Feed
 

Talktalk mail intermittent

Avatar Rick Churchill
Increasingly I find that I am unable to access my Talktalk mail on the Mac using Apple Mail. Occasionally the accounts will respond and download the missing messages. On the PC, Thunderbird asks for my password (as I don’t store it on this computer) in the following manner: “Enter your password for [undisclosed email] on pop3.talktalk.net” and this then gives me access to new messages. It never fails to work.

The incoming servers are:
On the Mac the settings are: Host name: mail.talktalk.net using Port 993
On the PC the settings are Server Name: pop3.talktalk.net using Port 110
(Outgoing server smtp.talktalk.net works on both computers)

Host Name - I have always used mail.talktalk.net as the server on the Mac .
If the Host name on the Mac is changed to pop3.talktalk then I get the message:
“The Identity of the server “pop3.talktalk.net” cannot be verified. The certificate for this server is invalid”.
Port Settings - In the past I have used port 995 and I don’t remember changing it but I had “Automatically manage connections settings” ticked. I understand that ports 110 and 995 are used for POP3 type mail and 143 and 993 for IMAP.

Trying to change the Port to 995 or 110 the Mac responds with “Unable to verify account name and password” which I don’t get changing it back to 993 (although it may just be noting that I am reverting to the status quo)

Progress
I have just sent an email from my icloud account to both my talktalk accounts (rickchurchill and rickchurchill1) and one of them has suddenly sprung into life. There is no response from the other.

As I have taken some time to put this information into a logical sequence and do some research on the internet during the day I can report that my other account has just downloaded my email from this morning, sent 11:55am and received with another sent at 4:13pm (from elsewhere) both received 4:40pm. Obviously the second email has triggered something. So both accounts are working at present.

Is there anything I can do to investigate what’s going on, when either one is not responding (They usually are both “offline” together), as it is very possible that in a few days the Mac will find the mail accounts are not responding and ask me to enter my passwords?

Should I delete both accounts and start again putting in port 995?

Re: Talktalk mail intermittent

Avatar Mick Burrell
My guess is that the Mac is configured to use an IMAP account whilst the PC is using a POP account, hence the different servers and ports and the different success rates. Have you checked the service status? It may be TalkTalk are (or have been) having mail issues.

Don't go changing passwords that have been working OK. Let me give you a silly example. If you unplug your router from the mains, you know you won't be able to get mail but when the Mac's attempt fails, it does not possess an error message saying "you fool, you've unplugged your router" so it suggests the most likely cause - user name or password. However, if it's been working, even intermittently, they must be correct. Look for something else.

Re: Talktalk mail intermittent

Avatar Rick Churchill
Thank you Mick. According to downdetector.co.uk Talktalk seem to have a yellow spot (meaning a service issue) over Bournemouth almost permanently but I would have thought that any Talktalk problem would affect both Mac and PC simultaneously. I am thinking of re-installing one of the Talktalk accounts on the Mac the next time it goes off-line and making sure it is POP3 with port 995 to see if it springs back into life.

Re: Talktalk mail intermittent

Avatar Mick Burrell
I would think they could have an issue with one server but not the other hence it could affect either Mac or PC.

Re: Talktalk mail intermittent

Avatar Rick Churchill
I changed both my Talktalk accounts on the Mac to POP3 and since then they have behaved impeccably.

Re: Talktalk mail intermittent

Avatar Mick Burrell
That's TalkTalk for you ;-)
 
Feed