POP mail not getting removed from server automatically

[kalsta]

Over the years, the feature by which our mail clients tell the server to remove old email messages has worked flawlessly. In the Apple Mail client, the setting reads: 'Remove copy from server after retrieving a message'. I always set this to 'After one week'.

However, just recently I have noticed that all our POP mail accounts (accessed from different computers) appear to be filling up. If I press the 'Remove now' button from Mail, the old messages are successfully deleted from the mail server. But the 'after one week' instruction to the server appears to be falling on deaf ears.

Has something recently changed with WHM/cPanel that could be causing this? If not, any ideas on how I might start to troubleshoot this issue?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello @kalsta,

This seems like an issue with the Mail app as opposed to the server because I've tested and confirmed the Remove Now button works (as it did for you). I would not expect the Remove Now feature to work it were an issue with the mail server.

Can you verify which version of MacOS is installed on the affected systems? Is it possible the email accounts are accessed via POP3 using additional methods (e.g. a third-party email client, or an iPhone)?

Also, what version of cPanel & WHM is installed on this server? Is MDBOX enabled on the server?

Thank you.

 

[kalsta]

Thanks for the reply. I'm using macOS 10.13.6 (High Sierra), but other users in my family are using different versions. That's why I thought it was unlikely to be caused by a macOS update. I do access the same email accounts from my iPhone, but nothing in this setup has changed and it always worked fine in the past.

WHM/cPanel version is 74.0.6. MDBOX is not enabled.

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello @kalsta,

Could you open a support ticket so we can take a closer look at the system and see if we notice anything that stands out? You can post the ticket number here and I will link this thread to the ticket.

Thank you.

 

[kalsta]

Thanks Michael. The problem seems to have resolved itself now with my POP accounts. I'm not sure if it was an issue with Mail or the server, but I've since upgraded to macOS Mojave (and presumably cPanel has updated itself also). The main thing is, it's working!

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hi @kalsta,

I'm glad to see it's working well again! Thanks for sharing the outcome.

 

[kalsta]

Update: I was premature (back in 2018) in declaring this fixed. The problem came back (or perhaps it was always there), with some accounts but not others. Since then, the 'Remove now' button has also stopped working for those accounts. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to work out what causes this problem.

In any case, I'm migrating to a new server and switching from cPanel to DirectAdmin.