Out going Mail problem

L

littlebird

Registered
My wife has a g4 power book with OS tiger.

Starting a few days ago she has been unable to send mail. Incoming is fine.

We had this problem a few months ago and solved it by changing smpt.

We use Cox.net. We have always used smpt.west.cox.net ( what I use on my pc also) but for some reason it stopped working for her Mac. We changed it to smpt central and that solved it. Now changing smpt to all the various choices does not work.

I have messed with port number for the west smpt but nothing gets her mail out. She can send off the webb server just fine.

My wife this a childrens book writer and needs her mail desperatly. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Local Mac shop was unable to help the last time. Reinstalled OS and programs but no joy.

Harry
 
Sorry your right "smtp" not very good at this stuff. It was typed correctly in the right places.

Still no joy on getting her mail going out. Incoming is fine but has to use the Cox webb mail to send. Interesting she has a local friend on a Mac who uses the same provider Cox. We checked her settings and they were same as ours. She has not problems.

Could the problem be in her Mac mail? Is there a way to overwrite here program so she has a new install? I checked for Mac Mail updates and could not figure it out. I was hoping to find an .exe that would overwrite.

Should we be looking at another email program, Eudora, Thunderbird ect?

This is soooooo frustrating.

Harry
 
Nonono. There should be no need to switch applications. Also, you don't have to reinstall Mail.app. (You'd probably create more havoc, anyway...) What you _can_ do is run Software Update to see if there are any system updates, but there were no SMTP-related problems in Mail.app in recent years AFAIK.

I'm just asking again: She's _connected_ to the internet via Cox right now and smtp.west.cox.net doesn't want to send. What's the error given?
 
Yes we are connected to Cox and smtp west would not work. It sent the messages with no errors nor undeliverable returns. They just sent but never got to destination.

We took in the notebook to another Mac sales/service and found the problem was with the account. They deleted the account and then reestablished and seems to have corrected the problem. Not sure why because I did the same thing a few months ago and did not work but worked if I changed the smtp to cox central.

Anyway we are up and running and I thank you for help.

Again thank you, Harry
 
Well the problem is back. We switched to Eudora and that fixed it for a few days. Had a router problem and replaced that but still no luck.

I am at my whits end on this one.

Her power book is 4 or 5 years old. OS 10 installed. I wonder if it is not a problem with the power book?

Options:
1. New computer
2. Switch from Cox/Suddenlink to SBC dsl. UGH

My wife writes children's books and email is very crucial for her work. Cannot continue in this state.

She is OK going thru webmail but can't send (does receive) thru any of her 3 installed mail programs. No error messages or returns.

Any thoughts?

Harry
 
It constantly amazes me how people come on these boards crying for help, but leave out significant information about the possible cause of their problems. Your cable franchise's transition from Cox to Suddenlink is a significant event. On my end, this transition seems to have substantially reduced my quality of service. However, it has not reduced my QoS to the point where I would consider switching to DSL. FWIW, SBC is transitioning to AT&T.
 
I am sorry I did not realize I was going about this in the wrong way.

There have been numerous contacts with Cox. Their position is that if webb mail functions then it is not cox. Apple technicians positions is that your programs are functioning properly it is a Cox problem. Around and around.

Again sorry if I did not do this properly, was only looking for suggestions.

No need to reply or offer suggestions.
 
Can you ping the smtp server?

Fire up /Applications/Utilities/Network Utility and try to ping, then trace the route to the server.

What are the results of those tests.

I have also seen issues where, if you check mail immediately before sending, the send progresses as expected. (pretty odd, but minimally annoying)

<rant>
I hate these kinds of problems because major ISPs have adopted draconian solutions to solve spamming problems. Spammers are not as numerous as the decision to block all smtp ports destined for external (to the ISPs network) smtp ports would lead one to believe. Putting caps on the number of recipients of a given email from it's own customers, without even getting a complaint about that customer is another extremely irritating corporate shotgun solution. </rant)

Anyway,.. some stuff to try?
 
You have a POP account.

In reference to your response to my earlier post, you have to understand that Suddenlink is being self-serving. It is standard practice for companies to blame Apple for everything except the death of the Lindberg baby. They claim that the Cox-to-Suddenlink transition is transparent. Do you honestly believe that they are going to admit that they are having problems? This change has been in the works for nearly a year, but they only recently brought a working Suddenlink website online. You don't want to know what other problems might they might have.
 
There is no reason to change ISPs. Flying Meat's other option is DSL from his telephone service provider. Well, guess what? His telephone service provider is also in a major transition. SBC is changing to AT&T while absorbing its neighboring telephone service provider, BellSouth. Too many people have the expectation of perfection and get all out of sorts when they don't get it. Perfection is a goal. When you don't get what you pay for, expect and demand satisfaction. But, be an adult about it.
 
Uh, OK, things must be different in the USA. Here in the UK my ADSL has been offline a total of 3 times in the last 3 years. On each occasion it was down to some catastrophe like a guy driving an excavator through the main pipeline optical fibres (or "fibers") or an underground fire. Others have problems with their ISP because they go for the cheapest. I'm running a business so 30GBP a month is peanuts compared with the alternative (unreliable connection).
 
Hi - I'm having the same problem. I use smtp.east.cox.net - and the error I get is: "The connection to the server "smtp...." on port 587 timed out."

SO - any solution? I also have a pc, since we just bought our very first mac, and i have the exact same settings in outlook and i am able to send and receive just fine.

What up? Help, I want to love mac - but our relationship is a little strained right now...
 
Why port 587?

I have 2 pop accounts, but neither of them use port 587.
SSL or secure authentication requires different ports, so maybe that's it?
See if your provider will tell you what ports their mail server/s are expecting requests on.
Also, what mail client are you using?

The PC may fall back to different ports on failure of the current settings?
 
We finally got ours working. Was probably a combination of things.

First we decided to retire the notebook and bought a 20" iMac. The next day Cox made it official and sent everyone a notice on how to change to Suddenlink.

We ran into some problems with my PC mail (get two of everything) and doing the account forwarding for her mail. A download program to forward mail would work on my PC but the .exe file would not function on the Mac.

With some help with the settings for Cox/Suddenlink on Thanksgiving Day she is not up and running (keeps fingers crossed).

The mail preferences were a little tricky and I would have never figured it out with Suddenlink support which was outstanding.

Harry
 
Good for you! - I got mine going as well!

Thanks for the advice on port 587. I got the right port from cox support and removed my authentication settings - and it's perfect! So, thanks! Me loves me imac again :)
 
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