FastCheck shutdown - 22 July 2016

[Ken7]

I received the email below...Does this mean Fastcheck is done or will Fastcheck have to modify their software to work with Fastmail after July 22nd?
What other email notifiers will work with fastmail?
Thanks

"You're receiving this email because our logs show you've used the FastCheck program with your FastMail account within the last 30 days.
We will shutting down the service that FastCheck uses to check your mail (known as "SOAP") on 22 July 2016. After this date, FastCheck will no longer work.
We have no specific programs we can recommend as a FastCheck replacement. Further enquiries about the FastCheck program should be directed to the FastCheck forum.
Any other queries can be directed to our support team.
Thanks for using FastMail!"

[n5bb]

If you look at the http://fastcheck.org website, you will see that Eric hasn't updated anything in about two years. The email you reported to us said that any comments should be reported to the FastCheck Forum, but I see no comments from you or anyone else there.The last post was 5 months ago.

Since Fastmail is discontinuing the SOAP interface, I don't see any way that FastCheck could possibly work in the future. Of course, Fastmail provides several notification methods without use of any special software:

• The Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.) Fastmail free application provides notifications when new messages are received.
• The web application (https://www.fastmail.com) provides notifications on browsers which support this feature (Firefox, Chrome, Vivaldi, and Opera work -- but not Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer) when configured as follows for that particular browser instance on that PC:
  • Log in and go to Settings>Mail>Preferences and enable Notifications using the checkbox in the General section at the top of that page. See this help page.
• The methods above only provide notification of new messages arriving at your Inbox folder.
• Messages arriving in any folder using any modern browser will update visible folders (making them bold) and instantly update the message list with the new message on any instance of the current interface (mobile phone app and browser logged into the current standard Fastmail web interface).
• These features are only for the current Fastmail webmail system and mobile phone clients. The Classic interface has never had this capability.

You can also use an email client to provide a notification. This works fine with the Outlook and Thunderbird email clients running on a PC.

Bill

[BritTim]

I always really liked the way Fastcheck worked, but decided to stop using it as it has been almost totally unsupported for years, and I always figured the Fast Services API (on which it was based) would be axed at some stage.

That leaves two current technical solutions for achieving similar functionality:

• Using an email client that supports IMAP IDLE. There are a number of these, but they need configuring to indicate which folders to monitor with IMAP IDLE. Note that relying on a client doing periodic checks of all folders for new messages is not the same thing (and can cause various issues if you have many folders). It is my view, anyway, that using a heavyweight desktop email client just for notifier capability is pretty bizarre.
• Browser notifications. Unfortunately, these are inadequate for power users as Fastmail does not seem to realize people use folders other than the Inbox for receiving incoming emails.

If Fastmail ever finishes (and documents) use of the JMAP backend, it should be possible to write a great notifier using it

[Ken7]

Will other email notifiers will work with fastmail?

Thanks for the feedback.

[FredOnline]

Originally Posted by Ken7

Will other email notifiers will work with fastmail?

Have a look at Gmail Notifier Pro:

http://www.gmailnotifier.se/

I have used this successfully with my Fastmail account.

[odedp]

Originally Posted by FredOnline

Have a look at Gmail Notifier Pro:

http://www.gmailnotifier.se/

I have used this successfully with my Fastmail account.

Me too.
Works flawlessly

[odedp]

Originally Posted by odedp

Me too.
Works flawlessly

A few days ago FAstcheck stopped working.
So I used Gamil Notifier Pro which worked flawlessly.
Earlier today I had to reinstall Gmail Notifier Pro, but now I have problems configuring it
I don't remember what configurations I used for the notifier since it was long time ago.
Can someone help please?

[FredOnline]

I stopped using the Windows OS a couple of months ago (now using Linux Mint), so can't recall myself what the settings are.

Have a look at:

http://www.gmailnotifier.se/help_troubleshooting.php

I may dig out my old Windows PC this weekend and check it out for you, if you've not solved the problem before then.

[somdcomputerguy]

Originally Posted by odedp

I don't remember what configurations I used for the notifier since it was long time ago.

The server names have changed, and third party apps (like Gmail Notifier) may have to use different passwords, not use the master pass. See here for more info - Two-step verification and other new security features | FastMail Blog - https://blog.fastmail.com/

[FredOnline]

Oded,

Couldn't resist it - had to satisfy my own curiosity, and dragged my old Windows PC out of the cupboard.

(OMG, it's so slow!)

Anyways . . .

First of all, you need an App Password (obtained in Fastmail, via Password & Security)

Fired up Gmail Notifier Pro, and configured it:

IMAP server = imap.fastmail.com
Port = 993
Connection Security = Implicit

SMTP server = smtp.fastmail.com
Port = 465
Connection Security = Implicit

Tested with my Fastmail account and works OK.

[odedp]

FredOnline and somdcomputer guy,

After reading your answers I reconfigured my notifier and everything works flawlessly!
Guys, you saved my life!
Many thanks for your help.
Much appreciated
Best regards,

Oded

[spiderman]

Hi all,

Indeed after all these years it is time to retire FastCheck! The FastServices API that FastCheck uses under the hoods has been discontinued and it would be quite a bit of work to rewrite that part of the code.
I originally wrote FastCheck for myself, and contacted the FastMail team after a while to see if they would be interested in hosting an API needed to work over firewalls and proxies, which were very common at the time. I am not sure how many users actually used FastCheck in total (FC never "phones home"), but I'm pretty amazed that people were still using it over 14 years after the first version! A couple of years ago, there was a small update in the FastServices API and at first I was thinking about retiring FC back then, but a lot of users actually asked for an updated version, so I uploaded a new version. But this time a lot more work would be needed. And given that the Internet has evolved a lot since then and the good alternatives now (Gmail Notifier Pro...), I think it makes sense to retire FastCheck now :-(.

Thanks a lot to the FastMail (and ex-FastMail) team for their support and the FastServices API, and for the FastMail community in general and FastCheck users in particular for all your support, feature suggestions...

I still use FastMail as my main account (since they were in early Beta) and I enjoy it more and more each day :-).

Eric

[BritTim]

Eric, as a previous FastCheck user, many thanks for a tool that was very valuable in its time.

[odedp]

Eric,

I've been using FC since the very beginning.
Liked it a lot and although I moved now to Gmail Notifier Pro, I still mis FC...
FC always worked flawlessly for me!
Thanks a lot!

Oded.

[somdcomputerguy]

Eric, I was a FastCheck user also. I am sorry to see it go, I regarded it as an 'essential part of Fastmail', but THANK YOU so much for creating this useful and valuable tool.

- Bruce