Learn how to switch the Xfinity Email account setup from POP to IMAP on your iPad.
Please note the following:
- The instructions contained in this article only apply if you have already configured your Xfinity email accounts via POP.
- In addition, this guide assumes that while setting up your email through POP, you chose not to retain emails in the server after downloading them to the email client.
- To learn more about using third-party email clients (e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) to access your Comcast.net email address, see Enable/Disable Third-Party Client Access to Comcast.net Email – FAQs.
Pre-setup
Before getting started, in the Account Settings menu, under Incoming Settings, make sure that the Delete from server option is set to Never.
Switch from POP to IMAP
- After tapping Add Mail Account, enter your Comcast email account details in the pop-up window. Then, tap Next.
- Enable the Mail and Notes options in the next pop-up window (labeled IMAP), and tap Save.
Move emails from the POP to IMAP profile
If you chose the option to delete emails from the server during POP account configuration, emails would have been deleted from the mail server as they were downloaded to the email client, so the newly configured IMAP account will not contain these emails.
To avoid losing these emails during the switch from POP to IMAP, you must select the emails contained in the various folders (inbox, subfolders, trash, or sent items) on your POP account, and drag and drop them into the respective folder within your newly configured IMAP account. To be safe, you can also move and store these emails in an external folder.
Delete the POP profile
After your existing emails have been moved from your POP account to their corresponding newly configured IMAP folders (and after ensuring that no emails are missing), you can delete the existing POP-configured profile and its respective folders from your mail client. Then, continue using Xfinity Email through your new IMAP profile.
