can iCloud fetch pop mail from other providers?

jeffpan · 18 Jan 2017, 12:31 PM

I always use icloud email from my iphone, though the service itself is not solid enough.
But I have several other accounts in different providers as well.
My question is,can I setup icloud to fetch other accounts via pop, like what gmail does?

Thanks.

jhollington · 20 Jan 2017, 04:46 AM

Sadly, the short answer is no.

Apple expanded the features of its mail service for a brief while when it was MobileMe, allowing a bit more variety in aliases as well as POP fetch, but after it became iCloud they basically clawed back on most of that. It's a disappointingly basic email service these days, and I use mine for nothing other than testing stuff.

About the only value to using an iCloud Mail account on your iPhone is access to push e-mail, but even that's not as well-implemented as it should be. I use FastMail now on my iPhone, in the native iOS Mail app, and it supports full push — it actually does a better job than iCloud does in that regard in that it can push secondary IMAP folders other than the INBOX, and actually reconciles changes (e.g. read/deleted/flagged messages, not just new messages).

18 Jan 2017, 12:31 PM	#1
jeffpan The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Macao Posts: 2,130 Representative of: tls-mail.com	can iCloud fetch pop mail from other providers? I always use icloud email from my iphone, though the service itself is not solid enough. But I have several other accounts in different providers as well. My question is,can I setup icloud to fetch other accounts via pop, like what gmail does? Thanks.

20 Jan 2017, 04:46 AM	#2
jhollington Essential Contributor Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 371	Sadly, the short answer is no. Apple expanded the features of its mail service for a brief while when it was MobileMe, allowing a bit more variety in aliases as well as POP fetch, but after it became iCloud they basically clawed back on most of that. It's a disappointingly basic email service these days, and I use mine for nothing other than testing stuff. About the only value to using an iCloud Mail account on your iPhone is access to push e-mail, but even that's not as well-implemented as it should be. I use FastMail now on my iPhone, in the native iOS Mail app, and it supports full push — it actually does a better job than iCloud does in that regard in that it can push secondary IMAP folders other than the INBOX, and actually reconciles changes (e.g. read/deleted/flagged messages, not just new messages).