# Yet another computer-related problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788 "2013-04-04T00:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/1 "2013-04-04T00:58:50Z")
This time with Outlook 2010. I’m receiving emails, but am unable to send them. Is the problem with Outlook or with Comcast or. . .? Comcast is my internet provider, but not my email provider. I can go to my email provider website and send emails from there, so they’re not the problem. Thanks for any help. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/2 "2013-04-04T01:03:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > This time with Outlook 2010. I’m receiving emails, but am unable to send them. Is the problem with Outlook or with Comcast or. . .? Comcast is my internet provider, but not my email provider. I can go to my email provider website and send emails from there, so they’re not the problem. Thanks for any help. What happens when you try to send an email? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/3 "2013-04-04T01:20:59Z")
It could be a problem on either end. Has this ever worked? Typically your incoming mail will come from a mail server with the name mail in it (i.e. [mail.comcast.net](http://mail.comcast.net) if you were using comcast). Outgoing mail will typically go to a server whose name starts with smtp ([smtp.comcast.net](http://smtp.comcast.net), for example). However, other email providers don’t always follow these rules. If this has never worked from outlook, the first thing to do is check that your settings for the outgoing mail are correct for your mail provider in your outlook settings. Also make sure to enter the outgoing mail password correctly into outlook, assuming that you are having outlook remember your password for you, and make sure the remember password box is checked. You can also try pinging the outgoing mail server from your machine to make sure you don’t have any connectivity issues getting to it. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/4 "2013-04-04T01:30:21Z")
Is it related to the problem this guy was having? > **[Is this Comcast/Xfinity security warning not to use "port 25" legit or a...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=682183)** > > I received this email today. Is it legit or an attempted phish? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/5 "2013-04-04T02:06:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What happens when you try to send an email? A message that says something to the effect of “unable to connect” (I’m on my laptop right now so can’t see the exact wording). It worked fine up until yesterday. Now the same two emails have been sitting in the outgoing box for two days. Don’t know how to find out what port I’m using, let alone how to change it. Nor how to “ping” something. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/6 "2013-04-04T02:28:56Z")
Ok, I’m on Outlook 2007 so it may not be the same. Check the Tools menu for Account Settings. There should be a tab for Email there. You probably have only one account, select that and double click to bring up the details, or there may be a button for that on yours. This should tell you the name of your email server. So, if the name of your email server was [chefguy.com](http://chefguy.com) you can ping it by bringing up a command window and entering the command ‘ping [chefguy.com](http://chefguy.com)’. It will display a bunch of stuff showing that your machine can communicate with the mail server, or it might display a message that it can’t like “Ping request could not find host [chefguy.com](http://chefguy.com). Please check the name and try again.” ETA: The video [on this page](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2028939)shows you how to get to the account settings account through the file tab and the info option. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/7 "2013-04-04T07:34:15Z")
How about move the mail from the outbox to “Drafts” and try sending a new email… maybe its a problem with one of the emails that won’t send… You can always go to drafts and double click the item , check for any thing to be fixed, check the size (typically 10 megabyte limit) , then be able to click “send” to try to send it again… Check the outgoing server setting… eg even if you can send simple emails without authentication, perhaps you are getting blocked by an anti-spam mechanism, unless you use authentication You might try using the comcast mail server, or the mail server of your mail receiving host… (change the auth/ username/password settings as required…) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/8 "2013-04-04T13:39:17Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Ok, I’m on Outlook 2007 so it may not be the same. Check the Tools menu for Account Settings. There should be a tab for Email there. You probably have only one account, select that and double click to bring up the details, or there may be a button for that on yours. This should tell you the name of your email server. So, if the name of your email server was [chefguy.com](http://chefguy.com) you can ping it by bringing up a command window and entering the command ‘ping [chefguy.com](http://chefguy.com)’. It will display a bunch of stuff showing that your machine can communicate with the mail server, or it might display a message that it can’t like “Ping request could not find host [chefguy.com](http://chefguy.com). Please check the name and try again.” > > ETA: The video [on this page](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2028939)shows you how to get to the account settings account through the file tab and the info option. I went to the account settings menu and opened the account, etc. There is a “test settings” button, which I clicked. The receive portion was fine, but got an error message for ‘send’: > [@](#): > > Send test e-mail message: Outlook cannot connect to your outgoing (SMTP) e-mail server. If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP). Looks like perhaps I need to talk to Comcast. One other question: could this possibly be a problem with my router? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/9 "2013-04-04T13:47:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I went to the account settings menu and opened the account, etc. There is a “test settings” button, which I clicked. The receive portion was fine, but got an error message for ‘send’: > > Looks like perhaps I need to talk to Comcast. > > One other question: could this possibly be a problem with my router? Or more likely my email provider instead of Comcast. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/10 "2013-04-04T18:51:09Z")
You might have to change your smtp port. See thread below: > **[Is this Comcast/Xfinity security warning not to use "port 25" legit or a...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=682183)** > > I received this email today. Is it legit or an attempted phish? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/11 "2013-04-04T19:07:37Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I went to the account settings menu and opened the account, etc. There is a “test settings” button, which I clicked. The receive portion was fine, but got an error message for ‘send’: > > Looks like perhaps I need to talk to Comcast. > > One other question: could this possibly be a problem with my router? Try the ping, it might narrow the problem area. You’ll have plenty of time to do that while you’re waiting to talk to Comcast. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/12 "2013-04-04T19:19:09Z")
Just to be sure, go to the home page for your email provider and search for what the outgoing settings should be. I don’t use Outlook, but for Thunderbird at least when you specify the outgoing protocol the port gets set automatically. If you have the wrong protocol, and thus the wrong port, it won’t work. It is unlikely to be your router or Comcast - though if they are your email provider, you need to look there for the settings. It could be the outgoing mail server, but that is unlikely for this long. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/13 "2013-04-04T19:22:00Z")
I don’t know about Comcast, but the ISP I had a few years ago blocked SMTP traffic except to their own servers. The standard reply to complaints was essentially “Yes, we do block SMTP. If you don’t like it you can use our competition instead.” Of course, their only competition was a dial up ISP that also blocked SMTP except their own. “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the cable company.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/14 "2013-04-04T19:38:50Z")
Well, I called the email provider who said that it’s the local service provider that’s causing the issue. Most providers don’t like you to use other company’s data, apparently. So I called Comcast to talk to somebody in Sri Lanka, who walked me through the whole changing to Comcast’s connection info, which also involved the Port 25 thingy (thanks to those to mentioned that). I had to delete the other account and was somewhat shocked when all the emails disappeared from Outlook. He quickly assured me that they would return “within 20 minutes”, and that he would call me back to make sure. Well, they haven’t as of three hours after the event, and neither has he. Not only that, but new emails aren’t showing up on Outlook, either. :rolleyes: I guess I’ll have to call again and deal with another person who I have trouble understanding to figure it all out. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/15 "2013-04-06T14:50:25Z")
A final update. So after a second round with somebody in Uzbekistan, I am still unable to receive emails from my provider and have to go to the website to see them. The second call went exactly like the first, except at the end they said I should look at the self-help area on the website for setting up a third part email. It was clear they had no idea what I was telling them, regardless of how many times I told them, and were just following the script on the screen in front of them. Either I’m too stupid to follow the directions on the website, or their walkthrough is unclear (my preference), as I’m no better off than I was. I’m thinking now that I’ll just go through the pain of getting rid of my email account and just use the Comcast email account. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/16 "2013-04-07T01:22:03Z")
Ignore comcast first -you need to be talking with your email provider. Your problem is that comcast recently blocked port 25. Your need to set up your account from your other provider with an outgoing port _other_ than port 25. Setup your email account just like you had it before for incoming mail, and just fix your outgoing settings. Most providers support IMAP SSL or TLS on port 587 or 993, and those definitely still work over comcast so look for that setting in your provider’s setup help. If you let us know who your provider is we probably can point you to the right place. Your other option is to set up your _incoming_ settings with your provider information, and then forward all your _outgoing_ mail through comcast. To do that you would follow the steps here: [XFINITY | My Account | EcoBill® Online Bill Pay](http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/internet/comcast-outlook-settings/) starting at step 9. On step 11 instead of “use same settings as incoming mail server”, choose “Log on using” and enter your comcast username and password. That will probably work, but could result in email you send be flagged as spam if your domain has SPF or DKIM records setup that say the mail should come from your email provider’s servers. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/17 "2013-04-07T02:06:26Z")
Outlook wont receive when it cannot send ? you’d be able to see your email if you cleared the outbook … as the “test” said the problem was with send ! Why didn’t you try using the comcast mail server for OUTGOING ONLY ? Answer, other people may treat your email as spam, or more likely to be spam ( in a points system… ) , because its marked as sent via comcast… But you can test that to see how you go anyway… Its always possible your antivirus software has died. ---
**Author:** ![babyface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/67e7ee/32.png) [@babyface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babyface)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/18 "2013-04-07T09:14:00Z")
I can solve your problem because it’s happened to me. Comcast changed the outgoing SMTP port to 587. The incoming is still 110. They did it to prevent outgoing spam. They never notified any of their customers and my e-mails were blocked. I called them up and they gave me that info. If you’re still having problems, just call them up and they’ll walk you through it. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/19 "2013-04-07T09:45:18Z")
> [@babyface](#): > > I can solve your problem because it’s happened to me. Comcast changed the outgoing SMTP port to 587. The incoming is still 110. They did it to prevent outgoing spam. They never notified any of their customers and my e-mails were blocked. I called them up and they gave me that info. If you’re still having problems, just call them up and they’ll walk you through it. 1. they changed to port 465 2. I definitely got more than one email from them telling me this before they closed off port 25. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788/20 "2013-04-07T13:47:11Z")
I’ve tried all those options and none of them work. I’m bored with the whole issue at this point. Additionally, about once a month I get blacklisted by my Alaska email provider because of their new security setup. This is because I live outside of Alaska and my internet provider is different from my email provider, so the email provider sees the changing isp as a spam attack. :rolleyes: So I have to call them once a month to get white listed again. As I said, I’m bored with the whole mess and will just get rid of the old account. But thanks for trying to help. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-related-problem/654788.md?page=2)