Multiple Email Access
Setting up the same email address on multiple computers and/or locations such as:

• Desktop Computer
• Email enabled cellular phone (such as iPhone, Blackberry, etc) (mobile device)
• Notebook Computer (mobile device)

You can set up two (or more) machines to read email from the same address. This is handy when you are on the move with something like a notebook computer and/or an email enabled mobile phone device.

There are just a few considerations you should keep in mind when doing this.

Usually the mobile (cell phone or notebook) devices are set up in a very similar manner to the way the Desktop Computer is set up - you have to know the following information:

Email Address (i.e. myname@mydomain.com )
User Password (i.e. mypassword33)
Incoming Mail Server Name (POP3 given to you by your hosting provider)
Outgoing Mail Server Name (SMTP given to you by your hosting provider)
With this information you can set up most mobile devices.

But there is more of which you should be aware:

Many email servers require authentication - for those that do not, it is often a good idea to enable this mode anyway as it enhances your email security. This is usually done during email account setup under 'Advanced Options' or 'More Options' or 'Other Options' or similar label or tab. Click on the button or tab and look for a checkbox that says something like:

"My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication"*

Check this option AND THEN CHECK ALSO: "Use same settings as my incoming mail server"*

* The exact words will be slightly different in various applications. Many email servers will function without this set up, but this configuration is more secure.

When an email client program, such as Outlook, goes out and gets email from the server, it generally will remove the item(s) it gets from the server. This is the default setup on most email client programs but it can be changed.

If you want to read and reply to email from your mobile device but also want them to be there when you get back to your Desktop computer in your office, then MAKE SURE that the option under (usually) the 'Advanced' tab or button under 'More Settings' is properly selected.

Leave copy of message on the server - CHECK this option on your MOBILE DEVICE. That way, when you return to the office, the email will also be available to your email client on your Desktop computer.

IF YOU LEAVE your Desktop running while your are out of the office, it will strip the email off the server as it automatically periodically checks for new mail. This is normal, and is the default setting on most Desktop computers - and probably is what you want so that you do not have an ever growing cache of emails left on the server as time passes.

The problem with this is that you will probably not see many or all of the email items, because your Desktop computer back at the office will keep pulling them off the server. To get around this there are several options available to you:

Tell your Desktop email client program NOT to remove items from the server. We do NOT recommend this course of action because it is easy to forget and leave it in that condition when you get back to the office. We only list it here for illustrative purposes.

Take your Desktop email client OFF LINE - in Outlook (and many others) you can do this by clicking 'File --> Work Offline'. We do not recommend this, either - for the same reason as above. When you get back to the office you may forget that your email client is in the OFF LINE mode. In the offline mode, the client will NOT go out and check for new incoming email - AND it will NOT SEND email that you compose and 'Send'. All your sent email will be stored in your 'Outbox' until such a time as you either (1) manually CLICK the 'Send/Receive' button on the client, or, (2) put your email client back ON LINE. (UN-check 'Work Offline') Again, this is included for illustrative purposes and is not the way we recommend doing things - because of the 'human' factor. (We humans forget.)

CLOSE your email client by EXITING the program. This is the most fail-safe method of preventing your email client from removing email from the server while you are out of the office. When you return, you will know it is not running and have to start it up again. At that time, all the settings are set properly to their normal default settings, and you will receive (and remove from the server) all new incoming emails. Also emails you compose will be sent out when you click the 'Send' button (not to be confused with the 'Send/Receive' button).

If you do not wish to deal with an email client on your mobile device, you can use the Web Mail interface to read and send email. This options is not available on your cellular phone unless it is also web-browser enabled.

 

In Summary
Tell your Mobile Device email client NOT to remove email from the server, and tell your Desktop computer email client to go ahead and remove email from the server. (Do not tell it not to remove.)

This way you will not have an ever growing cache of emails on the server (which will eventually cause the server to reject more new emails) AND
You WILL have a copy of ALL emails sent to you on file in your Desktop computer email client - as a sort of 'permanent record' of email.
When out of the office, CLOSE your Desktop email client (of turn the Desktop computer OFF) - or, if you think you can remember, take your email client OFF LINE so that your mobile device will have a chance at getting the new incoming emails from the server.