My biggest disappointment with Android - email / gmail integration!

[cyberpine]

Otherwise loving my new Samsung Epic - but how could the Android email client (a google product) integrate so poorly with Gmail ???

My 3 GIANT issues :

1- The native email client does not observe who an email was sent to when responding like the gmail web client can. If I have secondary emails on my account it will not allow response as them..
2- unlike the gmail web client, I can't select what secondary account to respond with.
3 - I am unable to add secondary email account to my android phone. requires authentication using primary and It only adds them as the primary.

Google really dropped the ball big on this and from what I've heard, Froyo nor the new Android gmail client (which I'd rather not use since I also have non gmail account for work) did not address this either.

I figure it' s either a huge technical obsticle (which I doubt), or not much testing went into the email application.

Hoping and Waiting is all I got so far.

 

[Isthmus]

Otherwise loving my new Samsung Epic - but how could the Android email client (a google product) integrate so poorly with Gmail ???

My 3 GIANT issues :

1- The native email client does not observe who an email was sent to when responding like the gmail web client can. If I have secondary emails on my account it will not allow response as them..
2- unlike the gmail web client, I can't select what secondary account to respond with.
3 - I am unable to add secondary email account to my android phone. requires authentication using primary and It only adds them as the primary.

Google really dropped the ball big on this and from what I've heard, Froyo nor the new Android gmail client (which I'd rather not use since I also have non gmail account for work) did not address this either.

I figure it' s either a huge technical obsticle (which I doubt), or not much testing went into the email application.

Hoping and Waiting is all I got so far.

Unless I'm not understanding you correctly, you might be doing something wrong. I have two gmail accounts running through the gmail client on my droid and tab between them all the time.

 

[gallandof]

are you syncing gmail to the gmail app and other emails to the mail/email app? ive never run into an issue that cant be fixed with some settings changing, in about the 1000+ droid phones ive had to activate and setup for customers.

through gmail you have to set one as primary for any and all market information, you can have other gmails on there to synce email, contacts,calender etc...

most of the time all you need to do is press the menu key, then choose accounts and there will be the option to add a new account.

 

[Musky]

Yes, this is one feature of Android that works better on my phone then on my computer. On my PC, I can only have one inbox opened at a time unless I have a second browser running. Not so with the Gmail app. I can switch between my four Gmail accounts with speed and ease on my phone. Also, new emails arrive in my phones inbox several seconds before they show up in my computer!

I'm sure you're just having a settings problem as was mentioned.

 

[cyberpine]

Allow me to lay it out - I hope I am doing something wrong.

I'm talking about a single gmail account with secondary email accounts that I forward from my domain registrar godaddy.

I'm talking about the native andoird email client on the phone and not the gmail client , but the gmail client does not do what want either.

For work email - I have a work email on exchange active sync.. So lets say that's me@mywork.com. this is not gmail and works great.

For personal - I have two personal emails under my own domain that are secondary emails under a SINGLE google account that is the primary email for that one google account. So for this example, I have Sales@mydomain.com and me@mydomain.com, both under me@gmail.com. I don't care about me@gmail.com, but google does and I must have an actual gmail account on their server to forward to. Today emails to mydomain.com simply forward to me@gmail.com. In the past when I was on yahoo and my blackberry that did not matter and I could reply using and send from my domain emails which were simply emails under my primary yahoo account email.

I've tried everything possible to active ysnc authenticate with sales@mydomain.com and me@mydomain.com , but for whatever reason, I must specify google\me@gmail.com in active sync for authentication. And even though I tell activesync and the email client about the mydomain.com emails, it does not seem to care.

Ideally, I'd like to be able to see all my emails under a combined email inbox, as well as separated - which the android email app seems to do fine - I just don't see any way that I can send email as either sales@mydomain.com or me@mydomain.com.

As far as I know I'm syncing me@mywork.com with my work via activesync and me@gmail.com with activesync at google.

It would be painful, but thought about create a new google account under me@mydomain.com, but I rely on google as the smtp server, so I'd still have to create a me@gmail.com I think.

As for the gmail client on the phone, again, i'd rather have all my emails on the same application. but I tested creating new accounts with the gmail client on the phone and had no success there too.

Hope that makes sense - Thank you for any help.


Update: I just tried again to configure me@mydomain.com under active sync using this. It fails to connect.

me@mydomain.com
google\me@mydomain.com
m.google.com


I think it allows this, but the account always sends from me@gmail.com

me@mydomain.com
google\me@gmail.com
m.google.com

All of the above is not a problem in gmail webmail. As I am able to log into gmail with all 3 emails, it automatically responsed as the reciever and and I can even force it to repond as any of the three.

I also just tested sending an mail from work to me@mydomain.com and responding from the phone.

When I look at the From response at work it reads.

me@gmail.com on behalf of me@mydomain.com

 

[arg]

Gallandof,

I'm not certain that I have the same problem that cyberpyne has.

Here's is what I face:

I use Google Domains as my email server (http://mail.google.com/a). My email account is myname@mydomain.com.

I've set everything according to the instructions for Android & Google Domains. I get a confirmation that I am connected, but I get no email from Google Domains to my HTC EVO. I can send email from the phone without a problem.

Here are the settings I use:

IMAP
email address = me@mydomain.com
user name = me
server = imap@gmail.com
SSL is enabled
port = 993
SMTP
email address = me@mydomain.com
user name = me
smtp = smtp.gmail.com
SSL enabled
port = 465

So, my question is - if I can verify both IMAP and SMTP connections why won't it download emails?
I can send with out a problem.

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

 

[arg]

found the answer!!

user name should also be ME@mydomain, not just ME.

whew

 

[cyberpine]

found the answer!!

user name should also be ME@mydomain, not just ME.

whew

@Arg, what phone you got? Are you using gmail or the andriod email client?

why aren't you using Exchange ActiveSync? you okay with 30 minute sync times? a

when I go through Add account in my native email client I am prompted in this order:

email address
password

I choice manual setup

and I have to choose pop3, imap or exchange .. I can't do more than one. If I chose

If I chose imap, I get a different port than you entered. Also did you mean imap.gmail.com or imap@gmail.com . Also, did you add .com to your user name? I've tried all these combination with no luck.

Anybody? there plenty of responses when I first posted my finding - where are these people?

Thanks.

 

[wwwchak]

i agree with you

 

[takeshi]

So for this example, I have Sales@mydomain.com and me@mydomain.com, both under me@gmail.com. I don't care about me@gmail.com, but google does and I must have an actual gmail account on their server to forward to.

Why do you think you have to have the gmail account pull mail from your other accounts? It's one option but I haven't seen anything in your posts that explains why this setup is necessary in your eyes.

I've tried everything possible to active ysnc authenticate with sales@mydomain.com and me@mydomain.com, but for whatever reason, I must specify google\me@gmail.com in active sync for authentication. And even though I tell activesync and the email client about the mydomain.com emails, it does not seem to care.

Maybe you're misusing the term ActiveSync but ActiveSync only applies to Exchange and a few other types of mail accounts. Are these actually ActiveSync-capable accounts?

Ideally, I'd like to be able to see all my emails under a combined email inbox, as well as separated - which the android email app seems to do fine - I just don't see any way that I can send email as either sales@mydomain.com or me@mydomain.com.

Integrate the accounts directly. That's why I'm not understanding why you think gmail has to be in the chain. Unless you're doing it for a combined inbox.

why aren't you using Exchange ActiveSync? you okay with 30 minute sync times?

There shouldn't be 30 minute sync times with the gmail app or if using IMAP.

 

[cyberpine]

It's neccessary because I have several domains with distinct email addresses and I don't want to have to manage all those emails in multiple services and logins. Gmail Web in it's brilliant design addresses this beautifully.

In Gmail Web you can add addition email (under different domains) to your account and you can email as those domains from the one interface. There is even an option to by default email as the address that recieved the email!

Unfortunetly, there is no apparent way to add these additional gmail account emails to Android or send or reply as them either.

If there is, please educate me on how, rather than questioning why I might need the feature.

Trust me, I'm running 5 business sites - I need the feature on my phone and I'm suffering.

.. and btw, there are several posts like this in Google's Help forums where others are crying for the feature too:

http://www.google.com/support/forum...c5&hl=en&fid=3fa1cc54a12df4c5000492aee673fd9b

 

[IOWA]

Yes, this is one feature of Android that works better on my phone then on my computer. On my PC, I can only have one inbox opened at a time unless I have a second browser running. Not so with the Gmail app. I can switch between my four Gmail accounts with speed and ease on my phone. Also, new emails arrive in my phones inbox several seconds before they show up in my computer!

I'm sure you're just having a settings problem as was mentioned.

Actually you CAN view multiple inbox's in web-based Gmail. Just enable multiple sign-in, in the settings menu.

 

[Musky]

Actually you CAN view multiple inbox's in web-based Gmail. Just enable multiple sign-in, in the settings menu.

Thanks! And where is the 'multiple sign-in" option in settings? I see "Multiple inboxes", but that doesn't seem to be the same thing.

 

[cyberpine]

I'm not sure if something changed recently, but I just noticed that when I send an email now it does at least observe the google web default email settings - perhaps this was working all along, but I never noticed because reply from same address has not been working.

What's still not observing on the phone though is this gmail setting

When receiving a message:
Reply from the same address the message was sent to

Another thing is that for some reason I can't add additional Google Account to my phone. In this case,not talking about additional emails on the same account, but seperate google accounts. Just sitsa at your phone needs to communicate with Google Servers to set up your account.

 

[IOWA]

Thanks! And where is the 'multiple sign-in" option in settings? I see "Multiple inboxes", but that doesn't seem to be the same thing.

Ill find it later and screen shot it.