iPhone: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

Email Problems

Getting your email settings right the first time isn't easy. There are all kinds of tweaky codes and addresses that you have to enter—if they weren't properly synced over from your computer, that is.

If email isn't working, here are some steps to try:

• Sometimes, there's nothing for it but to call your Internet provider (or whoever's supplying the email account) and ask for help. Often, the settings you use at home won't work when you're using a mobile gadget like the iPhone. Open Settings→Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and tap your email account's name to view the Settings screen.

• If you're getting a "user not recognized" error, you may have typed your password wrong. (It's easy to do, since the iPhone converts each character you type into a • symbol about one second after you type it.) Delete the password in Settings and re-enter it.

• If you're having trouble connecting to your company's Exchange server, see the end of Chapter 15.

• Oh—and it probably goes without saying, but remember that you can't get email if you can't get online, and you can't get online unless you have a Wi-Fi or cellular signal.

Messages Are Disappearing

Strange but true: Unbeknownst to just about everyone but Apple programmers, there's a hidden setting that controls how many messages are allowed to pile up in your Sent, Drafts, and Trash email folders. And it comes set to 25 messages each.

If any more messages go into those three folders, then the earlier ones are auto-deleted from the iPhone (although not ...