Our Days to Sync settings allow you to control how long emails are stored and synced on your device. If you want to access older emails, simply increase the Days to Sync to a longer timeframe.
To configure your Days to Sync settings, follow these steps:
- Open Settings
- Go to Global Settings
- Select Offline Storage — on a build where offline storage is switched off this entry is named Sync instead. You will see one or the other, never both.
The screen lists a separate timeframe per folder group, each labeled Offline emails - days to sync - …:
- Offline emails - days to sync - inbox (on non-IMAP accounts this reads simply Offline emails - days to sync)
- Offline emails - days to sync - sent
- Offline emails - days to sync - other folders
- Offline emails - days to sync - Exchange accounts — for EAS (Exchange ActiveSync) accounts
The available timeframes are 1 Day, 3 Days, 5 Days, 1 Week, 2 Weeks, 1 Month, 3 Months and Unlimited.
If Unlimited is offered for your account and you have selected it, you can also pull down the full history: go to Settings → Accounts → select the account → Download All Messages when Sync is Unlimited. If Unlimited is greyed out for your account, that step will not help — see the next section.
If Unlimited isn't offered for your Exchange account
On Exchange ActiveSync accounts the Exchange timeframe list stops at 1 Month: 3 Months is not offered at all, and Unlimited appears greyed out with the note "Not available for this account". This is a current limitation, not something you have set wrongly, and reinstalling or re-adding the account will not change it.
Some Exchange accounts can take Unlimited — on those it is selectable rather than greyed out, and choosing it upgrades the account's sync. If yours shows the greyed-out note, the option is not available for that mailbox.
Two ways around it:
- Add the mailbox as MSO or IMAP instead, if your provider offers it — those take their sync period from Inbox/Sent and Other Folders, which do include Unlimited. See Adding an Exchange Account. Bear in mind ActiveSync is still the protocol we recommend for Calendar and Contacts sync.
- Search for older mail. Search covers messages on the server as well as on your device, so you can still open mail from outside your sync window — see How does Search Work?.
To check which protocol an account is currently using, go to Settings → Accounts → choose the account → Protocol.
Offline Access and POP3 Accounts
Once emails are downloaded to your device, offline email access is available. This means you can access important emails even without network service. Syncing will resume automatically when the network connection is restored.
Note: For POP3 accounts, the entire Inbox folder will be downloaded from your server when you add the account, but emails will be displayed according to the "Inbox/Sent" Days to Sync settings.
