Control how often mail is fetched
Open Settings, General settings, Network to choose Background sync: Always, Never or only when Auto-sync is on. Open Settings, your account, Fetching mail to set the folder poll frequency, which folders to poll or push, how many messages to keep, and what a delete does on the server.
For: EveryoneAndroid
How to control how often mail is fetched
Where: Settings › General settings › Network, and Settings › account › Fetching mail
- Open Settings, General settings, Network and choose Background sync.
- Go back, tap your account and open Fetching mail.
- Set Folder poll frequency and Poll folders.
- Set Push folders and Local folder size if needed.
When to use it
Rohit's battery drains fast, so he sets Folder poll frequency to every 3 hours and keeps push for the Inbox only.
Options
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Background sync | When 'Auto-sync' is checked, Always, Never | Always |
| Local folder size | 10 to 10000 messages, or all | 100 |
| Sync messages from | Any time, today, 2 days, 3 days, a week, 2 or 3 weeks, a month, 2, 3 or 6 months, a year | Any time |
| Fetch messages up to | 1 KiB to 10 MiB, or any size | Large mails fetch on demand |
| Folder poll frequency | Never, 15 or 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours | Every hour |
| Poll folders | All, Only 1st Class, 1st and 2nd Class, All except 2nd Class, None | Only 1st Class folders |
| Push folders | Same five choices | Check on your device |
| Sync server deletions | On, off | On |
| Mark as read when deleted | On, off | On |
| When I delete a message | Do not delete on server, Delete from server, Mark as read on server | Do not delete on server |
| Erase deleted messages on server | Immediately, When polling, Manually | Immediately |
| Max folders to check with push, Refresh IDLE connection | Under Advanced, for push-capable servers | 10 folders, every 24 minutes |
Good to know
- Background sync Never stops all background mail checking and push. Mail then updates only when you open the app.
- Shorter polling and more push folders use more battery and data.
- A bigger Local folder size uses more storage and makes older mail available offline.
- When I delete a message set to Delete from server cannot be undone.
- Android may delay background work to save battery.
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Updated 2026-10-28