Contributor
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11 Messages
Email only sending between 7pm and morning some time
What once was an intermittent issue on weekends a month or so ago has now become a daily issue: Emails sent in Apple mail (both from my MacBook and iPhone) after about 8am and before 7pm ET get parked in my Outbox with repeated SMTP server connection errors. Then 7pm comes around, and the emails get sent. No problems receiving email day or night. Comcast email is set up (box checked) to allow third party programs. No changes in my hardware or changes in my ISP. I have seen others raise this issue but have not seen a clear resolution to the problem. (No, I have no desire to set up a VPN. Yes, I can send emails if I log into Comcast and access email that way, but that is a pain and inconvenient, particularly as this has never been a problem before.) Has anyone come up with a solution that actually works (for those of us who are not techno nerds)? I have tried going through Xfinity chat multiple times, the phone multiple times, and have been kicked up to CAS but have not found anyone who can resolve this problem.
BruceW
Gold Problem Solver
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26.3K Messages
1 month ago
If your are getting an "Excessive failed authentication" error message please see https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/email/possible-solution-for-unable-to-connect-to-email-from-apple-maybe-other-devices-after-changing-comcast-password/65a1a8fbf961c6163a367c6f.
Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
1 month ago
Thanks for the quick response, Bruce. Unfortunately, this is not the error message I am getting (as best as I can tell). The error messages I get in Apple mail are:
MacBook:
iPhone:
At 7pm, the Outbox messages will send, if all goes according to the pattern I have observed over the past weeks.
I would note that I saw another thread on the forum from someone having the same issues I am having, i.e., not sending until after 7pm. The difference is they were using Outlook on a PC platform. CSA told me it was a third-party software issue. If frenemies MS and Apple are having the same issue, seems to me that the common denominator is Comcast. And I doubt that Outlook and Apple Mail would have the same "time" issues.
This has become very frustrating and personal, impacting my livelihood.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
1 month ago
So I have jumped through the various hoops, including deleting and reinstalling my Comcast email account (twice) on my MacBook: nothing resolved the problem. Yes, I can send through my Comcast web email account, but this is rather inconvenient and does not have all of the functionality of Apple Mail. (Not sure about disabling third party connections, though: not sure what is involved there.)
Ironically, after my post on Tuesday, Feb 25, I had zero issues sending email on Wednesday, Feb 27. Will see if that continues today and into the future.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
1 month ago
Well, email sending has become a problem today, with the emails not sending and accumulating in my Outbox. (Note, I only send 20 or less emails a day. Forgot to answer that question from before.)
I have seen the referenced article before: If I uncheck the third party access, it would force me to use the Comcast web email account, something I would rather not do (for the reasons I previously explained) and which up until recently has never been an issue.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
1 month ago
Thanks for the article, Orlando. Unfortunately, Apple Mail does not give me any error codes, so no help there. For kicks and giggles, I tried Outlook on my PC desktop to see if I could send something via Comcast. As expected, I got a send error:
The error code above does not match anything in the article you provided.
Another frustrating day yesterday: had 9 emails stuck in my Outbox until after 7pm when they were finally sent/released, a pattern I see virtually every day.
I checked Apple Mail's Mail Connection Doctor: For the various accounts I have which use Apple Mail, all IMPs are good and all SMTPs are good except for Comcast. Exchange server also works fine.
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user_6o0ihi
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11 Messages
1 month ago
I have had issues with Outlook at the same time as I have had them with Apple Mail. I was just checking to confirm that Apple Mail and Outlook were both having issues. (Sorry for any confusion.)
I have enabled third-party apps on Comcast (box checked); I have never disabled it.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
1 month ago
So today, Monday, Mar 3, I had no issues sending emails all day via Apple Mail, but I was on a client's ISP, not my home ISP. Will see what happens tomorrow.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
26 days ago
UPDATE: I am back from business travel. While traveling (at least on Monday-Wednesday) while at a client, using the client's ISP, I had no issues sending emails. Nor did I have problems sending through the internet connection at the hotel. I have since returned home and now have issues today (Sunday) sending emails before 7pm. (Will see if they send after 7pm.) This has made me wonder if it is my ISP (not Xfinity) that is the problem. More as I explore more....
BTW, none of the solutions offered by Xfinity have worked.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
18 days ago
On at least two occasions over the last week or so, when I have had email backed up in my Outbox, I drove over to my daughter's house, connected to their ISP (different from the one at my house), and was able to send the emails. It is certainly not a email volume issue as I am a relatively light user and do not use extensive distribution lists. More investigating this week....
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BruceW
Gold Problem Solver
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26.3K Messages
16 days ago
Was XfinityAlex able to help you?
Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.
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user_6o0ihi
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11 Messages
16 days ago
Just saw this: will contact Alex directly. Thanks for calling this to my attention.
FYI, I have not had any issues with email sending in the last few days...fingers crossed.
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BruceW
Gold Problem Solver
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26.3K Messages
13 days ago
Perhaps the poster's Forum account is like mine. You posted your offer to assist as a Reply. I receive absolutely no notification for Replies, and perhaps @user_6o0ihi doesn't either. I get them for Comments, but for me Replies have never generated any notification, not by the Forum "bell" icon and not by email, whether my ID is "tagged" or not. This has been the case ever since Sprinklr took over the Forums 4 years ago. I've been complaining about if to no effect ever since. The only way I know that a Reply has been posted is if it occurs to me to pull up a thread and check it.
The lack of notification for Replies is why I continue to post:
Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.
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user_6o0ihi
Contributor
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11 Messages
12 days ago
@XfinityDemitrius I have the same issue as BruceW: I did not receive a notification to the "reply." I DM'd @XfinityAlex: he informed me that he was aware of an ISP which was having the issue I was encountering. Unfortunately, it was not the ISP I have been using. However, for the time being, it appears that the email issue has resolved itself. I need to follow up with my ISP (have another issue) to see if they serendipitously fixed the email issue.
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