Changing MobileMe email from IMAP to POP

While data loss should not occur when following these instructions properly, it is recommended that you back up your data first before proceeding. For more information about backing up, please see How to back up MobileMe data. After backing up your data, verify that the data is properly backed up.

To set up your email account as a POP account (after having MobileMe Support enable it as mentioned above), follow the steps for your email application:

Mac OS X 10.5 Mail 

1. Open Mail.
2. From the Mail menu, choose Preferences.
3. Click Accounts.
4. Select your existing MobileMe account, which will say "MobileMe" or "IMAP" at the top of the account information. Click the Delete (-) button to remove this account.
5. Click the Add (+) button to add the account as a POP account.
6. Enter your name, your MobileMe email address, and your account password.
7. Deselect the "Automatically set up account" checkbox.
8. Click Continue.
9. Choose POP for the Account Type.
10. Enter these settings for your email account:
    • Description: The description you enter is shown in the mailbox list. If you have multiple accounts, enter something that will help you distinguish this account from others, such as "Tom's work email."
    • Incoming Mail Server: mail.me.com
    • User Name: Your MobileMe member name (everything that precedes the "@" sign in your Me.com or Mac.com email address). For example, steve.
    • Password: The password for your account.
11. Click Continue.
12. Enter the following for the outgoing mail server settings:
    • Description: The description for the outgoing mail server. If you don't provide a name, it will be the same as the outgoing mail server.
    • Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.me.com
    • Use Authentication should be selected.
    • User Name: Your MobileMe member name.
    • Password: The password for your account.
13. Click Continue.
14. Verify your settings and then click Create.

Note: If you intend to check POP messages from multiple computers, see Retrieving mail using multiple computers to learn about configuring Mail to not remove downloaded POP  messages from the server right away.
 

Mac OS X 10.4 Mail

1. Open Mail.
2. From the Mail menu, choose Preferences.
3. Click Accounts.
4. Select your existing MobileMe account, which will say ".Mac" or "IMAP" at the top of the account information. Click the Delete (-) button to remove this account.
5. Click the Add (+) button to add the account as a POP account.
6. Choose POP.
7. Enter the settings for your MobileMe email account:
   • Description: The description you enter is shown in the mailbox list. If you have multiple accounts, enter something that will help you distinguish this account from others, such as "Tom's work email."
   • Email Address: Enter your full email address. This will be the From address in your outgoing messages. For example, steve@me.com.
   • Full Name: The name displayed in your outgoing mail. For example, Steve Clark.
   • Incoming Mail Server: mail.me.com
   • User Name: Your MobileMe member name (everything that precedes the "@" sign in your Me.com or Mac.com email address). For example, steve.
   • Password: The password for your account.
   • Outgoing Mail Server: The server that sends your mail to its destination. Also known as an SMTP server. Click the Options or Server Settings button at the bottom of the window and enter smtp.me.com into the Outgoing Mail Server field. From the Authentication list, choose Password and enter your MobileMe member name and password.

Note: If you intend to check POP messages from multiple computers, see Retrieving mail using multiple computers to learn about configuring Mail to not remove downloaded POP  messages from the server right away.
 

Other email applications

If you're using a different email application, add a new account and use the following settings. Please note that the terminology may vary among applications.

• Account Type: POP
• Email Address: Enter your full email address. This will be the From address in your outgoing messages. For example, steve@me.com.
• Incoming Mail Server: smtp.me.com
• Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.me.com
• SMTP Server Port: 587
• Password Authentication should be enabled for the outgoing mail server
• User Name: Your MobileMe member name (everything that precedes the "@" sign in your Me.com or Mac.com email address). For example, steve.
• Password: The password for your account.
   

Saving a copy of your messages

By default, Mac OS X Mail will leave a copy of all messages on the server for one week after you open them. If you'd prefer a different setting, follow these steps:

1. Open Mail.
2. From the Mail menu, choose Preferences.
3. Click Accounts.
4. Select your account.
5. Click the Advanced tab from the Account Settings window.
6. Select the time frame you prefer - if you receive a lot of mail, you will want to remove it more frequently so you don't exceed your allotted server space. After selecting your choice, click OK.

If you use a different email application, refer to the application's built-in documentation for more information on changing your POP account's settings.