Contributor
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13 Messages
Cannot send email!
Has Comcast done something different in the past couple of days that has caused my email to stop functioning?
Cannot send email. No changes have been made to the computer except normal MS updates (Windows 10). It was working fine until yesterday when I began getting popups from my email program that authentication was not needed, or password not accepted, or whatever. The password is fine because I was able to log in and get all my Inbox email. I notice that it logs in but then stalls on authentication and keeps asking for the password. I click the OK box and it just repeats the process over and over again, never connecting with the server to Send the email.
I have tried different SMTP settings and they make no difference. I had been using 465 for the port, but since it stopped working I changed it to 587. That too made no difference. Both POP3 and SMTP have the boxes checked for secure connection. And the log in page has the box checked for "My server requires authentication. I even tried it by unchecking that and that made no difference. I changed the server time out to 90 seconds and that made no difference.
I have tried 4 email programs; the new Outlook Express, OE Classic, Outlook 2016, and Incredimail, all with the same results. I did see that Incredimail failed in its initial attempt to Send a message, but later was able to Send it. Outlook 2016 is set up to SMTP, not IMAP.
I have to resort to using my phone to send email which takes forever, or to sign onto my Comcast account on the web and do email from there. That is not acceptable, but that's what I am forced to do.
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
Accepted Solution
CCJessie1
Retired Employee
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5.9K Messages
4 years ago
All,
We sincerely apologize for any issues you may be experiencing when attempting to access your comcast.net email account via a third-party email client. Effective September 16, 2020, Comcast.net email users will see an added security checkbox in their Xfinity Connect email settings allowing them to enable/disable access to third-party email clients.
How to Update Email Security Settings
Can I still access my Comcast.net email account through a third-party client after the email security toggle is turned on?
Yes, all users will be able to manage their Comcast.net email account through third-party clients if the Access Security box is checked in their email settings. All users who attempt to access their Comcast.net email account through third-party clients (e.g., Outlook, Google, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) without having Access Security enabled will receive a generic error message from the third-party client and will be denied access.
We recommend that you access your Comcast email by going to
Will this impact me if I have third-party email on my Comcast account?
Customers who have a third-party email on their account for verification purposes will not be impacted. The impacted customers will be the users who access their Comcast email through a third-party client (e.g., Outlook, Google, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.).
What will happen if I don’t disable third-party access?
Customers who continue to access their Comcast.net email account through a third-party client will be more susceptible to potential credential fraud.
Will changing the email security settings affect how I receive emails or manage my mailbox?
The only change you’ll potentially experience will be the error message experience described above through a third-party client if you don’t have the Access Security toggle enabled.
Please note: Allowing access by third-party email clients (e.g., Outlook, Google, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.), could expose the customer’s Xfinity ID and password to fraud and other risks, including the potential for external programs to read, download and delete emails on the customer’s behalf
For additional information on this change, please see this article.
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Bisquick
Frequent Visitor
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8 Messages
4 years ago
I could send email from Comc early this morning but not now - 3 emails stuck in Outbox.
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boltonblue
Contributor
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38 Messages
4 years ago
I have not been able to login into SMTP outgoing server despite numerous tries from Thunderbird. Password correct, I suspect someting broken. Password works fine for incoming mail.
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crawfordtn
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
I have had trouble all morning, I have tried outlook, tried webmail through xfinity and my phone, nothing is working. Incoming emails are extremely slow as well. Keep getting the pop up asking for my outgoing password. Tried to live chat and got disconnected. Another strange thing is the automated assistant shows an alternate gmail email account as my preferred email address and that's not correct. Very frustrating trying to email clients.
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WretchedRefuse
Contributor
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31 Messages
4 years ago
My family have had random problems for several days with THREE different Windows 10 computers, wireless and Ethernet-attached, different locations (different routers in different states), all with Mozilla Thunderbird and Windows Defender.
"Sending of the message failed.
The message could not be sent because the connection to Outgoing server (SMTP) smtp.comcast.net timed out. Try again."
Port: 465
Authentication method: Normal password
Connection security: SSL/TLS
If I retry a few minutes later, sometimes it goes through.
It is a COMCAST problem.
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leojn
Frequent Visitor
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10 Messages
4 years ago
I am having the same problem. It just started today. I can mysteriously send from the web client if I use that, but my iphone and windows 10 outlook 2010 will not send. Keep getting prompted for smtp password which has not changed. This is undoubtedly something on the comcast side, or somehow connected to ios 14 upgrade which occurred last night. Is anyone else who is having this problem also using iphone with upgrade to 14?
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boltonblue
Contributor
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38 Messages
4 years ago
a test message from android phone stuck in outbox.
so that is IMAP and POP that is apparently broken.
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dpgriffin
New Poster
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1 Message
4 years ago
Same here using Outlook. Inbound OK, Outbound intermittant.
Xfinity suppport says no problem there, call Microsoft. 🙂
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Bisquick
Frequent Visitor
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8 Messages
4 years ago
Same here - I waited an hour and this time 1 out of 3 went through..........tried again, finally the other 2 went through........what a PITA!
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RKelly5327
Contributor
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13 Messages
4 years ago
It's not the iPhone update. Look at all these responses and you can see it involves many different email clients and even different states! Incredible!
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RKelly5327
Contributor
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13 Messages
4 years ago
IMAP AND POP3 are incoming mail. SMTP is outbound. That is what's broken. Hard to believe Comcast has let this go this long!
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WretchedRefuse
Contributor
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31 Messages
4 years ago
I chatted with support for a while this afternoon. Described the problem in detail. I was promised a telephone callback in 10 minutes... that was 90 minutes ago.
"I'll raise a ticket to the dedicated advanced repair team. be rest assured a senior technician will have this issue resolved over the call."
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RMMM_XF
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
I'm having the same issue, as it seems many of us are. I've been unable to reach a human agent.
I spent several hours trying to solve the problem. I'm extremely busy and I have no more time to devote to this, so I'm going to drop Comcast if I can't find an answer within the next 12 hours or so.
I'd like to get Comcast's attention somehow, but I don't know how. I'd appreciate any suggestions for how to proceed. I'm not willing to spend much more time on this.
The disruption of not being able to send email is the most important issue to me. I don't really care much how I spend, who provides the service, or much anything else.
In the short term, I need one of two things: A. a way to get through to a human agent at Comcast, or B. a company to move to, C. force Comcast to pay attention.
Since I've tried A without success, I'm looking for suggestions.
For B: Google Fiber, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, and Utopia, don't service my area. Musk's Starlink isn't ready for prime time. I'm checking in soon with ATT and Kinetic.
If all other options come up empty, CenturyLink, here I come. But honestly, CenturyLink is not on top of its game.
Am I forgetting anything?
C: I'll elaborate what I mean later, if no other solutions emerge.
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RKelly5327
Contributor
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13 Messages
4 years ago
You have covered all the bases just fine. This situation boggles my mind, the fact that it happened in the first place and then the fact that Comcast is doing nothing about it and some times has no idea what' s wrong but tries to blame it on Microsoft. Hello?!?!?!? I'm going to try a chat later. If I make any headway I'll be back and let you know.
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WretchedRefuse
Contributor
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31 Messages
4 years ago
"In the short term, I need one of two things: A. a way to get through to a human agent at Comcast,"
What worked for me was using the "Chat" feature. I went around in circles for a while getting useless repsonses from some bot until I typed "representative" which connected me with a live person (on Chat).
Of course, the agent "Jason" promised me a phone call from advanced support, and that never happened. However, I haven't encountered the SMTP error for a little while, which may be coincidental.
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