Email problems

Ian_Edwards

Ian_Edwards

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 Feb 2002
Messages
2,221
Location
Aberdeen Scotland
Visit site
We have a laptop on board running XP and Office 2007. We connect via a Vodafone Express card (Huawei E870) which slots into the side of the laptop and we use an external antenna to improve the range. Most of the time this works well and we can access weather forecast, the web etc. However we have problem with Microsoft Outlook when we connect to the Virgin email server, using POP3/SMPT, especially when the GPRS signal is weak. We can receive email OK, but sometimes it won’t send an email, especially if it has a large ‘ish file attached (100’s Kbytes).
This is not a big problem, it’s more of annoyance, because we can always connect directly to the Virgin webmail server using Internet Explorer (7) and send emails that way (assuming we have signal), even when Outlook won’t send email .... but it does mean you end up with emails in two different systems, which as I say is annoying.
As I understand it (and this may not be correct) the POP3 bit is for receive and the SMPT is for sending, so it seems that there is some sort of glitch in SMPT ?.... a timeout or something which stops it working when the signal/bandwidth is low?
I’ve asked this question of both Virgin and Vodafone, some weeks ago and haven’t had any reply. I’ve also tried Googling, but get so many hits I can’t see the wood for the trees!
Has anyone else had this problem?
Is there a know fix?
 
You are right with regards to POP3 and SMTP. Whenever you use a third party e-mail programme such as Outlook Express, Incredimail etc. it will only receive incomming mail and not send if you are not using your usual ISP. When we visit the children we use the laptop to recive but have to log on to TalkTalk to send.

You may find it helps to check the settings under the server details tab in Outlook and see if it helps to tick the box saying my server requires authentication.
 
it will only receive incomming mail and not send if you are not using your usual ISP. When we visit the children we use the laptop to recive but have to log on to TalkTalk to send.
***************************************************

This is not correct and usually there are ways of configuring Outlook and Outlook experess to sent e-mails via your regular ISP but through a third party like Virgin or Vodaphone.

This is where you need to use the authentication boxes and complete the boxes as wished by you provider.

At the end of the day you can always send e-mails using the company you are logged on through but configure outlook so that replies are sent to your usual ISP.

It might make the headers a little confusing but you will get the emails returned to the account you specify.

In this case it appears Outlook is configured correctly as with good signals it works!
 
I concur!

This is some kind of signal, timeout issue, as the OP suggested.

I dont know the answer, to the question, (other than looking for the timeout setting option and increasing it), but think that, whilst emails may be in 2 places for a while, wont Outlook download them when it next gets a good connection? (perhaps not the sent ones?)
 
It's a really strange fault, it works when we have 3G or 3 bars or more out of 5 bars on the GPRS, but the send just falls over when the signal is weak. As I say it doesn’t happen when connecting direct to the ISP (Virgin) webmail server and I can still send emails via my Vodafone Blackberry, so it has to be an Outlook SMPT problem.
 
Different ISPs handle security slightly differently for sending email, some restrict you to using their connections, others password protect it - and others use "pop before send"

Obviously if you can sometimes send - its basically working.
"Pop before send" basically works on the priciple that your pop (incoming) email is password protected, but your outgoing smtp mail may not be. Your provider doesn't want the whole world spamming via their email servers so when you check if you have mail (pop) they log your IP address and then for x minutes afterwards - accept outgoing email from that address.

I'm guessing - but that could be the issue - if signal is weak - mail takes a long time to send - or maybe the connection is even dropped and re-established.

Trying making sure that you have checked your email immediately prior to sending (don't just do send all)

The better solution would be to get the smtp settings for your mobile provider and use those - which may be more forgiving coming from their network
 
Thanks, for the info.' I've just increase the server time out in Outlook from 1 min to 10min, it didn't make any difference, and I’ve just checked the boxes to use the same username and password for SMPT as I use for POP3 and the box that say logon to incoming server before sending. I'll see if that works. I tried using “requires secure password authentication (SPA)” box but that stopped all email even via wifi and ADSL.
 
Update:
For those who might be interested, I spent a significant number of hours on this problem yesterday, trying to chase the problem down and get a solution before we start our first cruise of the year (3weeks, up to Shetland with luck). I now have less hair and if could have gone any greyer it would have done.
The problem is almost certainly a fault in Vodafone’s system; it seems there is some form of conflict between Outlook’s SMTP software which sends the email and Vodafone’s SMTP system which forwards it (I really don’t understand the detail). From researching the web, it looks like this is a long standing problem with reports of mail failure going back to 2006. The Vodafone eforum currently (as of 22:00 last night) has a number of very dissatisfied customers looking for a solution.
The work around appears to be to use two different servers to send and receive email, in my case pop.virgin.net to receive (and that works) and it would normally be smtp.virgin.net to send, that would be the normal default set-up and should work, but doesn’t. Vodafone recommend you use either send.vodafone.net or smtp.vodafone.net, as a work around, but unfortunately neither of these systems seem to work at the moment. Vodafone are currently working on the problem.
So my advice to anyone looking to buy a 3G GPRS comms package to use on the boat ..... don’t buy Vodafone until they have this problem resolved, if you want to use Outlook for your email. But note the card still works OK for web based email, weather forecasts and the like.
I also down loaded the most recent version of the software for the E870 data card, which seems to speed things up and improve the range, but that’s very subjective.
 
Thats sort of what I tried to describe yesterday (maybe not very well)

The way this should work is to use your own pop for incoming email and your internet provider (in this case vodafone) for outgoing SMTP. If vodafone are having issues with their SMTP servers - then I can'[t believe they wouldn't fix it fast (I'm no fan of vodafone - but this is quite fundamental!)

http://www.mobile-3g.co.uk/3g-broadband-problem-troubleshooting/3g-smtp-email-settings.htm

Suggests:
smtp.vodafone.net
send.vodafone.net
smtp.vizzavi.co.uk

I assume you have tried these ?

I have vodafone - but to be honest don't have these issues as I have a domain for my email that is ISP independent (i.e. I pay for a domain name and have a secure smtp server access)

I suggest you try the above - if you haven't already

Best wishes
James
 
I was trying to set you up a temporary workaround on one of my systems - but that would involve you having to change your email address (as being ISP independent one of the checks it does is making sure that the email is being sent from an address within the domain) - and I guess that would be a pain.

Another possibility is to use something like Gmail which has a free SMTP service you can use - e.g. see:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/tonyhughes/599

Where they detail a workaround to pretty much your problem

Good luck
 
I've tried all three; smtp.vodafone and smtp.vizzavi, don't work at all the servers are not available. But send.vodaphone, kind of works, I've had 3 different results, a test message got thro’ from Outlooks configuration page, I've had outlook simply hang-up with the message in the Outbox and an error reported and I've also had an apparently successful send, but only an error message was delivered.
I've posted these results on the Vodafone eForum, from which I gather that there is a fault:
"We have had issues using the Vodafone outgoing mail servers (Fault reference 575923969)."
It's obviously important to Vodafone to get it fixed, as James said it's quite fundamental, so I’d expect to hear from them quite soon, via the eForum.
I’ll report back if and when I get it fixed.
 
For info', just got this from the Vodafone eForum.

Hey Ian,
I'm not too sure what to suggest further to this, but I will make a note of this thread to show the team come Monday. This may be linked into the investigation we're conducting over some miscellaneous issues some of our users are reporting with Mobile Internet ...?
It certainly is strange, and sadly I've got no resolution right at this moment, but I'm confident we'll be able to get to the bottom of this!
Daz
eForum Team

Good to know that they as puzzled as I am!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top