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Mail won't connect to server.

Suddenly Mail will not work. When I try to send a message I am warned that the message cannot be sent with the selected server. When I use the connection doctor All accounts show green and have a message along side saying the connection and log in succeeded. I have verified the accounts settings and all are as recommended by Apple. Mail is working perfectly on my ipad, ipod Touch and my macbook. All have the same mail settings. I can use the web mail provided by my ISP as well. If I send a message to myself from any of my other devices it can be received on my iMac but I cannot forward or reply to this message on the iMac.


This is driving me mad! Has anyone got any ideas? I would be most grateful for any help.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), iMac 20

Posted on Jan 14, 2013 8:11 AM

Reply
11 replies

Jan 15, 2013 4:27 AM in response to Eric Root

Thanks for your links. I have tried everything without any success. I tried rebuilding the mail boxes but for some some reason I don't think this worked as the rebuild was over in a flash. I had the activity window opened at the time and the progress bar was gone in a fraction of a second. So I have removed all accounts and re-entered the details. But the problem persists. I can receive but not send. Connection doctor shows all green lights. Connection status is green and it says "Mail was able to connect to the internet". It is green against smtp.talktalk.net and it says "Connection to server succeeded log in not required". It is green against talktalk.net and it says "Connection and log in to server succeeded".


All the settings are exactly the same as on my Macbook which is working fine. As Mail is part of OS Mountain Lion Time Machine will not allow me to extract Mail from a day ago when all was fine. As it says that is not allowed as it is part of the OS. I wonder what is the point of Time Machine if I cannot go back.


What I do not understand is how this has happened as no changes to any settings were made. I have noticed that since Mountain Lion was installed sometimes outgoing mail would fail but as soon as "Try later" was clicked it always worked. I have been an Apple fan for twenty years but am getting very frustrated as I have spent hours on this problem. I would be so grateful if anyone has any other suggestions.

Jan 15, 2013 4:50 AM in response to Rodney Boyce

I hate Mail - it seems that every day brings more messages with a problem like yours - everything was working fine, I made no changes, now I can't send and/or receive, etc. The posts are numerous and there never seem to be any concrete fixes.


I would suggest - if email is important to you - switching to another mail application. ANY other mail application. Personally, I use MS Outlook from the MS Office for Mac 2011 home/business edition. And I've been using MS Entourage and Outlook ever since Office X came out 11 years ago. Never have had a single problem. To see if Outlook may be worth it to you, I would suggest using the 30-day trial version of Office 2011 from https://www.microsoft.com/mac/trial.


If you want something free and reliable, try Mozilla's Thunderbird.


Just give one or the other a trial. I suspect that you'll give up trying to 'fix' the myriad of problems that Apple's Mail brings.


Clinton

Jan 15, 2013 5:24 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Clinton


It seems that you are not alone in your dislike of Mail and it is clear that this application has lots of problems. I suspect it has something to do with Mountain Lion and iCloud. However I have had Mountain Lion since it was released and although I have had problems with this OS, Mail has worked just fine until yesterday. I have just spent over two hours on the phone to my ISP who tried everything but could not solve the problem. I will take a look at Mozilla's Thunderbird but am not going to give up yet as Mail should work. We pay a premium for Apple products and they ought to work. Thanks again and I look forward to any other suggestions, other than throwing the whole lot into the waste bin and buying a PC!

Jan 15, 2013 2:30 PM in response to Markadelic

I'm sorry you are having the same problem. I too am using the same OS versions as you. As my Macbook is loaded with 10.6 and that too works perfectly with the same mail settings it suggests that the problem lies with Mountain Lion. The problem with mail is not the only one I have had with Mountain Lion. I wished I had not installed it.


I am still hoping that someone can suggest a solution. Thunderbird is working for me but it won't import my Mail folders.


Good luck with your problem.

Jan 16, 2013 7:02 PM in response to Rodney Boyce

I have had this problem in the past, and for some reason, while I was working with my ISP, it started sending OK. I have no idea why. I too insist on using Mail, in part because of its integration, in part because I'm tired of the MS Outlook bloat and the constant rebuilding of the database. Outlook was intended for the PC world, and it shows it. Thunderbird is a little better, but Mail should work.

Mail won't connect to server.

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