Reference number: CH000460

Unable to receive or send e-mail.

Issue:

Unable to receive or send e-mail.

Cause:

This issue can be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1. Internet or Network connection missing
2. Issue with Internet or Network e-mail server
3. E-mail program incorrectly configured
4. Security issues
5. Spam filter
6. E-mail program corruption or other issues

Solutions:

Internet or Network connection missing

Verify that your computer is able to see the Internet and/or other computers to ensure that your computer is not encountering a connection issue, which would be causing your e-mail issue.

Issues with Internet or Network e-mail server

Ensure that your Internet e-mail server or your Network e-mail server is not encountering issues by contacting either your Internet Service Provider or your Network administrator.

E-mail program incorrectly configured

Verify that your e-mail program is properly configured to connect to your Internet or Network e-mail server. It is very common for the e-mail program to have either the incorrect POP or SMTP address.

As mentioned on the above links to POP and SMTP, the POP server is used to retrieve mail and the SMTP server is used to send mail. Therefore, if you are having difficulties retrieving mail, verify that the correct POP server and port is defined. If you are unable to send mail, verify that the correct SMTP server and port is defined.

Generally, the SMTP server is port 25 and the POP3 server is port 110. However, the actual POP3 and SMTP server name varies depending upon your Internet or Network providers.

NOTE: When using one Internet Service Provider or Network, users may be unable to send e-mail through a different Internet service provider or network because of a SMTP block used to help prevent SPAM from being sent through the provider's e-mail server.

If you are using a different Internet or Network connection while attempting to send e-mail and are unable to send e-mail, verify with the ISP or Network administrator that a SMTP block is not in place.

Generally, if a SMTP block is in place you will receive errors such as:

1. SMTP error
2. SMTP rejected
3. Server response 550
4. SMTP prohibited by administrator
5. Error 0x800ccc79

Security issues

All Internet and Network servers require that users login using their username and password to send and receive their e-mail.

Verify that you are entering the correct password when attempting send/receive your e-mail. If you are not being prompted for a username or password, it is likely that the username and password are configured within the e-mail program; verify that the correct username and password have been entered into the program.

Note: Some network administrators or Internet service providers may expire your password after a length of time. If the password is not changed within that period it is very possible that you will no longer be able to receive e-mail until the password is changed.

Spam filter

Spam filters can inappropriately cause you to be unable to receive e-mail. If a spam filter is improperly configured by the Internet service provider or if your Internet service provider believes a message is spam it will delete the message and that message will not be received by you. Only your Internet service provider can tell you if this is occurring.

In addition to spam filters by your Internet service providers almost all e-mail programs today have some type of protection that will help protect users from spam. These programs, scripts, and add-ons can also cause e-mail to be wrongly deleted. If you're encountering issues receiving e-mail make sure all spam filters are disabled on your end as well or check your recycling bin or junk bin to make sure the messages are not automatically being sent there.

E-mail program corruption or other issues

If you have checked and/or verified each of the above recommendations and are still unable to receive / send e-mail, it is possible that the e-mail program may have issues and we recommend that you attempt to reinstall it.

• Microsoft outlook users may also wish to see our Microsoft Outlook page.

Additional information:

• See our e-mail dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related terms.
• If you're new to e-mail or looking for information about how to send / read e-mail in Microsoft Windows see document CH000818. If you're running Linux / Unix and/or running a telnet session or SSH session to a Linux / Unix box and looking for additional information about how to send / read e-mail from the command line see document CH000817.