Charter email still not working with apple mail. Any suggestions?

It's hard to understand how on earth something like this can continue to be an unresolved issue for so long with so many apple users noting it and explaining it as many different ways as possible. Very frustrating!

I just started having trouble with Spectrum mail (sending and receiving) about a week ago on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad using Apple Mail. It seems Spectrum/Charter updated server names and finally made it mandatory for all users. Spectrum customer support was completely unhelpful aside from sending me emails and directing me to webpages with server settings that were incomplete. Finally, I got it to work on all my devices. The key seemed to be to delete the Spectrum email account from my Apple mail on each device. Then, to set it up from scratch one by one. When I just tried to do an update to incoming server host name, I was able to update. When I tried to update the outgoing server host name, it just kept trying to verify - but never succeeded. Deleting the Spectrum mail account and starting over worked for me.

Email Settings

• Username: Your full Spectrum email address
• Password: Your Spectrum email password
• SSL: On
• Protocol: IMAP
• Incoming Email Server: mobile.charter.net
• Port: 993
• Outgoing Email Server: mobile.charter.net
• Enter your User Name and Password even though it may say optional when in Outgoing Email Server settings
• Set Authentication to Password
• Port: 587

Here's what charter blames apple and visa versa means......

Charter Spectrum (if you engage them in discussion about this) will tell you Apple Mail is a third party app, which it is in respect to Charter, and charter doesn't know why charter mail periodically doesn't work or work properly using Apple Mail - charter has no crossover knowledge/ awareness what happens when an Apple Mail user tries to load charter mail in to that app. And of course Apple has no crossover knowledge or responsibility to know why charter mail doesn't work well with the Apple Mail app properly sll the time.

2024 UPDATE > Charter support is pretty clueless regarding apple mail, they don't care.

Apple support doesn't really know or want to know anything about charter, no surprise there.

If you don't have the technical patience to work around/ through this issue, you may as well give up and use a new email account other than charter.... the issue comes & goes and then comes back & goes again!

And of course charter has webmail system everyone can use directly rather then inside apple mail.

The problem is charter webmail & apple mail don't work well together and likely never will. After batting this around off & on for about 5 years, I notice it's especially disfunctional (or temporarily broken) right after charter does a periodic system update, but nothing bad really ever happens when apple updates its system. My conclusion is its clearly a charter issue, which causes some kind of recognition/ communication glitch that seems to last awhile.

I've solved the problem most quickly and the same way every time it happens by simply deleting any charter email accounts from apple mail (on every apple device - imac, ipad, iphone), then restarting the apple devices and setting up all the same charter email accounts in apple mail again, always as imap accounts and using incoming/outgoing server designations <mobile.charter.net>. I also suspect that since charter still has options for both pop & imap accounts (for users that don't know why they want them) this creates another possible technical glitch that may contribute to this issue although I don't understand why.

Anyway.... my final answer is: delete charter email accounts from apple mail, restart. set same accounts back up, restart.... may have to repeat process a few times until it works.... its stubborn, but normally gives up & works again.

karlm01 wrote:

Wait, you mean delete the charter account, and set up a new one with charter?

I think what was suggested was to remove the failing account from Mail then add it back again with the correct configuration for your email account.

You can always use Charter's site and login to run email. Or their app if one is offered.

Regardless of finger pointing, developers are responsible for making their apps work with macOS, not the other way around.

I'd delete the account and recreate it from scratch. If that din't work, I'd move to a different mail service. Irksome maybe, but it settled Comcast's hash once and for all.

I was surprised to read this comment to find out that this has been going on for years.

I have just had the same situation happen (12/2023) and they gave me the same answer. They said I should just use Spectrum Web Mail. Charter/Spectrum will no longer allow 3rd party apps (like Outlook or Apple Mail) to send email using charter/spectrum.net outbound (SMTP) email servers.

I may try delete and re-add the charter account. Not feeling optimistic. Looks like it is about time is start the transition away from charter.net as my primary email address. Not looking forward to that process.

A solution was written here in response to problems setting up Complex mail services such as Google mail, Yahoo, and AOL that open a Safari Browser window half way through the account setup process on the Mac. I will post below because the suggestion that using Cellular instead of built-in Wi-fi suggests in MIGHT have some relevance. But it may not apply at all.

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<< Can’t configure complex emails setups in Sonoma >>

The issue appears to be Safari's "advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection". Go to Safari's Settings -> Advanced and uncheck "Use advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection".

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255361223?answerId=260028169022&sortBy=oldest_first#260028169022

Thanks bosmacs!

FYI to BobTheFisherman

Here's what 'charter blames apple' and visa versa means......

Charter Spectrum (if you engage them in discussion about this) will tell you Apple Mail is a third party app, which it is in respect to Charter, and charter doesn't know why charter mail periodically doesn't work or work properly using Apple Mail - charter has no crossover knowledge/ awareness what happens when an Apple Mail user tries to load charter mail in to that app. And of course Apple has no crossover knowledge or responsibility to know why charter mail doesn't work well with the Apple Mail app properly sll the time.

karlm01 wrote:

ok, thank you. Tried that multiple times. Doesn't work.

Maybe if you told us what error results when you try to send an email we could better advise you. If the configuration for the account is correct it should work. I don't know what you mean by Charter blames Apple saying Apple does not support third party apps. Mail is an Apple app. There is no third party app involved. It should work as proven when you said your wife's charter email account works.

Did you install some third party app that claims to protect, manage, boost performance etc? if so, remove this app. Try booting in safe mode to see if your email then works.

Mail: The ONLY error Mail can detect is "server does not respond". If you just finished setting up a new Account when you get a message 'password incorrect', you may need to adjust the password you entered or the settings.

Otherwise, the report that the 'password is incorrect' is just NOT APPLICABLE, and should be ignored. It is more likely your email vendor is doing backups and the email server is slow to respond.

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You can get access to the password-box and similar settings by using:

Mail > Window > Connection Doctor ...

... and click on the red light for any (sending or receiving) Server. This takes you directly to the settings for that Server.

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If you are using IMAP, your email messages are stored on the email Server until you move them into folders "on My Mac".

In most cases, nothing is lost be deleting your non-functioning email account and setting it up again from scratch, entering the correct password at that time.

I've been fighting for about four hours over two days trying to get charter mail to work again on the phone. It worked until it didn't (For about two years).

I don't know if it's a hack, or I've been hacked, or what is going on, but it is finally working by NOT putting in mobile.charter.net in IMAP and SMTP. on the phone. But putting in mail.charter.net instead. Which is what it always was before. 993 IMAP and 587 SMTP and authentication password. Good luck. And on the MacMini, no matter what I did, it kept changing the IMAP to 25 even though IMAP was chosen. Then I had to fight to keep SMTP from switching to 465. Then the password would vanish (and I have a pretty long password). And I did put in mobile.charter.net even though the Macmini isn't a mobile device. Lots of "can't verify," "can't add," spinning and crashing, and eventually (I think) it may be working. I am still not able to send, and the inbox emails are all going to junk, but it seems to be almost back. And, btw, fun fact. We tried to record a show using the Spectrum Cable box this afternoon. Recorded 790 instead of 771. And can't delete the recording. The last time this happened, I had to disconnect everything. The only reason I keep the boxes is so I can fast forward through commercials easily (I have tried their app, and they cleverly have made it a pain in the b to use, so I'll keep the boxes).

The "correct" IMAP and SMTP settings that Spectrum publishes may work for the gentleman who posted them, but as I say, the only thing we have been able to get to work is

Turn off automatically manage connection settings

Host name: mobile.charter.net IMAP: 993 Check Use TLS/SSL Authentication: Password (And on one of the computers, the host name that works is mail.charter.net.

SMTP

Account name: Whatever

Username: your email and Password

Host name: smtp.charter.net (and on the computer that uses mail.charter.net this is the mobile.charter.net)

Turn off automatic

587 Use TLS

Authentication Password

And remember, when your email stops spinning and you get the message "can't get there from here" and you try to click on ok, and it spins and you get "sorry, try again, this isn't going to work"... don't click okay. close out, reboot. Do this many times into what you actually put into these settings sticks. When I did this, I had to do it about a dozen times because no matter what I changed, the setting would get changed back, the automatic would show up clicked, the SMTP would change to 465, etc. And IMAP would change to POP settings.

Oh...here's something we discovered yesterday. The workaround use to be you could at least forward the email to another account (like a gmail that works). Nope. They've "Turned that off for security purposes." I don't know why we keep these two charter email accounts. They are nothing but spam, ads and phishing anyway. I use them for subscriptions, websites I follow, and shopping. Human beings we know send email to the other accounts.