Samsung Mail going rogue

[bkrell]

I've got a Galaxy S7 Active. I have been using the default Samsung Email app because it's the only one that I could control syncing....until now. I'm not sure if it started with the recent update or what, but my phone now seems to sync email at random. I have all my accounts set to sync manually yet...every now and then, I get a notice of new email. I downloaded a few third party email apps and all had little random issues that kept me from staying with them. Heck, Microsoft Outlook doesn't even let you control syncing from what I can tell. I just don't need random email alerts all day and don't want it draining my battery.

 

[B. Diddy]

Is Restrict Background Data turned on in Settings>Data Usage, either universally or specifically for the Mail app?

Any power saving modes turned on (or 3rd party power saving apps installed)?

 

[bkrell]

I have 360 Security. Restrict background data isn't on. Didn't even know about that. Hmm, should I turn it on?

 

[B. Diddy]

No, leave that off. Restrict Background Data could interfere with email apps syncing in the background to get new emails.

Are you able to uninstall or disable 360 Security, at least temporarily?

 

[bkrell]

Lol, oh. Well, I turned it on last night and am still getting sporadic email syncing going on. Let me make sure I'm clear here. I don't want me email to sync. I prefer to download my email ONLY when I open the email app. I have the sync schedule set to manual. Yet I'm still getting random email syncs. So you think 360 Security could somehow be triggering the syncs?

 

[B. Diddy]

D'oh!:-\ Sorry, I misunderstood.

It's still worth removing 360 Security temporarily, just to see if it's causing any kind of interference. That app seems to be more commonly mentioned on these forums in association with problems, compared with other security apps.

These notifications couldn't be coming from the Gmail app, could they?

 

[bkrell]

Ah. Any recommendations for a better utility/security app?

No, this is the default Samsung Email app. I have 4 email accounts I check regularly and couldn't get everything setup on Gmail. I downloaded 3-4 other 3rd party email apps and couldn't get all my accounts to work properly so I went back to Samsung's app. It was working fine on my old phone. I THINK this started either with the recent AT&T update OR when I moved to my replacement phone from AT&T (S7 Active, requested a newer one, not affected by water resistance issue). I used Safe Switch and everything worked pretty seemless. Regardless, I did check my sync settings and they are the same. I thought maybe if I switched to the option it has to sync once daily, that would solve the problem. But it STILL was doing it after that.

 

[B. Diddy]

I actually avoid security apps in general, since most of them aren't that useful (and some are plain sneaky and shady). My tips for reducing your risk of malware include:

1. Avoid shady websites that deal with things like porn, gambling, and "free" (aka pirated) apps/music/movies.


2. Never ever tap on a link that appears in a popup while browsing, especially if they're warning you that your phone is infected--they're just trying to scare you into installing some bogus "antivirus" app that is probably malicious itself.


3. Only install apps from well-established app sources like Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore. Read a bunch of app reviews before installing an app to look for any complaints about adware or suspected malware.


4. Turn on Google's "Verify Apps" function. This allows Google to periodically scan your phone's apps to look for malware. It's usually in your Google Settings app, under Security (although it might also be in the main System Settings, in Settings>Security).


5. Turn off "Unknown Sources" in Settings>Security. This prevents any app that wasn't obtained from Google Play Store from being installed (which could include malicious apps that are inadvertently downloaded).


Getting back to your phone--I've been hearing about some issues that might arise due to using Smart Switch (namely, lag on the Note7--which seems to improve after a factory reset). Your issue would seem to be less likely due to Smart Switch, but as a last resort, you may want to consider a factory reset to see if the problem persists.