Not applicable
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7 Messages
Incoherent Comcast email error message
I'm getting an incoherent error message when I sometimes try to send an email message. Other postings in this forum have touched on this error, but no one has fully explained it. I was a Comcast email user for about 30 years and never before ran into this problem. Here's the message I often get when trying to send an email message:
Sending of the message failed.
An error occurred while sending mail: Outgoing server (SMTP) error. The server responded: resomta-c1p-023266.sys.comcast.net resomta-c1p-023266.sys.comcast.net Excessive failed authentication, ESMTP server temporarily not available.
This sending error only occurs from about 7:28 am to exactly 8 pm EDT. Every day. From success in sending to failure, none of my email settings have changed. A comcast rep has verified that my email settings are correct.
So, I get that there is some sort of error, and that it is a server error. But why does the error message repeat the phrase "resomta-c1p-023266.sys.comcast.net" twice in succession? And, exactly what does that phrase mean? I assume it is referring to the SMTP server that is having the problem. After seeing this error occur dozens upon dozens of times, the one thing that varies is the numeric value. So, I assume that various SMTP servers are handling these emails and they all encounter the same problem. Am I right on this?
Then it follows this with the phrase "Excessive failed authentication". But that's impossible, as my login credentials haven't changed at all, and I use the same login during the evening when they work fine. It would be helpful if the error explained exactly what authentication failed.
Finally, it finishes with the phrase "ESMTP server temporarily not available". But what's ESMTP? And the phrase is absolutely false, as the outage is definitely not temporary - it's between 11 and 12 hours long! And that's ALWAYS the case with this error.
In summary, please don't just reply with a simple statement like "it must be your email settings", or "something you did caused the problem". I specifically want full clarification, as described above, about exactly what this error message means.
Don
ps
I'm retired now but have been a software engineer for my entire career and would be embarrassed to have my software generate an error message as unhelpful as this.
XfinityAlex
Official Employee
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902 Messages
2 years ago
@Don259203 It means that some system at your IP has excessive failed authentication attempts with an invalid username/password combination. This is an automated defense meant to protect against password guessing. ESMTP is Enhanced SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). When these messages happen, you can still use webmail (I understand this may not be your preferred method, just clarifying).
Now as to the root of the issue, we have limited details as the system is failing authentication and at that point we have only a handful of items that can help identify the misconfigured system. We can see the IP belongs to Verizon Business. I can see it is using the same account that you used to post this thread. In some cases, we can see a helpful identifying string, but that does not appear to be the case as the system attempting authentication is sending an IPv6 address as the HELO.
Usually these are mobile devices that haven't been updated with newer configurations (e.g., your password changed, and you changed it on the laptop, but not your tablet), or sometimes a webcam that watches over the driveway, etc. Occasionally, this is a bit more convoluted where the IMAP settings are properly updated, but the Outgoing SMTP settings were not changed.
If you're unable to identify the device causing the issue, I can have our CSA group reach out to you. They're quite often able to help people identify the system in question. If you'd rather respond in private, feel free to DM me.
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Don259203
Not applicable
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7 Messages
2 years ago
Thank you for the reply XfinityAlex - I really appreciate you looking into it. I had guessed that my service was being shut down due to some kind of automated defense. I realize that I can still use webmail, and I have done that, but it's really inconvenient for me since I'm used to using the Thunderbird client (for about 20 years now).
I've just moved into this condo which is in a building of about 30 other condos. This building is about 1 of 5, and every condo building in this complex is served by Verizon (Comcast is not an option in this area). Up to my recent move, I lived in Nashua, NH, in a single-family house, and had used Comcast for about 30 years without ever seeing this problem.
This condo only has two users: myself and my wife. She has a laptop and I have a tablet. Neither of us have changed our login access information for a year or so. And, as I mentioned in my post, we have no problem sending email from exactly 8:00 pm until about 7:27 am, when access is shut down with that error message. As far as I'm aware of, there are no other internet devices interfacing with our router.
Based upon my tests of sending email and your comments, it appears as if our routers external IP address is somehow being shared with another IP address which is repeatedly failing authentication, and as a result, that other device and we are both being shut down! If that's the case, there needs to be a way for us to have our own unique internet address. Could this problem be associated with a faulty DNS server? One user who was reporting the same issue said he fixed it by changing the default DNS to another one. If it's helpful to you, I can pass along my router settings.
Finally, as you can see, it would help a great deal if that received Comcast error message were made clearer.
Oh, I'd also like to keep this discussion public in the hope that when we do finally solve it, it will also help others who are having the same problem.
Again, thank you for looking into this problem. I'm really looking forward to its solution.
Don
Westborough, MA
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tlmac
Visitor
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1 Message
1 year ago
My Thunderbird mail account, on Win 10 through Comcast, is no longer able to send outgoing email. The message I get is:
resomta-c1p-022584.sys.comcast.net resomta-c1p-022584.sys.comcast.net Excessive failed
I have no idea what it means but as soon as I turned off my Norton VPN, my email was sent without issue.
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BruceW
Gold Problem Solver
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26.3K Messages
1 year ago
VPN's have lots of legitimate uses, but they are also a magnet for spammers and scammers whose activities "poison" the VPN's IPs. Sending email using a VPN is likely to always be iffy.
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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