iCloud email: reliable or not?

Agx · 2 Jan 2015, 02:37 PM

Hi!

What do you think about icloud mail?

I have read that is not very reliable and it has a spam filter that sometime... Delete some incoming email.

But by your experience, this email service is reliable?

I have only some doubt about the "portability" of the address because is very well integrated in the Apple ecosystem, but not very well for other platform.

jl66 · 2 Jan 2015, 04:59 PM

Define "reliable" and what it means to you.

jeffpan · 2 Jan 2015, 11:14 PM

I am sure to say it's not reliable from my experience and the test.
See my blog items with translating:

http://windwrite.com/archives/1126
http://windwrite.com/archives/991
http://windwrite.com/archives/539

jarland · 3 Jan 2015, 12:24 AM

I've been using it for 9 years with only two brief outages that impacted me. Incoming spam filtering is bad (as in letting spam through, not filtering legit messages). As far as reliable goes, I would have to say yes. I've had more Gmail outages than iCloud outages.

William9 · 3 Jan 2015, 12:03 PM

The availability has been excellent for me too. My only complaint is spam and phishing gets through too frequently.

mekitron · 13 Jan 2015, 11:09 AM

Apple is not an email provider. It doesn't take iCloud as a product but an extra tool to provide their users. I never used it for official emailing purposes.

ccl1 · 13 Jan 2015, 11:43 AM

i've had an icloud account for quite some time now. But I just can't bring myself to use it. It seems very, VERY spartan compared to some other offerings out there. I also find it very annoying how every time you log in you get some kind of notification that someone logged into your account. There is no option to turn it off.

mekitron · 13 Jan 2015, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccl1

I also find it very annoying how every time you log in you get some kind of notification that someone logged into your account. There is no option to turn it off.

It seems you have enabled two step verification, ain't? If so, it'll always happen since iCloud finds that IP is different than prevoius (authorised or most used) one.

ccl1 · 13 Jan 2015, 03:52 PM

ever since all that hacking stuff a few months back, i think apple did this by default. i dont think theres a way to turn it off, but i only searched a few minutes since the icloud webmail is pretty bare bones and i dont use it

Eireannach · 25 Apr 2015, 04:24 AM

I have tried icloud and found it to be not bad at all.

Sure the webinterface is a bit spartan but then how often is the webmail interface the only option (ie phone/tablet , mail client etc).

The two factor authentication is re-assuring. I also have read reports about invisible mail filtering but haven't experienced it ( although I suppose you could say "how would I know if I had ?"

).

@mekitron "Apple is not an email provider. It doesn't take iCloud as a product but an extra tool to provide their users." Another way to look at that is Apple are not trying to sell ads/the cloud - rather they are interested in selling hardware. No ads ( no tracking ?).

Maki · 27 Apr 2015, 05:13 AM

I used to use iCloud until I noticed that some emails weren't auto forwarded from my Gmail account. I thought it was silent filtering so I stopped using it. Recently I read on some forum that Gmail sometimes doesn't auto forward certain messages (don't know if this is true), so it is plausible that it wasn't iCloud's fault.
I have never not received an email that I knew someone was going to send me, but those silent filtering stories still bugged me.

William9 · 27 Apr 2015, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mekitron

Apple is not an email provider. It doesn't take iCloud as a product but an extra tool to provide their users. I never used it for official emailing purposes.

I'm not sure I understand the distinction. Apple provides email services (such as email addresses, sending and receiving service, message storage, and client software) to its customers. Is the fact that you have to use one of its domains (iCloud.com, me.com and mac.com), or that it has other lines of business, make it not an email provider? If you apply the same criteria to AOL then it's not an email provider either -- but they both are.

Tsunami · 8 Nov 2015, 07:36 AM

According to wikipedia's comparison of webmail providers, there is no inactivity limit for icloud.com ; but isn't signing up limited only to those who use an Apple computer? Why would Apple bother to provide services to those who work on a Microsoft Windows computer?

That said ... I am not sure what the "find my friends" or "find my iPhone" are for ; the Wikipedia article wasn't that clear (or I just failed to understand it), but I would be more appealed to a service that provides quality email and nothing beyond that ...

randian · 8 Nov 2015, 04:32 PM

No, anybody can sign up. With no inactivity limit usernames will never get recycled just like gmail, which is lame.

Tsunami · 8 Nov 2015, 09:08 PM

I'm not sure about the "no inactivity limit", this is what Wikipedia stated but we all know that Wikipedia isn't Always correct.

Is iCloud reliable for those who just look for a good email service and aren't planning to share any documents or use the cloud? I'm not sure what the "find my friends" etc is for ; I'm just looking for a reliable webmail provider in case Safe Mail wouldn't recover soon... I am not intending to share documents or so using the account or to use it as a sort of social network.

2 Jan 2015, 02:37 PM	#1
Agx Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 164	iCloud email: reliable or not? Hi! What do you think about icloud mail? I have read that is not very reliable and it has a spam filter that sometime... Delete some incoming email. But by your experience, this email service is reliable? I have only some doubt about the "portability" of the address because is very well integrated in the Apple ecosystem, but not very well for other platform.

8 Nov 2015, 09:08 PM	#15
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	I'm not sure about the "no inactivity limit", this is what Wikipedia stated but we all know that Wikipedia isn't Always correct. Is iCloud reliable for those who just look for a good email service and aren't planning to share any documents or use the cloud? I'm not sure what the "find my friends" etc is for ; I'm just looking for a reliable webmail provider in case Safe Mail wouldn't recover soon... I am not intending to share documents or so using the account or to use it as a sort of social network. Last edited by Tsunami : 8 Nov 2015 at 09:13 PM.

2 Jan 2015, 04:59 PM	#2
jl66 Essential Contributor Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 413	Define "reliable" and what it means to you.

2 Jan 2015, 11:14 PM	#3
jeffpan The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Macao Posts: 2,146 Representative of: tls-mail.com	I am sure to say it's not reliable from my experience and the test. See my blog items with translating: http://windwrite.com/archives/1126 http://windwrite.com/archives/991 http://windwrite.com/archives/539

3 Jan 2015, 12:24 AM	#4
jarland Essential Contributor Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 399 Representative of: MXRoute.com	I've been using it for 9 years with only two brief outages that impacted me. Incoming spam filtering is bad (as in letting spam through, not filtering legit messages). As far as reliable goes, I would have to say yes. I've had more Gmail outages than iCloud outages.

3 Jan 2015, 12:03 PM	#5
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	The availability has been excellent for me too. My only complaint is spam and phishing gets through too frequently.

13 Jan 2015, 11:09 AM	#6
mekitron Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Central City Posts: 162	Apple is not an email provider. It doesn't take iCloud as a product but an extra tool to provide their users. I never used it for official emailing purposes.

13 Jan 2015, 11:43 AM	#7
ccl1 Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 236	i've had an icloud account for quite some time now. But I just can't bring myself to use it. It seems very, VERY spartan compared to some other offerings out there. I also find it very annoying how every time you log in you get some kind of notification that someone logged into your account. There is no option to turn it off.

13 Jan 2015, 03:52 PM	#9
ccl1 Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 236	ever since all that hacking stuff a few months back, i think apple did this by default. i dont think theres a way to turn it off, but i only searched a few minutes since the icloud webmail is pretty bare bones and i dont use it

25 Apr 2015, 04:24 AM	#10
Eireannach Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Ireland Posts: 40	I have tried icloud and found it to be not bad at all. Sure the webinterface is a bit spartan but then how often is the webmail interface the only option (ie phone/tablet , mail client etc). The two factor authentication is re-assuring. I also have read reports about invisible mail filtering but haven't experienced it ( although I suppose you could say "how would I know if I had ?" ). @mekitron "Apple is not an email provider. It doesn't take iCloud as a product but an extra tool to provide their users." Another way to look at that is Apple are not trying to sell ads/the cloud - rather they are interested in selling hardware. No ads ( no tracking ?).

27 Apr 2015, 05:13 AM	#11
Maki Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 14	I used to use iCloud until I noticed that some emails weren't auto forwarded from my Gmail account. I thought it was silent filtering so I stopped using it. Recently I read on some forum that Gmail sometimes doesn't auto forward certain messages (don't know if this is true), so it is plausible that it wasn't iCloud's fault. I have never not received an email that I knew someone was going to send me, but those silent filtering stories still bugged me.

8 Nov 2015, 07:36 AM	#13
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	According to wikipedia's comparison of webmail providers, there is no inactivity limit for icloud.com ; but isn't signing up limited only to those who use an Apple computer? Why would Apple bother to provide services to those who work on a Microsoft Windows computer? That said ... I am not sure what the "find my friends" or "find my iPhone" are for ; the Wikipedia article wasn't that clear (or I just failed to understand it), but I would be more appealed to a service that provides quality email and nothing beyond that ...

8 Nov 2015, 04:32 PM	#14
randian Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 561	No, anybody can sign up. With no inactivity limit usernames will never get recycled just like gmail, which is lame.