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?
leojn
Frequent Visitor
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10 Messages
4 years ago
Try shutting down your mail client and rebooting your computer AFTER rebooting your modem and router if you have one. Even though no one definitively got through the wall of silence at Comcast I believe they fixed whatever problem existed with their SMTP servers, so you may just have to refresh your connection to the service. You can start by just rebooting your computer to see if that fixes it before having to go through rebooting the modem and router.
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RKelly5327
Contributor
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13 Messages
4 years ago
I had tried the rebooting procedure along with everything else and it hadn't made any difference. I decided this AM to try an email again on my old Dell with Windows Mail- key word is again. I was surprised to find it worked! I went back to my Windows 10 laptop and tried it again there and it did not work. It kept asking for the password over and over. You know that routine. I knew it was right, but just as a last ditch effort, when the request for the password box came up again, instead of going through the endless routine of pressing OK, I deleted the password and typed it in again. And it WORKED! I didn't bother rebooting the modem since the email worked just fine on this old Dell. I hope this is the end of this SMTP problem. Try what you've read here and see if yours is working.
Have fun!
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RMMM_XF
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
I got through to an agent at Comcast today, but they did not acknowledge the problem. (They told me I should contact the tech support of my email client.)
When I told them I would need to drop Comcast internet if they would not address the issue, they promptly transferred me to the billing department to cancel my Comcast internet account. It appears that they really had no concern whether I remained a customer or got the service they are supposed to provide.
It puts me in a bad situation because at the moment, the only real alternative at my address is CenturyLink, which is no better than Comcast and possibly worse. Fortunately, within 2 years, there will be at least 3 strong competitors in my area, so I won't have to live with CenturyLink forever and will certainly never have to go back to Comcast.
For anyone who's interested, I'd like to start an off-line discussion about ways we could financially damage Comcast to get their attention. If enough of us show interest, I think it's very doable.
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RKelly5327
Contributor
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13 Messages
4 years ago
I'm afraid it would be an exercise in futility to try to damage Comcast financially. I don't know what you may have tried based on the suggestions here, but if you haven' tried them, go that route first. My email is still working fine this morning. If you haven't rebooted the computer, go that route. And if that doesn't work, try the reboot of the modem procedure as described here. And don't forget- all I had to do was to delete the password in the box that came up requesting it again. Then I retyped it and it's been working fine ever since. Give it a go, the suggestions listed here, and you just may be back in business again. Don't give up!
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RMMM_XF
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
My email is still broken.
There are many, many ways to plausibly cause Comcast financial damage. Don't give up hope. This is very doable and we could cause a ton of financial damage.
I just spoke with an experienced class action attorney. There's possibly a good case here if the situation persists, and it would be self-perpetuating because the lawyers typically have a large financial incentive to pursue it to a settlement. I going to keep on it. Others here should do the same.
Everyone here should record what you are and have experienced. It's very important that you write down *now* the following:
1. what plan you have with Comcast. Keep a copy of all of the contracts and documentation related to your Comcast service. If it's convenient, make a video in which you talk aloud as you try to resolve the problem, using materials published by Comcast.
2. what happened, and how it failed your service agreements with Comcast
3. what you tried to resolve the problem
4. how you tried to reach Comcast
5. how much time you spent
6. how it affected your job, your career, your personal life, etc.
7. If anyone is using their Comcast service for a business whose operations have been disrupted, that's obviously important to note.
This is only one of a number of possible approaches.
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RKelly5327
Contributor
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13 Messages
4 years ago
I'm curious to see how many that posted here are able to send email now and how many are not. I hope everyone responds to that question so we can see how widespread failure still exists or how widespread success is.
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WretchedRefuse
Contributor
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31 Messages
4 years ago
RKelly wrote: "I'm curious to see how many that posted here are able to send email now and how many are not."
In the past 24 hours, three people in my family have sent email from their Comcast accounts through Comcast SMTP servers with NO delay or problems of any sort.
To the person who suggested we use a Gmail account, that is not a bad suggestion, except that Google reads your email for advertising purposes (or it used to) and Comcast doesn't (that I know of).
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Again
Expert
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30.6K Messages
4 years ago
No one ever said that you have to use Comcast email. Why not use Gmail instead? Many customers do not use Comcast email. My primary email address is with Gmail.
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crawfordtn
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
I am still experiencing issues with outgoing email. I do use gmail as a backup but I have used my email address for many years and it is an established point of contact with my clients, to tell me to just switch over simplifies the situation. I shouldn't have to switch to another email, I pay Comcast for a service, email support is included in that service and it should be, welll, supported. Instead there is no acknowledgement of any responsvilitiy and a lot of passing the blame to the email client when clearly it is not the email client that is the issue.
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Again
Expert
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30.6K Messages
4 years ago
I completely understand it's not something you want to hear, but you may end up being a lot happier and secure.
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crawfordtn
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
Thanks so much NOT a Comcast employee for your advice, but again, oversimplifying the situation. And it doesn't matter if there isn't a specific itemized fee for email, it's part of the package that I pay for, so yes, I expect it to function properly. I never said webmail was an email client, it was just one way that I tried to send email that failed, in addition to my email client. So not sure where you got that from, but again.. thanks so much for your input.
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RMMM_XF
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
Like most people, I have a gmail account. I also have an account at an institution that employs me.
However, I also have an account associated with my online business and it requires an email server. I've had it at the same address for 20 years. For obvious reasons, I can't use my work email or my gmail account for my business.
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RMMM_XF
Frequent Visitor
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7 Messages
4 years ago
Another interesting development ... I visited an Xfinity store and spoke with two of the employees about the situation. At first, they expressed surprise I was having a problem, and also surprise that I was cancelling my Comcast service on account of this. However, a few minutes later, they admitted that they are aware of Comcast customers having this problem for as long as they have been working there (several years each). They claimed that not every customer has the problem, and speculated about the conditions that cause it, but also admitted that when the problem arises, nobody knows how to solve it.
I recorded the conversation on my cell phone. It is legal in my state, and I believe in most states in the US, to record a conversation as long as you have the consent of one party. That means you can lawfully record any conversation to you yourself are in, and it's admissible in court. I suggest that everyone here record your conversations with Comcast employees going forward, and that you specifically ask about the issue of email and how long it's been a problem.
The longer this has persisted, the more vulnerable Comast is in a class action suit. Damages would be determined based on how many customers are affected, for how long, and to what extent.
Another important consequence of this, is that Comcast can't solve the problem, which makes them even more vulnerable. We can discuss this problem freely and openly wherever we want and Comcast has no response. If they were capable of fixing the problem, they presumably would have done so years ago.
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Ryan2845
Regular Visitor
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1 Message
4 years ago
I encountered this recently as well and here is what fixed it for me:
1) Log into your email on the web via https://connect.xfinity.com/
2) Hit the gear icon in the upper right and goto Email Settings
3) Goto the Security menu
4) Check the box under "Third Party Access Security" if it isn't checked.
It appears that this "feature" intentionally blocks access by apps like Outlook unless the user opts-in.
I looks like this was added in September 2020. It says that the box should be checked by default. But it somehow become unchecked for me without me ever knowing it existed.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/third-party-email-access
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JJMcVeigh
Contributor
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51 Messages
4 years ago
The above is a very good suggestion. Unfortunately, it has not solved my own problem with delays involved in establishing communications with both Comcast's SMTP (outgoing-mail) server and Comcast's incoming-mail server.
There is something strange going on with Comcast's mail servers. There are many threads in this forum about this situation. Not everyone is affected. In my case, and in the cases of at least some other subscribers, the problem appears to come and to go without a discernible pattern.
It is very frustrating.
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