How to verify basic IMAP connectivity by using Telnet

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To make sure that you have correct IMAP4 connectivity to a mailbox that is located on the Exchange computer, type the following commands at a command prompt.

Note Except for the first command, you must type a question mark (?) and a space at the beginning of each command. Press ENTER after you type each command.

1. Telnet IP address of Mail server (Exchange) 143
   
   This command starts a Telnet session. If this command is successful, you receive the following response from the server:

   +OK Microsoft Exchange IMAP4rev1 server version x.x.x (F.Q.D.N.) ready

2. ? LOGIN NTDOMAIN/NTACCOUNT/ALIAS PASSWORD
   
   This command starts the communication by logging on to the mailbox. If this command is successful, you receive the following response:

   +OK LOGIN completed

3. ? LIST "" "*"
   
   This command provides a list of available folders.
4. ? Select Folder (where Folder is the mailbox folder that you want, such as Inbox or Deleted Items)
   
   This command selects the appropriate mailbox. If this command is successful, you receive a response that is similar to the following, depending on the number of messages that are in the mailbox:

   * <#> EXISTS
   * <#> RECENT
   * FLAGS (\Seen \Answered \Flagged \Deleted \Draft)
   * OK [PERMANENTFLAGS (\Seen \Answered \Flagged \Deleted \Draft)]
   * OK [UNSEEN <#>] Is the first unseen message
   * OK [UIDVALIDITY 73] UIDVALIDITY value.
   ? OK [READ-WRITE] SELECT completed.
   	

5. ? FETCH message number> All (where message number is 1, 2, 3, and so on)
   ? FETCH message number Body (where message number is 1, 2, 3, and so on)
   
   These commands retrieve specific messages. If the command is successful, you receive the message that you specified with a "message number" response that is similar to the following:

   * 1 FETCH (FLAGS ( )  INTERNALDATE "25-JUN-1998 10:57:38 -500"
   RFC822.SIZE 417 ENVELOPE 9"Thu, 25 Jun 1998 10:57:33 -500" "Test"
   (("Administrator" NIL "Administrator" "microsoft.com"))
   (("Administrator" NIL "Administrator" "microsoft.com"))
   (("Administrator" "microsoft".com")) NIL NIL NIL
   "219876E11AFBD111A43F00C04F8FECCA33D4@mail2.dns.microsoft.com"))
   * ? OK FETCH completed.

6. ? LOGOUT
   
   This command logs the user out of the IMAP4 session with the Exchange computer. If this command is successful, you receive a message that is similar to the following:

   ? LOGOUT
   * BYE Microsoft Exchange IMAP4rev1 server version 5.5.2654.50 signing off
   ? OK LOGOUT completed.

   Note The version number in this message may vary depending upon the Exchange service pack that is installed. This example assumes that you are running Exchange 5.5 with Service Pack 4 (SP4) installed.

If you can successfully complete this procedure, any IMAP4 client that complies with Request for Comment (RFC) 2060 should be able to connect to the mailbox on the Exchange computer.