Can't connect to the account "COMCAST"

likewise. All of my Comcast mail accounts are failing to connect, but the passwords are correct. I can log into Xfinity in a Safari web browser using the same password and check my mail, but this is not workable. There is a comment from someone that they resolved this but didn't offer any suggestion how. Did Comcast change a portal again? They've done this in the past and then deny it, though it's pretty easy to see.

Mac OS 14.4.1

dforzano wrote:

aaaaand - with not explanation - back in business. Something on Comcast's side no doubt. Thanks for the comments.

Yep, that has been the case for me and others as well. Without making any changes, all of a sudden it will start working again. Definitely a problem on their end.

I was locked out of my Comcast email since Saturday spent three hours on the phone with them today resolved nothing I went to the comcast store and they fixed my problem in 10 minutes.

i understand your frustration. I too have Comcast email as second service (which I seldom use). I have had similar experiences. I have come to conclude that Comcast prefers that we use our browsers to get their emails. They even provide an option on their web site to remain checked in (for direct access via the browser). My recommendation is to save any email messages you have to a local folder, then delete the account in your email app. Next, set up a new account carefully entering your ID and passwords. That often resolves the problem. Good luck.

There was a recent security issue at Xfinity (Comcast) that was requiring all users to reset their passwords. You should have received a notice of this.

If not, log into your Xfinitiy service account on line. You may be prompted to reset your password. After which once into your account, check all your user settings for any other use passwords and update them.

Otherwise, try to contact Xfinity.

When you are viewing your Comcast emails on the website, click the Gear Button in the upper right and choose Email Settings. After that, select Security in the Sidebar and make sure that "Third Party Access Security" is checked.

If that is already checked, post a screen shot of your settings at Mail > Settings > [name of account], then choose the Server Settings tab. Make sure you have entered your password in both the Incoming Mail Server and the Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server. The settings will depend on if its a POP or IMAP account.

I had already confirmed that I was allowing third party access to the accounts. To clarify - this started happening yesterday for all of my Comcast mail accounts. I have not run any software updates, have not changed any settings in Mail or with xfinity. I can log into all of the comcast mail accounts with a web browser or using a mobile xfinity application. I reset all passwords and confirmed all accounts still work and are actively receiving mail (on the server side). If Comcast has changed ports I have no way of knowing. Searching for which ports to enable garners multiple results - which can't all be correct. I tried a few but none of them resolved the issue.

aaaaand - with not explanation - back in business. Something on Comcast's side no doubt. Thanks for the comments.

In addition to what Ronasara says, you may need to contact Comcast technical support to have them walk through your password reset.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/email-client-programs-with-xfinity-email

Guides people for setting up email properly on Comcast. You may find using the xfinity website with your account works best until you identify where to put the ports on your email client. Typically you'll want to use IMAP settings so you can get every computer/device you use to access the same email. Sometimes you'll add the port numbers with a colon, such as

mail.comcast.net:143

if your email does not offer a separate place to specify the port number from the server address.

If you cannot sign into your account at www.xfinity.com, then you do not have the correct password. You will need to reset the password on their site to be able to log in and then once you have a working password, you can add it to your Mail account and continue to use the Mail app.

Once you can view the emails online, click the gear icon in the upper right of that page and choose Email Settings. After that click the Security tab in the side bar and make sure you have the option checked for "Third Party Security". Ever since they had a data breach, they required users to change their passwords and may have also changed your Settings on the website.

I have had issues with Comcast Mail where for an entire day my accounts would not connect successfully, then some account would go back online. All without changing anything in the Mail settings. The next day everything was back to normal, so this does happen with Comcast and seems to be more frequent since they had their data breach requiring everyone to change their passwords.

You can see the error by going to Mail > Window > Connection Doctor.

For a POP mail account, the incoming port number I use is 995 and the outgoing is 587. Both with TLS/SSL checked and using Password as the Authentication. The incoming Host name is mail.comcast.net and the outgoing is smtp.comcast.net

IMAP accounts. Failure was all at once. Nothing changed on my side. Accounts unable to login - username/password error. Password of course is correct, since nothing changed. I went and verified login to xfinity mail worked in a browser. Then reset the passwords and reconfirmed. Same error.

any idea what they did?

I totally believe you. Lately, my long used password for their email has also only worked intermittently. Now, no. But my wife's password for her separate access now works for me. Go figure.

So, what did the comcast store do to fix your problem?