IMAP over GPRS problems

[jvoelcker]

I am trying to connect to my office server using IMAP over GPRS from my Universal.

It works fine when I am on my wireless network in the office, but then when away I switch all the connections over to using GPRS and it won't connect.

I have modified my firewall to allow incoming traffic on port 143 for IMAP, but am still getting nowhere, it just won't connect.

Something must be working right because I can synchronise my main mail account over the web via GPRS using Activesync on the Universal without any problems.

Any ideas?

[mrijnvis]

its working fine here.

do you have a router? did you nat port 143 to the server?
can you use on the internal network imap?

[graybo]

It sounds like a firewall issue. Check what you have configured for outgoing ports on your firewall. You could be blocking the outbound data. I'm not sure whether IMAP uses the same port outbound as inbound, but it should be easy enough to check.

[mrijnvis]

port 143 is for reading mail, you sent your mail through port 25 = smtp mail
most providers wil close inbound port 25, but (i have t-mobile) mail i sent is intercepted by their smtp server and send through their server. i have imap server and smtp server my mailservers ipadres but my outgoing mail is directed not through my server.

if you want to specific send your mail through yor mailserver you have to first make a vpn connection and then you can send through your own mailserver.

[graybo]

Port 25 isn't used by IMAP. Port 25 is used by the email server to send and receive email, and that is already configured and working I assume.

When applications connect via a tcp port, the server often responds on a different port. Therefore when you are opening ports on a firewall you often have to open the incoming AND outgoing ports (if they are different), in order to get an application to work correctly. That was what I was alluding to.

[mrijnvis]

yep two ways

imap is sending over port 25 only reading mail on 143 (143 two ways open as you said)

[jvoelcker]

It sounds like a firewall issue. Check what you have configured for outgoing ports on your firewall. You could be blocking the outbound data. I'm not sure whether IMAP uses the same port outbound as inbound, but it should be easy enough to check.

That is what I was thinking. I have port 143 on the firewall open both ways and it isn't logging any other issues.

I'm wondering if there are any restrictions on the server side (Exchange 2003 on Win 2003 server).

It's not such a burning issue, but in the future I would like to get setup so that I can connect to three accounts on my mail server (two using IMAP) over a wireless connection when around the office and then when away use a VPN connection to be able to get in over GPRS or 3G - having to reconfigure the connection for each account when away is a pain.

[graybo]

The IMAP virtual server needs to be running, obviously, and if I remember rightly you may need to enable it for each user, or group of users.

Have you checked the settings in the Properties of the users you want to login as?

[oxident]

Try to run a network sniffer like Ethereal (www.ethereal.com) on your server while trying to connect from your Universal. Maybe you get some useful information on what's wrong there...

.ox

[jvoelcker]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

The IMAP service is running fine since I can connect to it without problems over the local network, I just can't connect coming in over the web.

Interestingly whilst the IMAP doesn't seem to want to play over the web, I can use activesync over GPRS to sync my outlook folders.

Now if only I could have 2-3 outlook style accounts on the Universal and use activesync to sync them, that would make life a lot easier.

[petieyboy]

We have twelve SPV 5000's at work and non of us tinkerers can get IMAP to work over GPRS or G3.....

It's taken us flippin ages to work out how to send over POP3 and GPRS although we could always receive fine.


Technical help from orange is less useful than my mum... and the help on the website is non-existent.


Good luck in your quest Brave Warrior. 8)