First could not send mail, then could not send or retrieve mail, plus 790 emails stuck in the outbox of secondary computer

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First could not send mail, then could not send or retrieve mail, plus 790 emails stuck in the outbox of secondary computer

My main computer is a early 2009 Mac Pro Desktop running El Capitan. My older computer is a 2008 iMac also running El Capitan. The Mac Pro Desktop email was working fine on April 16, 2023. Then on April 17, 2023, I could receive mail, but not send it. I tried troubleshooting it myself. Then I spent hours trying to fix it with the "help"

of Comcast technical support. Where initially I could not send email, on April 18, 2023, I could no longer send or receive mail. I tried to use my imac, and could not send or receive, plus there are 790 emails stuck in the

outbox and Mac Mail freezes so the only thing I can do is force quit.

Mac Pro

Posted on Apr 22, 2023 2:33 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

BDAqua

Level 10

245,189 points

Apr 22, 2023 5:47 PM in response to Sheryl71

Lots of nternet wide changes in eMal security of late...

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/third-party-email-access

See if it's along the line of these others...

Mac's Mail App is not as modern as iOS's Mail app, Many eMail providers now require a separate App Password different from your eMail password…

Then you may need Ways to securely access AOL Mail…

https://help.aol.com/articles/allow-apps-that-use-less-secure-sign-in

Or it may just need an App Password...

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?hl=en-GB

Yahoo has gone to this too...

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/access-yahoo-mail-third-party-apps-sln15241.html

Yahoo App password…

Generate and manage third-party app passwords

Some older, third-party email apps (that do not use our Yahoo branded sign in page) require you to enter a single password for login credentials. To access your Yahoo Mail account on these apps, you'll need to generate and use an app password. An app password is a long, randomly generated code that gives a non-Yahoo app permission to access your Yahoo account. You’ll only need to provide this code once to sign in to your third-party email app.

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/access-yahoo-mail-third-party-apps-sln15241.html

Using app passwords with apps that don't support two-step verification (microsoft.com)

What about application passwords? Will that keep working?

If application passwords are being used for MFA (Multi Factor Authentication) along with basic auth as another auth mechanism, then when basic authentication is disabled, app passwords used for MFA will stop working too.

Where can I find more information?

There are several resources that we wanted to provide here as additional reading:

Basic Authentication Deprecation in Exchange Online – September 2022 Update – this is a comprehensive post containing more information about this effort.
Deprecation of Basic authentication in Exchange Online – our official documentation related to this effort, with links to much more information and guidance.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/exchange-online-email-applications-stopped-signing-in-or-keep/ba-p/3641943

Exchange Online email applications stopped signing in, or keep asking for passwords? Start here. - Microsoft Community Hub

It may just need an App Password separate from the gMail password…

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?hl=en-GB

Apple Mail won't sign in to Google account - Apple Community

Note from PrestoWebDesign…

Trying to add Gmail account to Apple Mail… - Apple Community

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,189 points

Apr 23, 2023 7:56 AM in response to Sheryl71

Yes, Apple's Mail App on the Mac is way behind times security wise,twosolutions...

Use a Browser to login to https://login.xfinity.com/login?

Try Thunderbird... https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/102.10.0/system-requirements/

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Answer 3

Sheryl71 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 23, 2023 7:46 AM in response to BDAqua

Thank you. My internet and email provider is Comcast. Their technical support people are very nice and try hard but are clueless about how to help me, and may have actually made the problem worse. An interesting additional piece of information is that my son's Comcast email works just fine. He can send and receive email with no problem. He lives in the same house, his computer is in the next room so it is clearly going to the Comcast server the same way. The only difference is that his computer is a PC.

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Answer 4

Sheryl71 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 23, 2023 8:02 AM in response to BDAqua

Thank you! I am currently using the browser, and I hate that this is the only way I can access my email.

I have not tried Thunderbird yet. I downloaded MailSpring yesterday or the day before, but it doesn't work yet. I will try Thunderbird when I give up on MailSpring.

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Answer 5

Sheryl71 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 23, 2023 10:59 AM in response to BDAqua

Still no reply from Mailspring.

Further research for Thunderbird shows it won't work on either of my computers. "Where can I download a Thunderbird version for Mac OS 10.11. 6 (El Capitan)? You won't be able to use the latest version since Thunderbird requires at least macOS 10.12+. Even if you can find a version to download, it probably won't work because it uses browser technology to work."

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