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The short answer: IMAP handles mail only; sending goes over SMTP, and calendar and contacts travel over two other protocols (CalDAV and CardDAV). Exchange ActiveSync is a Microsoft protocol that carries mail, calendar and contacts in a single account, and lets the organisation set rules for phones. The mailboxes we provide work with both: IMAP, POP and SMTP, with calendar and contacts through cPanel, and also Exchange ActiveSync. You choose on each device.
What each one does
| Point | IMAP (with SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV) | Exchange ActiveSync |
| What it carries | Mail only. Sending is SMTP. Calendar goes over CalDAV and contacts over CardDAV: separate settings. | Mail, calendar and contacts, and often tasks, in the same account. |
| Where it comes from | Open standards that almost every mail program speaks. Our mailboxes speak them. | A Microsoft protocol, used by Exchange and Microsoft 365. Our mailboxes accept it too. |
| Setting up the phone | One IMAP mail account and, if you want the diary, a CalDAV/CardDAV account. | One Exchange-type account, with server, user name and password. |
| New mail arriving | Depends on the app: some keep the connection open, others check every so often. | Designed to push new mail to the phone as soon as it arrives. |
| Control over devices | No rules imposed by the server. The control is the password: changing it cuts off every device. | The organisation can require a lock code on the phone and, depending on the service, wipe a lost device remotely. |
| Desktop programs | Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail and practically every other one. | Not every desktop program supports it. |
What to do with your mailbox here
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| Do not add the same mailbox twice on one phone (once as Exchange and once as IMAP): you get every mail twice and repeated notifications. Pick one type per device. If the Exchange type gives a server error, check the server name in cPanel or use IMAP while you ask us for help. |
| In Outlook for Windows and on the Mac IMAP is still the safest choice; on the phone, the Exchange type saves setting up the calendar and contacts separately. |
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Not sure which type to pick on each device? Tell us which devices you use and what you want to sync. Open a support ticket |
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