Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Windows 8 Mail app bug. Mail app shows emails in the Inbox that have already been deleted.

Microsoft recently updated their Windows 8 Mail app, but in doing so introduced a new bug I hadn't seen before.

I use multiple devices to check my email and also to continue to test different email clients across devices. For example, in this particular test I use Windows Live mail, iPhone mail and Windows 8 mail. Using the iPhone I deleted some spam which I had received. I then opened the notebook computer and Windows 8 Mail flagged new emails waiting. When I checked there were emails in the Windows 8 Mail app Inbox which I had already deleted.

I use IMAP and emails are stored on the server, so each mail client should show the current state of the Inbox on the server and should be identical across devices. Outlook, Windows Live, Web mail and the Apple iPhone mail all show the same number of emails. You can see that following the Qantas Frequent Flyer email being three emails. The Windows 8 Mail app shows seven emails, four of which have been deleted.

The problem is the Windows 8 Mail app isn't updating correctly. I ran the Windows 8 Mail synchronise option and there was no change. At some point the Windows 8 Mail app will update but until then the information displayed is not correct.

What is important is for those considering a Microsoft tablet or Windows 8 computer is to know the Windows 8 Mail app may not be good enough. With Windows RT tablets since there doesn't appear to be a choice with the mail app (you can't install Outlook or Windows Live Mail), that leaves you with a buggy email app that I wouldn't recommend.

I decided to test what would happen if I deleted one of the emails. The surprise result is all of the emails that have previously been deleted on other devices all disappeared and not just the email I deleted. At least that corrected what the Windows 8 Mail app was displaying.

It is a concern the email client which is an integral part of the design of Windows 8 contains such issues.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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