diff --git a/core/dovecot/conf/dovecot.conf b/core/dovecot/conf/dovecot.conf
index 6b97a086..ed2c4cdf 100644
--- a/core/dovecot/conf/dovecot.conf
+++ b/core/dovecot/conf/dovecot.conf
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ service auth-worker {
 protocol imap {
   mail_plugins = $mail_plugins imap_quota imap_sieve
   mail_max_userip_connections = 20
+  imap_idle_notify_interval = 29mins
 }
 
 protocol pop3 {
diff --git a/towncrier/newsfragments/2211.misc b/towncrier/newsfragments/2211.misc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..61eb145e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/towncrier/newsfragments/2211.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Set imap_idle_notify_interval to 29 mins (see rfc2177) to ensure we use IMAP IDLE effectively