HT204075: If you can’t send or receive email on your Mac

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sandlizard
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: email account won't stay online

Mac email connects to the internet but can't connect to the POP server or the SMTP server, so I can't send or receive. Checked all settings and they're correct. Settings show the mail account is "offline" but it won't stay online for more than a few seconds when I click "take all accounts online.

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Mar 27, 2015 6:26 PM

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sandlizard

Q: email account won't stay online

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 27, 2015 7:25 PM in response to sandlizard
    Level 10 (207,936 points)
    Applications
    Mar 27, 2015 7:25 PM in response to sandlizard

    From the Mail menu bar, select

              Window ▹ Connection Doctor

    Click the Show Detail button. A drawer opens. Click Check Again and post the text that appears.

    Anonymize any private information before posting. That means names, email addresses, contents of messages, and anything else that you don't want to make public.

  • by sandlizard,

    sandlizard sandlizard Mar 28, 2015 5:54 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2015 5:54 PM in response to Linc Davis

    the POP Account detail says:

    INITIATING CONNECTION Mar 28 19:48:49.497 host:smtpauth.centurytel.net -- port:587 -- socket:0x0 -- thread:0x61800067ce80

     

    INITIATING CONNECTION Mar 28 19:48:49.497 host:pop.centurytel.net -- port:995 -- socket:0x0 -- thread:0x60800086c940

     

    INITIATING CONNECTION Mar 28 19:50:56.432 host:pop.centurytel.net -- port:995 -- socket:0x0 -- thread:0x6100008628c0

     

    The SMTP account detail says:

    INITIATING CONNECTION Mar 28 19:50:56.432 host:pop.centurytel.net -- port:995 -- socket:0x0 -- thread:0x6100008628c0

     

    INITIATING CONNECTION Mar 28 19:52:59.942 host:smtpauth.centurytel.net -- port:587 -- socket:0x0 -- thread:0x610000861180

     

    INITIATING CONNECTION Mar 28 19:52:59.942 host:pop.centurytel.net -- port:995 -- socket:0x0 -- thread:0x608000673cc0

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 28, 2015 6:18 PM in response to sandlizard
    Level 10 (207,936 points)
    Applications
    Mar 28, 2015 6:18 PM in response to sandlizard

    Triple-click the word "telnet" in the line below on this page to select the whole line:

    telnet pop.centurytel.net 995

    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:

    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

    ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

    Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

    You should almost instantly get three or more lines of output below what you entered, one of which is this:

    Escape character is '^]'.

    If there's no output within ten seconds, consider that a failure. If you get something different from the above, please post it in a reply. You can then quit Terminal.

  • by sandlizard,

    sandlizard sandlizard Mar 28, 2015 7:54 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2015 7:54 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I followed your instructions and the terminal results were as you said they would be. However, after the escape character line it says:

    Connection closed by foreign host.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 28, 2015 8:46 PM in response to sandlizard
    Level 10 (207,936 points)
    Applications
    Mar 28, 2015 8:46 PM in response to sandlizard

    Are there any other Internet devices on your network, and if so, can they connect to the mail servers? If not, please restart your router and your broadband device (if they're separate) and test.

  • by sandlizard,

    sandlizard sandlizard Mar 30, 2015 8:02 AM in response to sandlizard
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 30, 2015 8:02 AM in response to sandlizard

    I did the modem/router re-start.  Email still wasn't receiving or sending afterwards.  So, I shut down the computer for the night.  This morning I turned it on and much to my surprise, email was working fine for the first time in several days. 

     

    This email problem has been happening every few months for the past couple of years. It will quit sending & receiving for several days or weeks, although it will connect to the internet.  Sometimes I troubleshoot with Centurytel, but they've never been able to fix it. The tech will usually tell me to call Apple.  Since my Applecare has expired, I don't do that.  Then it "magically" starts working for no apparent reason.

     

    So, thank you very much for your help and advice. No doubt this will happen again and I will be back.