BlackBerry Tip: Use Gmail to archive deleted BlackBerry messages

BlackBerry Tip: Use Gmail to archive deleted BlackBerry messages

One of the downsides of being a BIS user is that you don’t get the ability to archive your deleted BlackBerry emails. Well there is a way to do it and it has changed my life.
If you’re like me, you have drunk the Cool-Aid and you’re using Google Calendar, Reader, Docs (which I’m writing this on right now) etc. Even though you love Google products, you can’t make the jump to Android because, when it comes to communication and getting things done, nothing is better than BlackBerry.
There have been rumors of a BlackBerry plugin for Gmail for ages, but it’s taking a long time and we’re not hearing much news about it. Until then, here is a solution for archiving your deleted BlackBerry emails using Gmail.

First, we’ve got to let the BIS know to use IMAP and nothing but IMAP.
1) Log in to your BIS account. If you already have your
2) If you see your Gmail account, go ahead and delete it.
3) Click “Set Up Account.” On the next page, type in your email address but do not type in your password. Click ‘next.’ Choose “I will provide the settings to add this email account” and again, click ‘next.’
4) Make sure that “This is my personal email account” is selected, and hit ‘next.’ Choose “I will provide the settings to add this email account,” click ‘next’, and here’s where the magic happens.
5) Under “User name” type in your full email address: i.e. joe@gmail.com. Now you can go ahead and enter in your password. Under ‘Email server’, put in imap.gmail.com , and put your email address in the ‘email’ field. Click ‘next.’ You are now done with the BIS side of it.


Now we’re going to set up the Gmail side of things. Go ahead and log into your Gmail account.
1) In the upper-right-hand corner, click on “Settings”, and then click on the “labs” tab.
If you haven’t played with the labs, take some time, there are great things here. My personal favorite these days is the “send and archive” button. Love it.
2) Find “Advanced IMAP Controls”. Enable them.
3) Sign in and sign out of Gmail. If you have ‘Offline Gmail’ enabled, Advanced IMAP may take a few minutes. Be patient.
4) Click on “Settings” again, and then choose “Forwarding and POP/IMAP”. Make sure that IMAP is enabled.
5) Click on “Do Not Automatically Expunge Messages”, and finally, “When a message is expunged from the last visible IMAP folder”, and choose “Archive the Message”. Ok, you’re almost done! Go ahead and ’save’ your settings.
6) Finally, click on “Settings” again, choose the “Labels” tab, and under “Show in IMAP” make sure that ‘Trash’ is unchecked.

That’s it, you’re done! Go ahead and test it out to make sure it works.
From now on, when you delete a message from your BlackBerry, it should Archive it in your Gmail. Enjoy!