??? Can't send from Comcast to Embarq ???

[Muncle]

I�ve been having a problem that I find unique, others say is puzzling, and the techie gurus say is impossible. I have a Comcast account and generally use Outlook Express for email. A couple months ago, I discovered that none of the mail I was sending to people with embarqmail.com addresses was going thru. I was getting no failed mail msgs of any kind. The mail would just disappear into hyperspace. I tried it both thru OE and from the Comcast host.

I first contacted Embarq to see if they had some type of spam filter that could be kicking me off. They assured me that they did not and that I was not being blocked by them. I then contacted Comcast. Their first response was that since I wasn�t getting an error msg, they would have nothing to analyze and so could not help me. I complained a bit, got another techie, and they tried to send something from my account. It did not get to the Embarq customer. There only reply was that it left their host so that�s all they cared about.

I next contacted Embarq again. They explained that they had no blocks that would identify an individual sender (oh, forgot to say --- my Embarq customer friends were getting mail from other Comcast people), only by IP address. All mail goes thru the Comcast host port so I would not have a specific IP address. I even contacted Spamhaus.com, which runs the spam filters for most ISPs. They couldn�t help.

Another contact with Comcast and they again showed no interest. I called Embarq yet again. Luck of the draw, I got their call center in PA. I gave the guy my email ID and password (I know, a big no-no) and he logged onto Comcast from there and sent an email. It went thru. :hot: We/He checked and it had left Comcast thru a PA host, not the one down here in Florida. I told Comcast of this action and their general response was �Doh? And your point is?" Again, no help.

To get around this, I started sending mail intended for Embarq folks from my Villages account. A couple weeks ago, I evidently accidently included one of the Embarq folks a msg from my Comcast account. It went thru! :hot: Happy Days!!! A week later the blockage, whatever it is, returned and remains. :cus: :cus: :cus:

Any ideas??? If anyone has specific questions, I'll be happy to provide whatever info I have.

[zcaveman]

I have the same problem. I have tried both Embarq and Comcast to no avail. Just when you think you are getting through to them, you call or online chat again and it is back to step one.

I have three Comcast accounts and none of them can send to Embarq accounts. I thought it was just me. No error messages and no backup and no rejects.

And yes, neither the comcast or villages.net account works. I tried them from the webmail at Comcast and the Villages and get the same problem so I know it is not Outlook or my settings.

Sorry this was not what you were looking for but at least you know it is not just you.

[Puterguru]

This should fix the problem:

If using Outlook Express:
Click on Tools
Click on Accounts
Click on your mail account so that it is highlighted
Click on the properties button to the right
Click on the Advanced tab
Directly next to "Outgoing Mail(SMTP) change the number that is there (probably 25) to the number 587.
Click on Apply
Click on OK
Click on Close
Close Outlook Express

Re-open Outlook Express and try to send some messages. I bet they'll go thru.

[dadspet]

This doesn't really answer your question but I've found a free Yahoo or Google mail account a lot easier to use and much more portable. These accounts work great and you use them from your web browser and don't have to use Outlook express. At home in NY or on the Road, cruise or at the Villages or in Europe / South America /etc I always have trouble free easy access. With these account you don't have to worry about chaning my mail address if I switch internet providers either (jerry@comcast.com or jerry@embarg.com jerry@roadrunner.com etc ) since these mail accounts are transparent to the internet provider. For me at least I've found only advantages and no drawbacks.

[Muncle]

This should fix the problem:

deleted for space

Re-open Outlook Express and try to send some messages. I bet they'll go thru.



Thanx for the suggestion. Tried it. It would not send any outgoing mail. Got the following msg:
The message could not be sent because the server rejected the sender's e-mail address. The sender's e-mail address was 'b.flavin@comcast.net'. Subject 'test', Account: 'mail.comcast.net', Server: 'smtp.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '550 5.1.0 Authentication required', Port: 587, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 550, Error Number: 0x800CCC78

Actually I didn't think changing OE would affect the problem since both Z and I had the same results whether we were sending via Outlook Express or webmail, i.e., logging directly onto the Comcast mail system and sending from there, bypassing OE. I'm just real confused.

[zcaveman]

This should fix the problem:

If using Outlook Express:
Click on Tools
Click on Accounts
Click on your mail account so that it is highlighted
Click on the properties button to the right
Click on the Advanced tab
Directly next to "Outgoing Mail(SMTP) change the number that is there (probably 25) to the number 587.
Click on Apply
Click on OK
Click on Close
Close Outlook Express

Re-open Outlook Express and try to send some messages. I bet they'll go thru.



Nope. Did that a long time ago. The problem is there are no error messages. I had to switch a friend to port 587 hen he started getting rejects.

As far as my end is concerned, the messags are going. If I had not called a friend and asked him why he did not reply to a golf appointment I would have never known the messages were not going through.

COmcast and Embarq are dead ends.

[zcaveman]

Thanx for the suggestion. Tried it. It would not send any outgoing mail. Got the following msg:
The message could not be sent because the server rejected the sender's e-mail address. The sender's e-mail address was 'b.flavin@comcast.net'. Subject 'test', Account: 'mail.comcast.net', Server: 'smtp.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '550 5.1.0 Authentication required', Port: 587, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 550, Error Number: 0x800CCC78

Actually I didn't think changing OE would affect the problem since both Z and I had the same results whether we were sending via Outlook Express or webmail, i.e., logging directly onto the Comcast mail system and sending from there, bypassing OE. I'm just real confused.


Muncle - when you go to port 587 you have to check the Server need Authentication box. It should be checked anyway but it is definitely necessary with port 587.

And yes I agree that it would not solve our problem.

But an FYI. 587 is more secure and if you have certain problems, the first thing the tech will tell you is to switch to port 587.

Do a google search for more info.

Z
Z

[barb1191]

What works well for me is:

I subscribe to Comcast broadband.
I downloaded the FREE version of AOL and logon to AOL, using their (AOL) email exclusively, with no problems.

barb

[zcaveman]

There are lots of alternatives (AOL, GMAIL, YAHOO) but I like my OUTLOOK and Address Book and Calendar and Tasks. I like all messages downloaded to my PC for processing. I don'twant to have to sign onto some place on the internet and use a webmail app that has no bells and whistles. All I want is for my messages to Embarq targets to get there from my Comcast account.

Sorry. I don't mean to sound argumentative.

I have spent hours and hours on the telephone and online chats with both Comcast and Embarq. I would like to invite one of each out to my house so they can actually see the problem. But then I might squeeze them instead of my stress doll when they give me their usual stupid answers.

z

[Muncle]

Z -- I've forgotten most of what I ever knew about details so things like port 587 and the like sometimes go over my head. Unfortunately I do remember enough from the really old days to know that what is happening to us should not be happening. As others suggested and you admitted, there are work arounds, but like you, I don't want a work around. I want to know what Comcast or Embarq or somebody is doing wrong and I want them to correct it.

Or maybe I'm wrong and I'm the one :edit: ing up. But I'd still like to know.

[zcaveman]

I agree with you Muncle. One day I will give the online chats another try. I just get so upset that I cannot talk to a telecommunications techie so that I can get down to the nuts and bolts pf the problem.

This is not my only open problem with Comcast.

[zcaveman]

Maybe things are looking up. I accidentally tried to send to an embarqmail subscriber and got the following error message:

Reporting-MTA: dns; QMTA02.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net [76.96.62.24]
Received-From-MTA: dns; OMTA14.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net [76.96.62.60]
Arrival-Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:11:00 +0000


Final-recipient: rfc822; xxxxxxxx@embarqmail.com
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.1
Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 550 5.1.1 Recipient sarav@embarqmail.com does not exist here
Last-attempt-Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:11:00 +0000

I will start a chat with Comcast and see if I can get somewhere with it.

I will let you know what happens.

[Muncle]

Thanx Z, I'll be waiting with worms on my tongue (bated breath?).
Good luck.

[zcaveman]

Comcast was no help and sent me to Embarq.

Embarq told me that my IP address was blacklisted. If you know your IP address go to http://www.mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx and enter the IP address and see what you get.

If you are on a router, you will have to sign into the router and find the Router Status and get the address.

I am at a lost as to what to do next but will let you know when I find out.

Wish I had better news but it is further than I have been in weeks!!

Z

[Muncle]

Do you have a static IP address? In theory, I have a dynamic IP address that is assigned fresh whenever my modem is turned on --- factually, it always seems to be the same one. It (the IP address) is within the range of addresses that are invalidated. But that really shouldn't matter since you don't enter the net from that port but from the COMCAST gateway. That's the IP address that should matter. Especially when you use their internet mail rather than OE to send the msg. ---- I probably screwed up the technical terms and stuff. Hope I somehow made myself clear.

[zcaveman]

I agree with everything you said. I forgot to mention to Embarq that I get the error using Comcast's webmail also and my IP address should not be a factor. However, I do wonder if Comcast is passing along our real IP address somehow. I have checked an entry and I am within a range of addresses that are blocked. And yes, I am dynamic also. But I did telecommunications work in my past life and I have seen the IP address almost always stay the same. Maybe that is why the block is for a range because you will always stay within that range. I will check on that when I do the online chat.

I will do a chat this morning with Comcast to try and get to the bottom of our problem. If you are on send me your IP address. Do a PM if you want so I don't have to keep checking back.

I asked Embarq why they were the only ISP to lock my mail and they said that it was based on what servers subscribe to what blacklists.

I am blocked on 13 on 124 with 5 timing out. And of those 13, 9 are from the same company (SORBS).

Z

[zcaveman]

Update: Did a chat with Comcast about the blacklist. Went and filled out a Block List Removal request for Comcast. Unfortunately my IP address is are not on a Comcast blocked list. Went back to Comcast chat and finally got the problem escalated to a Senior Agent. Response in 72 hours. Been here before and never got a response. But this time I wrote down the ticket number.

No one can seem to understand the problem or give me any info on all of the pieces.

Back when I was doing this, if I was the one to get this call, I would have run with it until I got a resolution and had the problem resolved.

I might go back to the Blacklist site. There was a link to ask to be removed from the blacklist. it might be worth a try.

Sorry I did not have better news.

Z

[Cassie325]

I am not sure if this is a helpful note or just more bad news...but when we are here visiting we bring our laptops. We have comcast here...and roadrunner up north....so the roadrunner is set up in our outlook.....we too were sending emails and found out weeks later that none of them ever went through. Although they were in our sent box...and everything looked fine...it never was really sent. We are convinced it had something to do with Comcast...however they said nothing was wrong.
Just wanted to add my two cents in...... ;)

[Muncle]

Z -- Couldn't agree more about Comcast tech non-reaction. "Back in the day" this was the kind of thing we lived for. A problem that was unique, that didn't make sense, that just couldn't be, was such a great change from the tedium of routine that you really enjoyed them. Everybody got involved and they were often solved after work in a bar when 3 or 4 people who were stumped were trying to explain the problem to someone new. Suddenly someone would yell " :edit: " , grab a bar napkin, and start writing. Now the reaction seems to be "Well, it leaves our port, so it's not our fault."

[rjrex]

MUNCLE:::Your last post brought smiles...Having more than 35 years in large scale computers, software design and development, I know my best work started on the back of bar napkins.
Now most problem resolutions are written off as "distant end"

[Golf-Tinker]

Mariab

You must change your default mail choice when switching between ISPs. The local ISP sees an originating address different from its local use and thinks you trying to relay a spam message. Go to outlook help for instructions.

[Hancle704]

Had a similar problem with my email being blocked and after several calls to Comcast,I was directed to their Security Dept. Was informed that they had somehow figured that because I was sending OE email with attachments to mutiple addresses using BCC's that somehow I was sending viruses. Despite my assurance that I did daily updates and scanned system for viruses weekly and all incoming and outgoing emails were being checked for viruses with the "free" McAfee Antivirus software provided by Comcast, they decided to block my outgoind emails.

I was then advised that there was a one click fix for the problem and it follows.

Third-Party Mail Client Users (Outlook, Outlook Express, etc.)
If you use Outlook Express, the steps we have taken to protect the Comcast network will not allow you to send email until you apply a simple one click fix available at http://www.comcastsupport.com/alternateport. While this will restore your ability to send mail it is still important to remove any possible viruses from your computer. This can be done by using the FREE McAfee Antivirus and Firewall software available from Comcast on the Comcast Security Channel .

This fixed the problem and I have since removed their free anti-virus softwre and installed AVG.

You may wish to consider the "one click fix".

[Cassie325]

Thank you...but I did try everything and called Comcast...they could care less....thankfully my work email works no matter where I am....YEAH....but my personal one does not work at all through comcast....once we move here perm....we will have to change email address'....for now thankfully we can access "webmail".

Thanks for your thoughts!!



Mariab

You must change your default mail choice when switching between ISPs. The local ISP sees an originating address different from its local use and thinks you trying to relay a spam message. Go to outlook help for instructions.

[zcaveman]

Had a similar problem with my email being blocked and after several calls to Comcast,I was directed to their Security Dept. Was informed that they had somehow figured that because I was sending OE email with attachments to mutiple addresses using BCC's that somehow I was sending viruses. Despite my assurance that I did daily updates and scanned system for viruses weekly and all incoming and outgoing emails were being checked for viruses with the "free" McAfee Antivirus software provided by Comcast, they decided to block my outgoind emails.

I was then advised that there was a one click fix for the problem and it follows.

Third-Party Mail Client Users (Outlook, Outlook Express, etc.)
If you use Outlook Express, the steps we have taken to protect the Comcast network will not allow you to send email until you apply a simple one click fix available at http://www.comcastsupport.com/alternateport. While this will restore your ability to send mail it is still important to remove any possible viruses from your computer. This can be done by using the FREE McAfee Antivirus and Firewall software available from Comcast on the Comcast Security Channel .

This fixed the problem and I have since removed their free anti-virus softwre and installed AVG.

You may wish to consider the "one click fix".


I use the alternate port (587) as a normal action and use authentication. No help. I am curious as to how youmanaged to get to someone from the Security department. I was told they were off limits to us peons.

[zcaveman]

I am not sure if this is a helpful note or just more bad news...but when we are here visiting we bring our laptops. We have comcast here...and roadrunner up north....so the roadrunner is set up in our outlook.....we too were sending emails and found out weeks later that none of them ever went through. Although they were in our sent box...and everything looked fine...it never was really sent. We are convinced it had something to do with Comcast...however they said nothing was wrong.
Just wanted to add my two cents in...... ;)


Were they in your Sent box or your Outbox? Sent means they are gone. Outbox means that they have not been sent due to connectivity or or another problem. I have to agree with Golf-tinker. The setup is different for Comcast than Roadrunner.

[zcaveman]

Just a clarification for all of you that want to help. Our problem is not a configuration problem. It is not a setting. It is a conflict between Comcast and Embarq. For the past few months we never received a notification that our emails were failing. Starting this week we are getting rejects so that means that someone has heard us. Unfortunately I believe the reject is coming from Embarq and is not being formatted to the proper protocols (RFI-message format) so it is impossible to decipher the message. Comcast points us to Embarq and Embarq points us back to Comcast.

As mentioned in one of the above posts, neither side will take it upon themselves to assist us with the problem. In my day, you got the call you fixed the problem no matter how many favors you had to call in. You had your slips and they had theirs so you broke even. I am still trying to get to the "right" person.

I did have one Comcast problem and it was "Oh I see" and the problem got fixed. I guess he got fired for competence.

We are dealing with low level techies that only work on email and are following the script in front of them. I have finally been kicked up to a "Senior Agent". Hopefully he is better but with past experience I am no further than when I started. When I call in next week with the ticket number, I know the first response Will be "So you cannot talk to an Embarqmail customer?".

Serenity Now!! Serenity Now!! Costanza's father in Seinfeld.

Z

[zcaveman]

MUNCLE:::Your last post brought smiles...Having more than 35 years in large scale computers, software design and development, I know my best work started on the back of bar napkins.
Now most problem resolutions are written off as "distant end"


Sorry but had to comment to this one also. Besides the bar napkins (that were sometimes hard to decipher the next day), I also kept a pad and pencil on the nightstand in case I had a flash of brilliance when sleeping. These were some of my best development ideas. Along with the ones on the 35 minute drive to and from work.

I thnk that we were possessed back in the day. As I moved closer to retirement, I never saw that fire in those that followed. Maybe different where you were.

Z

[Hancle704]

I use the alternate port (587) as a normal action and use authentication. No help. I am curious as to how youmanaged to get to someone from the Security department. I was told they were off limits to us peons.


After getting a usual, "let's check your settings".I called back and insisted on speaking to a supervisor or someone who knew what they were talking about. It was only then, that I was told that there was nothing wrong with my settings, but my outgoing emails were being blocked because of suspicion that a virus was being sent. I asked for specifics about their suspicion and none were given. I said that they would have to give me an answer and or, a solution as I was using the antivirus software they provided and was trying to send photos and important documents to family members. I was then told to hold on and I would be transferred to someone in their Security Dept. Naturally after a long wait, I received an announcement that The Department was closed. I left a message for a callback, which I finally received several days later. I again called Tech Support relayed what had happened, gave the ref. # and was told I would receive an email with instructions on what was required to fix the problem. The fix was the link I included in last post. Right after doing what was found at that link, my email started to flow again. When I finally received the callback from Security dept. the problem had been fixed.

I am convinced that if you have the time and are willing to call Comcast over and over, eventually you get to speak with someone who has the answers. This might only be one person at Comcast, but there is someone.

In fairness, I will report that each call was answered by someone who seemed to be located in the US, unlike my recent experiences calling AT&T and HP for Customer Service or Tech Support.

I had personal experience before retiring with many of AT&T's and several HP Call Centers and I believe I can tell when I am speaking with someone in a center located outside of the USA.

I recently asked an AT&T Customer Service Rep what call center he was located at, and was told that Company Policy prohibited him from giving out that information. But that's a topic for another day about outsourcing of jobs that could be done in the USA if........

[Muncle]

Hancle, were you having the same problem as Z and me? That is, could you send mail normally to any user on any ISP except those on embarqmail.com? Also, both of us tried to send the mail from Outlook Express and Comcast's webmail site with the same result. Until recently, we got no notification of failed mail. It just disappeared. Now apparently we are getting a failed mail msg.

Does this describe your problems that were solved with the patch?


Thanx,
Muncle

[zcaveman]

Hancle, were you having the same problem as Z and me? That is, could you send mail normally to any user on any ISP except those on embarqmail.com? Also, both of us tried to send the mail from Outlook Express and Comcast's webmail site with the same result. Until recently, we got no notification of failed mail. It just disappeared. Now apparently we are getting a failed mail msg.

Does this describe your problems that were solved with the patch?


Thanx,
Muncle


The patch consists of using port 587 instead on 25 for outgoing mail. As if this morning, I have been blocked by Comcast for sending SPAM. Actually I was sending out the Woodworkers Meeting note. I got an email from the Comcast Security Assurance to apply the patch which is nothing more than setting up a new Outlook Express email account with 587 as the outgoing port.

I sent a note to Comcast and they had me call the 800 number. They wanted to switch me to port 587. I told her I have been using 587 for months now. Now I have to call Comcast Security Assurance (on a Saturday!!) to get back online.

Fortunately I have a villages.net account I can use until I am back in service.

Still waiting to hear from the special agent.

[zcaveman]

Well Muncle. Nothing good to report. I did a chat with Comcast this afternoon to check on my ticket. It was closed as fixed. We went round and round and she told me to send a note to another Comcast player to get off of the blacklist. I also asked that the ticket be updated to have a high level TCP/IP techie call me for a chat. She said he would and then abruptly ended the chat. Which means I will not hear from anyone. I sent a note to the new player and am hoping for an answer.

I had asked you for your IP address to make sure we were on the same server. I sent a note to your real address asking you to send me a note at my Comcast address. Please do so so I can verify it as the real address is in the full header.

Thanks,
Z

[zcaveman]

Well Muncle - progress on the problem!!

I have an embarqmail account and today, I added my comcast and villages.net IDs (both were failing) to my embarq web client address book. I sent an email from my comcast a and villages.net account and they actually went to my embarqmail.com account.

I have asked two of my embarqmail recipients to add my email ids to their embarqmail web client address book and they are now receiving my emails!!

It does not matter if they are using an email client (outlook, outlook express). they need to add the email addresses to the embarq web mail client.

I tried this a few weeks ago and it did not work. Today it is working. I am thinking that since Embarq finally fixed the lost messages bug by giving us an 550 error message, they have found out that there is more than just a couple of users and decide to fix it.

Give it a try and let me know how it works out.

Z

[Muncle]

Z,
Before doing the fixes you suggested, I thought I'd get another baseline. I sent emails to 3 embarqmail users asking for a reply, and of course not expecting anything. All three rec'd the msgs! With no changes to my system!! And no changes to their web client address book!!!

I don't understand it :dontknow:. Absolutely the same system here that's always been but it's working today. Of course, it might not be working by Monday. Things like this bug me. I may not be able to understand the techie gibberish in total, but I'd still like to know why.

[zcaveman]

The question is: Are the people you sent the messages to using the Embarq web mail client or are they using an email client on their PC? :dontknow: Two of the ones that were not receiving my emails and started receiving the emails were using the Embarq web mail client. I think that Embarq made a change to let emails go to users who had my email address in their web mail address book (as it should). For two of the ones that were not using the Embarq email client, they added my email addresses and they are now receiving my emails. Thanks the Lord, I do not have too many Embarq users. :clap2:

I think that Embarq finally got their act together. :clap2:

However, it could change at any minute. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Z

[SABRMnLgs]

My cable for the computer is with Comcast and I have absolutely no problems either sending or getting mail from my friends who use Embarq cable.

Jerry Jackson (Calumet Grove)

[blueeagle65]

We recently came across a problem unique to comcast.net as well. All of a sudden (around the first of September) mail sent to our Comcast e-mail accounts from the Verizon Wireless site stopped coming through. We send cell phone photos to an album on the VZW site and then out to various e-mail addresses. We created hotmail & gmail accounts and they still come across just like they used to - as recently as the middle of August, just not to comcast.net The tech support guy at Comcast has had the problem for three days and has yet to fix it.

Comcast has obviously done something somewhere to block these and god only know what else. It is their system and not our computer, because they don't go through anywhere else either.

[zcaveman]

My problem with COMCAST to EMBARQ turned out to be that my IP address is for some reason blacklisted. EMBARQ finally addressed the problem of no error message so I at least knew I was not getting through. The solution for me was to have all of my Embarqmail recipients add my email addresses to the Embarqmail address book at the Embarqmail webmail site.

FYI: No matter from where you send a message (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo mail, the Comcast webmail, etc), your real IP address is inserted. If it is blacklisted, you are up the creek.

I am also having problems sending to some of my Verizon recipients from COMCAST but only some of them. I get no error message and they get no note. But they can send to me. Frustrating!!

[Skip]

I just started to have the same problem with Embarqmail users. I send 150 club notices from my email client (via comcast), 20 names at a time. My emailings on 10/1/08 and 10/29/08 went out fine - at least I didn't get any bounces. But on 11/19/08 I got about 20 "could not deliver" MDS notifications. They were all Emabarqmail recipients. Checking my member list however there were another 10 or so that apparently did get through. I can only assume that the club's email address is not on their web address book. So how do you notify them to add me to their address book if you can't get through? Besides most of these people (if they are using an email client) have their local address book on their computer and wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to get to their embarq web address book.

Anyone on embarqmail want to post the steps necessary to get addresses added to the web address book? We could sure use the education because eventually these embarq members are going to say "we don't get the club emails anymore!!!".

Thanks, Skip :ohdear:

[Cassie325]

We have friends that have embarq....around the 19th for about 7-8 days we were not able to send emails....they would come back to me about 16-27 hours after sending....

Seems to be working just fine now...

PS....my comcast email was in their address book prior to these emails being sent so I don't know if that is the issue.