BT server not recognising password from email client

[HarrisJB]

Today when my Outlook was not sending mail I loaded and tried to send with Thunderbird as you suggested.  It also failed and produced a send message error which read,

" Sending of the message failed.

The message could not be sent because the connection to Outgoing server (SMTP) mail.btinternet.com timed out.  Try again"

Well, it's immaterial how many times I tr, it's always the same result.

It suggests to me that the issue is not in the client at all, but in the network layer, and a restart of the router seems to flush out and re-appoint an IP address that is able to support connection until it times out, which typically seems to be overnight.

I am out of my depth when it comes to fixing network protocols (SMTP,  TCP/IP) however frustratingly I seem unable to convince the BT email tech support team that the problem does not see to be with Outlook, or indeed any client app.

Frustrated, have you any fresh insight?

JH

[licquorice]

There's obviously a dodgy SMTP server in the farm and when you reboot the hub and get a different IP address, you probably connect to a different machine.

[rbz5416]

Someone recently reported a similar error with Outlook. I suggested they adjust the server timeout in case the server was just too slow responding. Unfortunately they never came back to that thread but you can try the same in Thunderbird.

https://proton.me/support/thunderbird-connection-server-timed-error

[HarrisJB]

Thank you.

I will give this a try.

jh

[HarrisJB]

I have tried the increasing the  time out setting  but it did not help.

It must be therefore, in my view, be IP address conflict.  But how do you get BT to check if that's the issue?

I suppose too, if my standard service has mistakenly been degraded to the lowest, basic service , which does not send emails, that might be the problem.  But the BT support seem reluctant or unable to check that!!

Some writers to this thread mentioned that they managed to get similar problems fixed.  I'd really like to know what they did to sort matters.

[licquorice]

Ok, as the problem is intermittent rather than consistent, it can't be that your account has been downgraded.

I still suspect it is a problem with one particular machine in the server farm.

[Ian1147]

We had 2 out of our 3 email addresses suddenly  go down using Thunderbird but all 3 could be accessed by BT Mail.  I contacted BT by phone quite a few times until I eventually got through to someone in email technical who managed to get it sorted overnight.  I strongly suspect that someone/something at BT had changed the 2 addresses from standard to mail.  Most of the BT operators told me it had to be a problem with Thunderbird and they had no knowledge/training in it but there are some at BT who will look beyond that excuse and sort out the problem.  I suggest that you keep on at BT because they do have some really good techincal people once you can get to them.

[HarrisJB]

That does make sense.  I suppose I would not be able to send any emails at all, even when the router has undergone a reset as it did today.  It reset and it started obeying send requests.  🙂  I suppose there is a level of consistency there in that it only sends after the router has had an IP refresh !  Tomorrow it will return to refusing to send!

[HarrisJB]

I will keep on badgering - thanks.