MacLady

Q: SMTP server fails to recognize username

My 95-year old parents have an iMac 21.5-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 using 10.8.5 which they love and use daily for email, and iTunes. (Dad is the last remaining band member of a famous 1941 swing band that made the first music videos for the Panorams!)

 

All of a sudden, the SMTP server will not recognize Dad's username and no mail would send.


I discovered this because Dad was trying to send an email which would not send, so he left it, and the error message on the screen. (LOL) I saw that he had entered a mal-formed email, so I fixed that and it flew off fine.


I then went into his Previous Recipients tab and cleared up all his 'mistakes' to lessen the chance of that happening again.


But when I attempted to forward an email to myself from his account to mine, it would not send. Nothing would send, and the message was that his username was being rejected but ONLY by the SMTP server.


After confirming via webmail that his account was working for both send and receive, I thought perhaps the preferences had become corrupted. The disk checked out OK and I ran permissions until clean. No problems there, so I deleted and set up the acct again with no success.



Eventually I got the SMTP to work by using the obscure code for the email account that Verizon uses (something that looks like vzeXXXX@verizon.net) instead of his username@verizon.net in the preferences for the outgoing server.


Now the question remains, the tech and I could not decide whether VZ's server is messed up, as it just stopped working for no reason, or is the Mail.app at fault?


These techs work from a script, and have no idea what a POP acct or 5.1.1 error is, mind you.




iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Jun 8, 2016 7:13 AM

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Q: SMTP server fails to recognize username

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  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jun 8, 2016 11:31 AM in response to MacLady
    Level 9 (71,160 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 8, 2016 11:31 AM in response to MacLady

    These are the Verizon e-mail settings I have, which work for me.

     

    pop.verizon.net                   SMTP: smtp.verizon.net    port 995 SSL   password

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jun 8, 2016 11:33 AM in response to MacLady
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Jun 8, 2016 11:33 AM in response to MacLady

    Open Keychain Access in Utilities, use Keychain First Aid under the Keychain Menu item, then either check the Password under that item, change it, or delete it and start over.

     

    You may have multiple entries.

     

    Open Keychain Access in Utilities, enter the part after the @ sign in the search bar, hit enter

     

    The Password rejection can confuse people since it's a catch all meaning...

     

    This Password, Username, Authentication method... is not recognized on this Port to this Server, or a server end problem.

     

    Or duplicate entries in Keychain Access.

     

    If using a browser to login via WebMail works it's not Name or Password, but one of the other ones.

     

    The receiving email ports are:

     

    IMAP is port 143

    IMAP-SSL is port 993

    POP is port 110

    POP-SSL is port 995

    Outgoing ports are...

    SMTP and SMTP-SSL is on ports 25, 587 and 465. Port 587 has to be SSL, and port 465 is enforced TLS-wrapped and is generally used by Outlook users.

  • by MacLady,

    MacLady MacLady Jun 9, 2016 8:54 AM in response to BDAqua
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 9, 2016 8:54 AM in response to BDAqua

    There is only one entry in the keychain for that name.

    The settings were not changed, they are the same as you posted with port 465 and 995 auth via password.

  • by MacLady,

    MacLady MacLady Jun 9, 2016 8:55 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 9, 2016 8:55 AM in response to Eric Root

    The settings are not the issue, the username seems to be.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jun 9, 2016 9:26 AM in response to MacLady
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Jun 9, 2016 9:26 AM in response to MacLady

    OK, it's POP-SSL, is SSL checked?

     

    Does it work using WebMail to login with the same Name & PW?

     

    Are you running any AV software?

  • by MacLady,

    MacLady MacLady Jun 9, 2016 10:00 AM in response to BDAqua
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 9, 2016 10:00 AM in response to BDAqua

    Yes it's SSL, and yes webmail worked both ways.

    Nope, no AV software.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jun 9, 2016 5:38 PM in response to MacLady
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Jun 9, 2016 5:38 PM in response to MacLady

    To see if it's your provider, What's my ip...

     

    http://www.whatismyipaddress.com/

     

    Start with these three, check SpamCop or SpamHaus to see if your IP is there...

     

    http://spamcop.net/bl.shtml

     

    http://www.spamhaus.org/lookup.lasso

     

    http://www.spamhaus.org/zen/

     

    Sometimes an ISP will bloc a whole other ISP too, if it's the source of too much SPAM.

     

    If none of those are it, then report back please.

  • by MacLady,

    MacLady MacLady Jun 10, 2016 4:54 AM in response to BDAqua
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 10, 2016 4:54 AM in response to BDAqua

    I don't think it has anything to do with Spam... the mail never actual gets sent, the SMTP server does not see the name.

    However it does see the code, so that works, so it's not a spam reject.

     

    Dad is 94, emails his friends, doesn't send lists or anything.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jun 10, 2016 9:48 AM in response to MacLady
    Level 9 (71,160 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 10, 2016 9:48 AM in response to MacLady

    Have you tried deleting the account and setting it back up?

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jun 10, 2016 10:20 AM in response to MacLady
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Jun 10, 2016 10:20 AM in response to MacLady

    It would most likely be from somebody either spoofing his addy/IP or some intrusion to his account, not that he is actually sending spam.

  • by MacLady,

    MacLady MacLady Jun 10, 2016 10:51 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 10, 2016 10:51 AM in response to Eric Root

    Of course I have.

     

    The account works on webmail, so there is a corruption somewhere, on their SMTP server or our machine.

     

    It is JUST the smtp outgoing that will not work, but we solved it by using the vzeXXXXX username that is code for his alias.

     

    Bizarre I know, but if it were due to spammers, that would not fly either.

     

    I did not care so long as that did not show up in the FROM anyplace.

  • by MacLady,

    MacLady MacLady Jun 10, 2016 10:52 AM in response to BDAqua
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 10, 2016 10:52 AM in response to BDAqua

    Yes but then it would be rejected in webmail too.

     

    This is not a bounce, as what you get when your email is blocked, this is a rejection of the USERNAME by the Verizon SMTP server.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jun 10, 2016 3:27 PM in response to MacLady
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Jun 10, 2016 3:27 PM in response to MacLady

    I think WebMail woukld still work if it was a spoofed IP that caused it, but not 100% certain.