# 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.

## How to control how often mail is fetched

1. Open **Settings**, **General settings**, **Network** and choose **Background sync**.
2. Go back, tap your account and open **Fetching mail**.
3. Set **Folder poll frequency** and **Poll folders**.
4. 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.

Source: https://docs.xgenplus.com/mobile/android-settings-sync/