📥 Troubleshooting Delays in Receiving Incoming Emails

This article will guide you through how to resolve issues related to delays when receiving incoming emails in Mailbird. While this is a rare issue fortunately, it typically stems from IMAP connection limits, although these can be resolved by following a few simple steps.

🌐 What Causes Email Delivery Delays

Delays in receiving emails are often caused by your IMAP server reaching its connection limit. This happens when multiple apps or devices are accessing the same email account simultaneously, such as when you are using:

• A web-based email client (e.g., Gmail.com)

• A desktop client (e.g., Mailbird)

• A mobile app (e.g., Apple Mail or Gmail app)

Each one of the above methods uses multiple IMAP connections, and if the total number of connections being used exceeds your provider's limit, then access may slow down or stop entirely.

Some providers allow as few as 5 simultaneous connections (e.g. Yahoo), but Gmail allows a maximum of 15 simultaneous connections. Mailbird alone uses 5 connections by default, so if you also use a mobile app and another email client alongside Mailbird, then you can quickly reach your email provider's limit. For more details on Gmail, you may wish to refer to Google’s support article on IMAP limits.

🔧 Recommended Approach

To improve email sync performance, here are two suggestions:

• Reduce the number of simultaneous IMAP connections Mailbird is using.

• Try to minimize simultaneous connections in other apps or devices that access your email.

Reducing connections in Mailbird alone may not be enough if other email clients or email apps are still overusing IMAP resources.

🛠️ How to Reduce IMAP Connections in Mailbird

Follow these steps to adjust the number of IMAP connections used by Mailbird:

1. Open the Mailbird menu (top-left corner, three horizontal lines).

2. Click on Settings.

3. Navigate to the Accounts tab.

4. Select the account that’s experiencing issues, then click Edit.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the window to find the Connections slider.

6. Set the slider to 2.

   • If there’s no improvement, reduce it further to 1 and test again.

While allowing Mailbird to use the maximum number of connections will generally offer a better performance, reducing their number can help if you're encountering delays due to connection limits set by your email provider.

❓ Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble or have any questions about adjusting the number of connections, our Customer Happiness Team is here to support you. Click here to contact us.