POP3 diagnostics

[licquorice]

Exactly 

[buffman]

I use Outlook Classic on my laptop and pop3 for my @btinternet.com emails. For a week I have been receiving the error message that the connection has been interupted. I receive this message for two different @btinternet.com accounts on two differnet laptops using different networks. I have been abroad for a few months and it has always worked until last week. Using a VPN solved the issue, but it is not a real fix. Currently I am auto-forwarding all my @btinternet.com emails to gmail and using gmail Pop3 and BT for STMP (without a VPN)

[P40]

It’s now day 9 since this problem started and I’m no closer to finding a solution, other than to say that everything that I have tried has failed to solve this pop3 problem.

THE FACTS

3 btinternet email accounts.  None receive pop3 emails.  All were working until 9 days ago.  All can still send via smtp.  All work in webmail and on imap too.

Problem exists on classic outlook 2024 on main pc, and on outlook 2016 on another pc. 

I’m using mail.btinternet on port 995 with SSL/TLS.  None of the outlook settings have changed since it was working.

WHAT I'VE TRIED...

Installing thunderbird.  Same problem.

Changing passwords.

Rebooting router.  Rebooting pc.  Keeping outlook off for a few hours.  Logging on to phone's wifi hotspot.  Using a VPN.  Disabling Norton 360.

Repairing the outlook mail account, where it gets stuck on the “searching for email settings” part as it clearly can’t find the pop server.  Then it actually says “problem connecting to server”.

COMMUNICATION WITH BT

Three chat conversations with Tech Support, one lasting two hours and getting through to a manager who assured me it would get fixed in 3 – 5 days.  Complaint also logged, even though I didn't ask for that.

I’ve received two phonecalls from BT, but have missed them both, mainly because the phone rang for only 2 seconds each time and stopped before I could answer, so they left messages saying they would call the next day.

I returned to the online tech support chat today to ask for an update.  It took half an hour to get to the point where I refused to cover the same ground, insisting that they read the transcripts of my previous chats.  They finally said “Thank you for waiting. I had a word with the concerned team who is dealing with the fault and they have confirmed that you will receive a call with a resolution within next 2 hours”. 

That was 4 hours ago.

Where do I go from here?

[jfkyachts]

Hello P40,

We are both in the same wilderness....all my settings seem OK......I googled Apple today, and one of the replies gave hint that it might be to do with settings in the web mail site......so I am about to explore. 

Your perseverance is admirabler, as is mine.....they seem to have lost track of their 3-5/3-7 days promise - as you say, it is nine days now....

I'll let you know what I find.

JE

[Peter240119]

Hi JFK, 

FWIW, I also have a ton of email messages downloaded through POP3.  Some of these are in local folders which I set up in my email client and which I moved messages to, and some (too many!) are still in the inbox.  I don't know whether different email clients are different in this respect, but I didn't delete my POP3 account but created an IMAP account in addition.  My email client set up a different inbox just for the IMAP-downloaded emails, and I can download emails using either or both.  If POP3 isn't working then the messages will appear in the IMAP inbox.  If POP3 is working then they will end up in the POP3 inbox. As I understand it, IMAP will leave messages on the BT server, so they are still accessible to POP3, whereas I have my POP3 set up so that messages are deleted off the server.  So, if POP3 works at any point, they all end up in my POP3 inbox.  I think the worst that can happen is that I have duplicate messages in the two inboxes.   

I labour this point a little as I was very reluctant to try IMAP for fear of losing stuff.  However, it turned out to be very straightforward.  If your email client is anything like mine (KMail), you don't have to delete your POP3 account.  And if you do delete it  and this deletes your POP3 inbox, make sure the messages you want to keep have been copied to a local folder beforehand. 

Best regards

P      

[ThunderCat81]

Are you using a VPN at all P40? Can't think of much else you've not covered.

Nevermind, just saw that you mentioned you tried using a VPN, so guess this means you weren't originally.

[licquorice]

There's clearly a faulty server in the BT POP3 server farm that BT seem unable to fix.

[jfkyachts]

Indeed - after trying every trick that AI Apple suggested yesterday, still no progress. Why is it impossible for BT 'fess up and admit that there is a problem still ongoing....it would clear the air!  It cannot be just a few of us on here who are affected!

JE

[gg30340]

@jfkyachts 

Can you explain " It cannot be just a few of us on here who are affected!".

I and others that I know use a number of POP3 along side IMAP BTMail accounts and none of them are affect plus if it was a major problem there would be more than the 3 people posting here would be reporting it.