Messages late to show up in Outlook 2013 - or how does IMAP really work?

[timeshifter]

I have a customer where several machines are not receiving their emails as they come in. A few bullet points:

• IMAP email hosted with GoDaddy
• Outlook 2013
• Windows 7
• No other email accounts configured
• Messages show up in webmail
• Can take hours to arrive in Inbox on Outlook
• Disabling Avast shields seemed to help, but not always
• Replaced Avast with MSE, no real difference
• Using a plug-in called Partner XE (insurance agency)
• Pressing Send Receive doesn't resolve
• Pressing Update Folder seems to always work for me (user said it didn't work for her)
• Sometimes new messages show up right away
• I've installed Thunderbird on one PC and on mine

I have not tried:

• running Windows Updates
• creating a new Outlook profile
• reinstalling Office 2013
• running ScanOST repair tool

What I don't get and never really needed to fully understand until now: HOW DO MAIL CLIENTS GET NEW IMAP EMAIL.

In the POP days it was easy. Your mail client polls every 30 minutes or whatever is set. If Outlook Express had just done it's 1/2 hour send receive check and a new message arrived you won't see it for another 30 minutes. In this case I've got "Send Receive Groups" to "Schedule an automatic send/receive every 20 minutes". Although I normally see messages just appear when using IMAP, never seems to wait for the next send receive cycle, so I suppose some kind of connection is open or a push is made from the server.

Really appreciate any advice anyone can offer here. Thanks!

 

[Sky-Knight]

IMAP syncs when the client is configured to sync, it's virtually identical to POP3. But there is a push feature there too.

I've seen this problem, it comes and it goes. The issue isn't the stations, it's Godaddy who will openly tell you the service is only expected to be online 70% of the time. They want everyone off, and onto 365. It's getting harder and harder to keep that service working. No business has any business being in any Godaddy mail hosting plan.

And yet, two of my oldest clients are still in there being stubborn about it.

 

[timeshifter]

They want everyone off, and onto 365.

No doubt. They mention it EVERY SINGLE TIME I talk to them about anything. What they don't realize is that if I leave their IMAP service I'm taking them somewhere else for Office 365.

 

[timeshifter]

Two different PCs. One has Outlook 2013 AND Thunderbird, one just has Outlook 2013. Test message appears in Thunderbird, but not in Outlook on either PC. Pressing Update Folder makes it appear.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Two different PCs. One has Outlook 2013 AND Thunderbird, one just has Outlook 2013. Test message appears in Thunderbird, but not in Outlook on either PC. Pressing Update Folder makes it appear.

Ahh yes that's a fun one, the easiest way I've found to clear that up is to crack open the mail applet in the control panel, delete the Outlook profile, and reconfigure Outlook...

Careful, you'll want to export their contacts and what not into a .pst first so you can import them again.

But it'll just break again at some point in the future because Godaddy isn't pumping enough Viagra into their mail cluster.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Oh, and one more thing, since you mentioned Office 2013, crack open word, hit the file tab, then the account button, and heck to see if you have an update now button in the updates section. If you don't that copy of Office hasn't updated itself in years, and that's another issue. You'll have to perform an online repair and reinput the appropriate code from office.com/myaccount to reactivate it, but you'll find that process solves a ton of strange problems too. I've found buckets of Office 2013s out there that got orphaned, and they're not only vulnerable but exhibit strange random issues like this too.

 

[timeshifter]

The one I've spent the most time on is 15.0.5101.1002, which is January 8, 2019, only one update behind the latest which is 15.0.5111.1001 from February 12, 2019. The other one is 15.0.4823.1004 from 2016! But they both have the same issue. Updating them now.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-2013

 

[Sky-Knight]

Ok it's not the update issue then, I've found 2013 installs that got stuck at release 15.0.4517.1509! Found 6 of them last last year! Users were complaining about search in Outlook not working, and I found Outlook from Aug of 13?!? Several of them were Godaddy POP3 users, having random send/receive issues too. But that doesn't apply here you're current enough.

 

[timeshifter]

I deleted all the test messages I sent tonight on her Outlook 2013. About 20 minutes later my test system with Thunderbird and Outlook 2016 still had them in their Inbox. Clicking Get Mail (Thunderbird) or Send/Receive All Folders (Outlook 2016) and there was no change, the messages were still there. Then I clicked Send/Receive All Folders on end user's Outlook 2013 and within a few moments they were out of the Inbox on my Thunderbird and Outlook 2016.

 

[timeshifter]

Ahh yes that's a fun one, the easiest way I've found to clear that up is to crack open the mail applet in the control panel, delete the Outlook profile, and reconfigure Outlook...

Careful, you'll want to export their contacts and what not into a .pst first so you can import them again.

Just did this. Created a new profile and set it as the one to load each time. Exported and imported Contacts and Calendars. Did see one sign of improvement. When I deleted the Outlook Test Message from her Inbox in immediately disappeared from my Thunderbird and Outlook 2016. Fingers crossed.