have synchronization problems, we recommend that you start all the steps again. This will make the setup a success..
IMAP vs POP3 How are they different and which one is better for accessing online messages?
The differences that exist between IMAP and the third version of POP are very clear, according to the way their operating parameters have.
We show you the most outstanding ones below:
IMAP works constantly with a connection to the mail server. This allows us to immediately have on our devices a warning that an email has reached us. The same does not happen with POP3, since their way of working has a predetermined connection to the server after a time, which we can configure in 5 minute intervals when we enter the account to our devices.
Another important difference that occurs is that With IMAP we can see between two and three lines of the statement of the incoming email. And if it contains attachments, they will not be downloaded automatically, since we can see the name and format of these. It does not happen the same in the case of POP3, since we do not have the possibility to see the statement because the body of the message and the attached files are downloaded together when we access the new incoming mail.
The storage that occurs, through IMAP, is done on the server. In this way we can modify different folders, such as sent or drafts remotely. When working with a POP3 protocol, storage occurs on our devices and we do not have the option to modify anything on the server.
If we need to have more than one device that accesses the serverWe can do it without any problem with IMAP, since the information in each one of them will be updated. Not so in POP3.
All folders and drafts can be read directly with IMAPnot so when using POP3. Except that it is already located in the inbox of our email.
One of the most outstanding advantages that IMAP has is that allows you to tag emails according to different categories, either by the sender's criteria or by giving them a different importance. All these labels remain lodged in the servant of the electronic mail, reason why it is not necessary to modify it again when we have to enter with another device that is not the main one.
POP3 allows to always have space on the server, so we should not worry about deleting all the emails that are stored in it, in this way we have the advantage of always receiving emails. This is not the case with IMAP since, if we forget to delete emails from the server storage, we will not be able to accept messages over the Internet when the maximum limit is reached.
The connection time used in POP3 is short, since you only need to connect to download the email. So, if we are to use our mobile data on Smartphones, this may consume less megabytes contracted with a telephone operator.
When we need to do a specific search for emails, With IMAP we will do it in an easy way. This is because the server allows you to have this certain variety of criteria.
IMAP vs SMTP Which is better and how is each one different?
As we have seen so far, POP3 and IMAP are two mechanisms or email protocols that are used to store all emails that we have received until they are read. Later they will be saved on the server or directly on our computer.
For this to work properly, there must be other protocols that allow the transfer of electronic messages to reach the server or our devices. For this there is the SMTP protocol (for its acronym in English Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Which is a mechanism that consists of moving the messaging to the different mailboxes.
In this way, we can say that they are two technologies with different functions, but essential for the good performance of an email.