After switch to imap (AOL email address), cannot connect to outgoing server (Comcast)
I have AOL email address (but use an alias--my old @verizon.net address which AOL permits). My internet provider is comcast. When Comcast began shifting from POP accounts to IMAP accounts, I lost my ability to send emails, since my outgoing server is smtp.comcast.net. I followed Thunderbird's and AOL's online instructions for creating new imap accounts while not deleting our POP accounts. Incoming email works fine. But cannot send. Have tried many tweaks of outgoing server settings, but still cannot send. Incoming server is imap.aol.com. Username is my alias--***@verizon.net. This works fine for receiving email. But for the outgoing server Is the alias username the problematic part? I've tried setting the server password for both Comcast and AOl and neither works.
All Replies (5)
After switch to imap (AOL email address), cannot connect to outgoing server (Comcast)
When using the AOL IMAP server for receiving messages why don't you use the AOL SMTP server for sending?
That would work if I were using web mail. But with Thunderbird on my PC and Comcast as my internet provider, I'm required to use Comcast as my outgoing server. I tried putting aol settings, but didn't work. I finally figured out the answer myself and had it confirmed by Comcast support. Their imap server does not permit email aliases (verizon.net is an alias permitted by aol after they took over Verizon's email.) When I clicked on the link from mailer-daemon to see the reason for failure to send, the code was "rejected for reasons of policy." This clued me in, and I checked again with Comcast, and they confirmed it. It's an anti-spam regulation. Since I can still receive emails into my Verizon.net account, the only inconvenience is that any emails I send have to be from my Comcast account. Not a big deal any more. I don't actually send that many emails. And the verizon address still works to log me in to various websites when I'm in Chrome.
But with Thunderbird on my PC and Comcast as my internet provider, I'm required to use Comcast as my outgoing server.
I doubt that. I think you can use Comcast as your ISP, and AOL as your email provider without a problem, also for sending messages.
I tried putting aol settings, but didn't work.
You'd need to explain what settings you used, and what happened.
I finally figured out the answer myself and had it confirmed by Comcast support. Their imap server does not permit email aliases (verizon.net is an alias permitted by aol after they took over Verizon's email.)
Fair enough. But this has got nothing to do with using the AOL SMTP server when sending messages from an AOL account.
I have Comcast as my ISP and can confirm they do not require me or anyone else to use their SMTP server for email providers other than them. I just add the SMTP details for the appropriate provider and send my mail. If this was true then all the people sitting at Starbucks could never send email because they are not on the Comcast network.
FYI: Webmail does not use SMTP servers so your comment above about it working if using webmail is irrelevant.
I tried various combinations of settings: 1. Incoming server: [email protected] with port setting 993 (Comcast's recommendation) or 995 (aol's recommendation) and imap.aol.com Outgoing server with username@ verizon.net and with port settings at 465 and 587. Did not work.
2. Incoming server: [email protected] and imap.aol.com port 993 or 995. Outgoing: [email protected]; both ports 465 and 587. This worked (ports 993 and 587) to allow my wife and I to send to each other but not to anyone else.
3. Checked out the links mailer-daemon sent back to me and got the message that Yahoo servers (don't know the connection between Comcast and Yahoo, but there must be one) wouldn't allow me to connect to the Comcast outgoing server "for policy reasons."
This is when I called Comcast for the third time, and after a lot of time and effort, the support agent said that it appeared to him as though Comcast/Yahoo (as a security measure against spammers) when they upgraded to an imap server, would not allow an alias email address (verizon.net). Under the POP accounts they did, but they stopped all POP accounts beginning this month and notified their customers that we had to switch to imap by the end of the month. So while we had no problems with the POP outgoing server--and you're right, I had done that for years--the switch to imap would not allow it. The incoming imap server (imap.aol.net) continues to bring in our emails for the verizon.net account. We just cannot send from it. After trying every combination I can think of, I finally gave up, and will probably move everything to gmail. Can't fault Comcast for trying to help me--I spent a total of about 2 hours on the phone with agents who were reasonably knowledgeable. Thanks for responding. Many heads are better than one in this sort of thing.