Hotmail: access to folders, IMAP finally launched (updated Sep 20, 2013)

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Please see update below:

http://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=1577.msg6728#msg6728

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Big thanks to @Al who shared this news.

Incoming IMAP
Server: imap-mail.outlook.com
Server port: 993
Encryption: SSL

Outgoing SMTP
Server: smtp-mail.outlook.com
Server port: 587
Encryption:  TLS

Source: http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-outlook/archive/2013/09/12/outlook-com-now-with-imap.aspx

I ran a quick test, ran into one server bug (for which my workaround code kicked in and was able to push through), but overall it seems to work.

Not switching the app's preset for Hotmail to IMAP just yet, want to give it a bit of time just in case.

Anyone who would like to try it out can do so by creating a new account in AquaMail using Manual setup mode and entering the settings listed above.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Update: there are two fairly obnoxious server side bugs in Hotmail.

1 - Fetching plain text messages always fails.

AquaMail can deal with it using a workaround.

2 - When moving messages, the server is unable to find the moved message (in the new folder) using its Message-ID.

In AquaMail, this means the moved message will be deleted and re-downloaded from the target folder (when it's synced).

Cf: Thunderbird, because of same bug, ends up creating server side duplicates of drafts as they're saved. I'm just bringing it up to show that it's a real server side bug.

MS is aware of both issues.

More:

There is no support for the UIDPLUS extension, which drastically simplifies move operations. This is supported by an nearly all mail services and servers out there, but not Hotmail.

No support for IDLE extension either, so no IMAP push.

MS is aware of both of these as well.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Joke of the day:

MS finally responded to my bug report on their forums, and referred me to MSDN ("just read the docs, start with a Hello World, then take it from there" -- I guess).

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/oemail-osend/outlookcom-hotmail-imap-issues-bodystructure/8b970e9d-8971-4cab-b0f8-1d3d51767b49

[Rachel Ambler]

Reminds me of the time I raised a support ticket (paid) with them regarding losing procedure cache memory on Sql Server for no explainable reason and no ability to recover without restarting Sql Server.

After an all night marathon session with 2 of their techs the official response I got a few days later was 'your procedure cache is too low and should be increased'.

Wow, pure genius...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Kostya Vasilyev]

I actually searched their forums for "IMAP" (to see what sort of responses other people get... users, mind you, not developers)...

...seems like they have a large number of first line support techs, outsourced (based on their names), who make sure to answer every single forum message.

Those answers are timely, polite, project a good professional image... and, most of the time, completely useless.

Cf. Google -- they don't even bother with hiring humans for first line support. Their support pages are a maze of nested menus, so if your issue doesn't fit into their classification, you're out of luck right there.

This just goes to show that 1) support is expensive, maybe even more so than R&D 2) good support is outrageously expensive.