Mail Problems - SMTP server not responding: "offline"

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Level 9

78,103 points

Mail Problems - SMTP server not responding: "offline"

I am currently testing DSL service for a month; set up Mail just before I downloaded the 10.7.3 release. Tested it once and it worked; did not use it to send emails since because I am only testing this (including the email address). I have been receiving emails (which I forwarded to myself from my cable provider's website); today, I wanted to send an email and a 6 hour troubleshooting saga began....

Total of 2 hours with Centurylink tech support; 1 1/2 hours with Applecare, and another 30 minutes with Centurylink.

During that time, all different settings were tried, turned on/off. POP server ok, SMTP server not responding. With Applecare, tried it on both the iMac and the Macbook; also tried it after booting into Snow Leopard - SMTP server not responding ("offline"). Applecare tech stated that it has to be the server since we tried it on two machines as well as SL. Centurylink insists there is nothing wrong with their server, but it's Mail's fault.

So, I finally gave up for the evening, but wonder if there is something amiss with Mail in 10.7.3 (both machines are on the same version) and during the troubleshooting, I noticed an anomaly: in a new message window, there was no choice to choose an account to send from which I thought was odd.

I was thinking of a new install or to clone back? My clones are up to date though, I have no older clones. I do have a fresh install but it's also the latest one from MAS. Or I could just boot from the fresh install and set up Mail to see if it would work?

Grateful for any ideas....

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.7.3), 12 GB RAM, 10.6.8

Posted on Feb 9, 2012 10:20 PM

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Answer 1

TildeBee

Level 7

31,917 points

Feb 9, 2012 11:17 PM in response to babowa

Barbara --

There's nothing wrong with Mail in 10.7.3 here.

My Mail accounts work fine with 10.7.3. Have had no problems.

I've had lots of friends that have had terrible email problems with DSL. But YMMV.

You might try taking the com.apple.Mail.plist file to the desktop, and restarting Mail.

That worked very well with a friend last week.

But I'm sure more knowledgeable Mail folks will come by with more advice.

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Answer 2

babowa Author

Level 9

78,103 points

Feb 9, 2012 11:36 PM in response to TildeBee

Thank you, Bee - trashing the .plist was the first thing I tried......

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Answer 3

Feb 9, 2012 11:59 PM in response to babowa

Hi babowa, i had the same problem with apple mail 5.2 (10.7.3) and have some tried.

was has helped me:

I deactivate SSL in Preferences -> Account

and now it works

no idea why but it works

Have a nice day

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Answer 4

Feb 10, 2012 3:33 AM in response to babowa

Hi:

Unfortunately I am no Mail guru 😟.

I use DSL and AOL's mail platform (integrated with Apple's Mail application). FWIW, I have had no problems after installing OS X 10.7.3. AOL's mail is IMAP, so I suspect my configuration will not be of much help.

However, my outgoing Mail server looks like this (SMTP.aol.com:myusername). I have (in the past) had a rare outgoing server issue (offline). I corrected that by editing the outgoing server list (advanced). I authenticate with the password (which was missing in preferences) and use the default ports.

This is sort of a memory dump, but it may give you some ideas....

Barry

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Answer 5

Feb 10, 2012 3:54 AM in response to Barry Hemphill

with update i somehow end up getting duplicates in smtp list. got password request often. hacd to delete duplicate servers and re enter password in preferences in the mail.

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Answer 6

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Feb 10, 2012 3:59 AM in response to babowa

Who is providing the e-mail account you're having trouble with? If it's your previous internet provider, one possibility is that they are requiring you to be on their network to send via their servers, at least with your current mail settings. I, for example, can send mail with my RoadRunner e-mail address only from home. On any other network, I am not allowed to connect to the SMTP server. If this is the case for you, ask your e-mail provider if they provide any way for you to connect to their SMTP server from other networks.

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Answer 7

etresoft

Level 8

46,128 points

Feb 10, 2012 6:44 AM in response to babowa

Here is Centurylink's mail setup page: http://qwest.centurylink.com/internethelp/email-sever-settings.html

They seem to support SSL on all sides so that is definitely what you should be using. Secure e-mail is a good idea just for the security. If your e-mail isn't provided by your ISP, then it will be required to function. Almost all "account names" these days are actually full e-mail addresses.

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Answer 8

babowa Author

Level 9

78,103 points

Feb 10, 2012 9:44 AM in response to etresoft

Thanks to everyone; as you can imagine, all settings/configurations were tried yesterday (even booting into SL); Apple said it's Centurylink's fault, and they insisted there was nothing wrong with their server.

FWIW, I unplugged my Comcast cable (it is still active though and I'm getting TV reception, just unplugged the modem for now); right now, my internet access and email account are with Centurylink for the test. I still access my Comcast mail via their web interface email account.

Anyway, thanks to a good friend's idea, I decided to check keychain access and to make it short: the issue is fixed and the problem definitely had something to do with the OS because:

When I first checked keychain, this is what I saw:

I then checked Comcast settings and there were two: one was checked "allow all apps..." and the other had the "confirm" with Mail listed under the applications.

So I figured it's so screwed up, I probably can't make it any worse, so I deleted the Internet Accounts and added Mail to the smtp.centurylink...:

And......... it then worked! These default "internetaccounts" obviously aren't being recognized by Centurylink's server?

And, to make sure that was it, I not only did the same thing on the Macbook, but also booted into a pristine "backup" fresh install (no added apps or files, just default OS), launched Mail and couldn't send. Launched Keychain, changed the apps to Mail, and I was able to send email.

I would call that a bug? Or not? In any case, I'll be calling back Applecare and tell them to add the above to the very long log from yesterday and to make a note that "internetaccounts" doesn't work with everything.

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Answer 9

TildeBee

Level 7

31,917 points

Feb 10, 2012 10:00 AM in response to babowa

It's a mystery, that's for sure. Like I said, I had no problems.

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Answer 10

babowa Author

Level 9

78,103 points

Feb 10, 2012 10:23 AM in response to TildeBee

Who is your email provider/ISP?

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Answer 11

babowa Author

Level 9

78,103 points

Feb 10, 2012 11:32 AM in response to babowa

As an addendum:

I just called Applecare and gave them a report; he is forwarding the issue to their engineers because it is obviously a bug and/or (in)compatibility issue if Centurylink will recognize "Mail" but not "InternetAccounts" which I was told encompass Mail and Safari, especially on a pristine install.

So, the issue appears fixed for me - at least at the moment (I'm being cautious!!). I've never done this before, but I marked my own answer as correct because it shows the solution - that's for anyone having a similar problem.

Thanks for the suggestions - appreciate them all!

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Answer 12

Feb 10, 2012 11:49 AM in response to babowa

I notice some time back that Apple changed Keychain from having the Mail application to InternetAccounts in the Access Control pane. I thought this changed took effect in the last SL updates, but not positive. I kept track of that since everyone was having so many problems with Mail back then, including me. I can't verify since I don't have a working SL OS anymore. For sure if it wasn't SL, it was when I installed Lion in July.

I did add the Mail application to all my incoming and outgoing servers for Access Control back then. I forgot about that point since then.

Out of curiosity, I went back and checked mine again. My main account (AT&T) didn't have the Mail app in the Access Control. Just InternetAccounts. I added it there also. Even without Mail listed, it was working fine. I don't know how that would affect other ISPs, but it's possible.

I'm just adding this for info.

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Answer 13

babowa Author

Level 9

78,103 points

Feb 10, 2012 12:15 PM in response to Glenn Leblanc

Ahh, thanks for the insight about having had that problem previously; I have no idea when that was added since I had not paid attention to it at all (especially since I was not having any problems with Mail using Comcast), but it seems to me that Centurylink is probably set up to recognize one thing: Mail (since they are so Windows-centric), so anything else there will throw them off. Wish I could have added your experience to my last call to Applecare!

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Answer 14

Feb 10, 2012 12:32 PM in response to babowa

I didn't exactly link that to the problems of back then, but was covering all options. The problems I was dealing with were intermittent problems and not complete failure. More or less Keychain password failed or kept coming up to Allow instead of being automatic.

I would think the consequence of not having an application in the Access Control would just bring up Keychain each time a password was requested and you would have to physically Allow (confirm before allowing). When confirm before allowing access is checked, any application not listed would have to be manually confirmed to allow Keychain to give out the password.

I don't necessarily want every internet account to have access to certain passwords. Just the ones I choose. So, I believe it better to just input the apps instead of the default given by Lion as InternetAccounts.

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Answer 15

hiapkkm

Level 1

0 points

Jun 28, 2012 2:50 AM in response to babowa

This is in regards to the authentication error for road runner SMTP: When selecting your smtp server, chose edit smtp list, select or add your server, enter server name, use the default port (25), use Authentication = none. Just tried it on Mac OS mail as well as Outlook for the Mac.

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