My SMTP address is correct in Mail Preferences but I cannot send mail since it says the SMTP is "offline"; I've hit Try Later multiple times but it never sends.
Am receiving emails just fine; how to I get my SMTP to be "online" so that I can send emails?
iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1), 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 4GB RAM
Dakoolist's suggestion did not resolve my problem of sending emails and my SMTP being "offline". This is what solved my problem, bear in mind that I am using OSX 10.8.1, so these steps may not be exactly what you see in your Mail program if you are working with an earlier version of OSX.
Mail Program - click on Preferences
Assuming all information on this main page correct, I went down to where it says Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP). If you hold down the bar to the right, one of the choices is Edit SMTP Server List. Choose this.
After I chose Edit SMTP Server list, at the next window half way down the window it says "Account Information" or "Advanced". Choose Advanced.
Once I opened this Advanced window, all my problems were here, as nothing was filled in! I had to choose "Use default Ports (25,465,587). I had check "Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), then I had to choose "Password" as the type of Authentication, and I had to fill in my user name and password.
Once I filled everything in here, my issue of sending emails was resolved. What had me confused is that there are actually TWO DIFFERENT places within Mail Preferences where you check the SSL box...once for Incoming and once for Outgoing Mail.
This resolved my problem; Hope it solves yours.
Dakoolist's suggestion did not resolve my problem of sending emails and my SMTP being "offline". This is what solved my problem, bear in mind that I am using OSX 10.8.1, so these steps may not be exactly what you see in your Mail program if you are working with an earlier version of OSX.
Mail Program - click on Preferences
Assuming all information on this main page correct, I went down to where it says Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP). If you hold down the bar to the right, one of the choices is Edit SMTP Server List. Choose this.
After I chose Edit SMTP Server list, at the next window half way down the window it says "Account Information" or "Advanced". Choose Advanced.
Once I opened this Advanced window, all my problems were here, as nothing was filled in! I had to choose "Use default Ports (25,465,587). I had check "Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), then I had to choose "Password" as the type of Authentication, and I had to fill in my user name and password.
Once I filled everything in here, my issue of sending emails was resolved. What had me confused is that there are actually TWO DIFFERENT places within Mail Preferences where you check the SSL box...once for Incoming and once for Outgoing Mail.
This resolved my problem; Hope it solves yours.
I had the same issue, and I tried every single solution here, to no avail. I was trying to send an email with a few attached files. I finally gave up on Mail and tried to send it directly from my webmail, where it right away said the files are too big to send. So I tried sending the files one at a time with Mail and it worked. I wish Mail would tell me the files are too big rather than simply tell me the server is offline, making me try to fix that issue for hours...
I am still having this problem and tried the solutions above. Deleting the SMTP password from the key chain makes the "offline" go away for about half a second. Deleting and re-creating the account does not resolve the issue. I can receive email just fine but cannot send via Mac Mail with only one of three email accounts (Apple/Gmail/Cox). If I login to the webmail portal, I can send/receive just fine. I spoke with the troubled email service provider (Cox Communications), and they said that it is a Mac Mail issue and they are unable to help. Thanks, all, for your ideas!
Had the same problem just after installing Mountain Lion. Incoming mail was fine. Couldn't send outgoing mail and kept getting the message saying SMTP server offline. Tried loads of the above suggestions and the only thing that worked for me was changing the port settings for the SMTP server from the default ports (25,465,587) to custom ports and entering 25 in the custom port settings.
This prompted me to save the changes and now can send mail again.
Has to be a fault with the Mountain Lion version of Mail. None of my settings or passwords had been changed from Snow Leopard. Apple really need to get this sorted.
Click on the Apple button on the top left hand side of the screen, select Force Quit..., select Mail, select Force Quit, and select Force Quit from the next menu. Restart your computer - then when you turn on your computer back on click Mail.
This problem is all other the place ... friends of mine have it too....What is going on? It drives me up the wall to find three different smtp options I have going on and offline at random, regardless of tweaking ports etc etc etc ....ie getting into an even bigger mess, wasting time yet never getting near to the issue....Suddenly it works...Suddenly it doesn't ...whoops, it works again.... I was always OK at home, but but not outside with my laptop...sometimes OK...and today I am getting 'offline' on laptop aand iMac at home...iy's random and no one seems to know! The ISP can only say the same: it's all otver the web, and 'chanhge the port for smtp'...It makes no difference (as other people have said over and again)...Any answers out there?
OK this just worked for me...
I clicked on "Compose New Message"...in the "From" line, where the "smpt" choices are, I put the smpt choice for the account I wanted to use which showed "offline" in parenthesis. This gave it a check mark. Then I chose "Use only this server" which caused that dropdown box to disappear...
When I clicked the send button it prompted me for account password...I entered password and it worked. (Trust me...I have seen that box many times before and it did NOT work)
I hope that works for you because I too have been going crazy with this issue for the last two months...
hello Barbara Nelson I got same problem few days back I deleted my all internet accounts and log in again. just go to system prefences>internet accounts>delete accounts(-) option>log in again on same account.
after this mail app working as normally..
Try confirming the email address you are sending to is complete.
Thanks people, but I automatically check the address and checking the account set-up. As for force quiting (why not just quit?) and reastating, I can't see what that will do and it's quite a faff....If you don't have this problem you're lucky. Check other support issues or ngoogle the issue and you'll see lots of people suffering this problem.
Thank you, thank you thank you, skweezebox! great work around! Brilliant!
This works! Try it.
🙂 This has helped me too, thanks!
Hey all,
Check this post for a working solution (at least this is what seems to have solved it for me):
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4588680?start=0&tstart=0
See the fourth post from the top, by "Mac User Since 1993". Basically, you want to quit Mail, then delete all of your SMTP passwords from Keychain (Applications -> Utilities -> Keychain Access). In the Keychain search bar enter the name of your SMTP server (such as smtp.mailserver.com or mail.mailserver.com). Find the entry that starts with smtp://. Copy and store the password somewhere safe so you don't lose it. Then delete all of the relevant password entries for your SMTP server(s). Open Mail again, go to Preferences -> Accounts, select an account, select your SMTP server from the Edit SMTP Servers list, and re-enter the password(s) you've just deleted.
All of my accounts were "Offline", but since I implemented the above solution everything is sending like a charm.
So far this seems to have alleviated the most annoying problem.... I cloud always reverting to "off line".
Amazing what I found in my keychain! Thanks, and if it continues to have solved the problem, I'll be back to confirm!
I had this problem. The smtp server was set to use the default ports and I couldn't send emails. I set it to use custom port which I set to 25 and it all worked. I also set authentication to none.
Mail shows my SMTP is "offline": How do I get my SMTP "online"?
