Sending mail but not receiving

My mother has been using Mail for quite some time on her PowerBook and suddenly a couple days ago she is no longer receiving mail, although her mail is sending just fine. I told her to go to Mailbox and Go Online and she said she did that but she still is not getting any incoming mail. Does anyone have any other suggestions. I am doing this from a distance as she lives five hours away so I can't go to her computer and actually look at the settings, but if I had some ideas, I could possibly talk her through it. Thanks for any help.

If she selects "Remove Now" under the Advanced tab for the account preferences, all messages available on the server will be removed/deleted from the server.
Hard to believe the email account provider for her email account doesn't include webmail access also which is standard/commonplace in this day and time with any email account provider and doesn't require any special setup. Simply go to the provider's website - there should be a selection for email account access and enter the account's user name and password.
If your Mother doesn't have/use webmail access and probably doesn't use another email client on her Mac or on a different computer, why not select remove messages from the server when downloaded instread?
Is your Mother using Tiger on this Mac? If so, there is a way to check and remove individual messages from the server with Tiger Mail.
The error message provided is odd and not something I've seen reported here before. Has she checked or have you checked with her email accout provider's technical support?

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Can send mail but not receive -- connection doctor OK, GetInfo shows msgs

In the last couple of days I stopped receiving email on my Mac in the Mail app, but not my PC. Both access POP3 accounts at the same ISP, different POP3 accounts. All software is patched to latest version using Software Update -- PowerMac G5 Dual, latest OSX version. On the Mac, connection doctor says I'm A-OK (internet connection, POP connection, SMTP connection.) Also, if I do a Get Info on the inbox and show messages on the server, it shows 75 messages on the server. I have not retrieved messages to my knowledge (so I don't think the server thinks I already downloaded them), and the "Messages that have been downloaded to my Mac" pulldown option in Get Info confirms this, by not showing any of the 75 messages in the Show all messages pulldown option. But -- Get Mail does nothing! I have tried rebooting, deleting and recreating the account, etc. Since I can get POP mail for another account at the same ISP on my PC, and I have touched nothing on the Mac, and all the diagnostics show the connection and POP3 chat is working perfectly, this very strange. I do not think I have applied any patches or anything that might screw it up, but who knows.
The only strange thing that might be a clue is the little spinning status indicator next to the InBox label runs for about 30 sec or so before it decides not to do anything -- seems a little long. Any suggestions? Any way to do detailed debugging of the POP3 session to see if the Mac-server conversation is wanked up somehow?
Thanks!
David

For POP accounts, Mail uses a file within the account folder to keep track of which messages have already been downloaded. Deleting it should cause Mail to download everything still on the server as if new. I don't think it'll work in your case, but try it anyway just to be sure:
1. Quit Mail.
2. In the Finder, go to ~/Library/Mail/POP-username@mailserver/.
3. Locate one or two files named MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded and move them to the Trash. Mail 1.x used MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded to keep track of which messages had already been downloaded. Mail 2.x uses MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded2 for the same purpose.
You can use the Account Info window first to remove from the server any messages you don't want to be downloaded again.
You may try creating a new user account in System Preferences > Accounts, set up mail anew there, and see whether the problem happens there as well.
Another thing you may try is using a different method to connect to Internet, if possible. Also, if Preferences > Check for new mail is set to Every minute, changing it to something greater (e.g. Every 5 minutes) might help.
Something that usually works is removing some messages from the server (download them with another mail client first, to avoid losing them). Sometimes, Mail chokes on a message it cannot download, and that prevents it from downloading the rest as well.
Any way to do detailed debugging of the POP3 session to
see if the Mac-server conversation is wanked up somehow?
Detailed debugging no, but looking at the Console could be informative:
1. Open /Applications/Utilities/Console.
2. From the File menu, choose either Open Console Log, or Open System Log, or both, so that the Console application displays the contents of both system.log and console.log.
3. Try to reproduce the problem and look at the bottom of the Console windows for messages that might be written there as a result. They may provide some clues as to what the problem is.

My iCloud alias can send mail but not receive.

My WoW accout was locked, and when I attempted to unlock it, I found my mail account was not working as always.
Then I tested the alias, I got the information below:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
    ***********@me.com
Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.1.1 unknown or illegal alias:***********@me.com (state 13).
----- Original message -----
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed;
       d=gmail.com; s=20120113;
       h=content-type:mime-version:subject:from:in-reply-to:date
        :content-transfer-encoding:message-id:references:to:x-mailer;
       bh=V0oXoDLEwMHEx+ww3XTHzzrb0E92s1Etf/mLuvzA8vc=;
       b=hUm5/IsOcoDffBkhCw7AK15WRjDfbhWl5m1/G0e1R1NR2ANvt7JT82y6NMLGhbuBlr
        wE7EzQRfGR2GXhakgGJ3l+7Us8F/iBR/lIcvQOsqRhaj0Q8leQ/VJ5FAEuwB2c2BB8rV
        bRqT6RXxG4boRZvRs/G3WV+3B8LLG8dJqTYZP9Ak1cixC+TnSL/yNiMB0nCNn0hgpJnx
        7AadYks8cmpQIsV7tSWvIxYHNLUyOU195nqKaotbUZw1nk9+IilLoVGRgm4lGtcIdmWo
        N015zfjStFcLPWlodUyqP/VULyyl8/f2W9Ikh/YOoXVdBWsskzHAYxiC8ddmzNUwysd2
        Zc7Q==
Received: by 10.66.73.227 with SMTP id o3mr14672827pav.78.1352645684448;
       Sun, 11 Nov 2012 06:54:44 -0800 (PST)
Return-Path: <ken.*******@gmail.com>
Received: from [192.168.1.101] ([183.2.180.167])
       by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id kb3sm2611894pbc.27.2012.11.11.06.54.42
       (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=OTHER);
       Sun, 11 Nov 2012 06:54:43 -0800 (PST)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 6.2 \(1499\))
Subject: Re: Do Not Delete This Message
From: "Ken M.Hwang" <ken.*******@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2012 22:54:37 +0800
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
To: "Ken M.Hwang" <ken.*******@me.com>
X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.1499)
OK
On 11 Nov, 2012, at 10:54 PM, "Ken M.Hwang" <***********@me.com> wrote:
This is a test message to identify if my e-mail alias is active.
This issue is very urgent, please help.

Oh, yeah. It only took two hours for the Support people to decide that. I'd already come to that conclusion several weeks ago. Being an ex-IT guy, I was reasonably confidant (probably without cause) that I could likely handle it if it were something on my end. But you have to let them go through their spiel.
I was hoping that someone else had had the problem and could shed some light on the cause.

I can send mail but cannot receive it. What is the problem???

I just purchased an iPad. I can send mail but not receive it. What is the problem????

beverly220 wrote:
Yes I get error messages. I can send & receive messages from our home computer & from a iPod Touch.
Are we supposed to guess what the error messages are that you get? We can't help unless you provide some information. We can not see your iPad so can not see the error messages.

I upgraded to lion today and just realized I am not receiving any mail. I can send out but not receive. i'm using a POP Road Runner account. Any help appreciated.

I just upgraded to Lion today and realized I'm not receiving any mail. I can send out but not receive. I am using a POP server Road Runner acct. Any help would be appreciated.

Try Mail->Window->Connection Doctor. If there is a problem reported, try:
Open Mail->Preferences and check your settings.
If you still have a problem, Copy your settings (screen capture ⇧⌘4), delete account, and re-setup account

Send OK but not receive mail

On iMac 10.7 can send mail but nor receive on my .me account? Any suggestions? My wireless iPad works fine. Thanks

Hi ellis, did you swith to iCloud yet?
The Mobile Me servers are gone now, if your incoming server says mail.me.com instead of imap.mail.me.com, then that's the problem.
Do not delete the old account yet. sign up for an iCloud account if you haven't.
I understand .mac mail will still come through. Do not delete the old account yet.
You cannot use .mac or MobileMe as type of Account, you have to choose IMAP when setting up, otherwise Mail is hard coded to change imap.mail.me.com to mail.me.com & smtp.mail.me.com to smtp.me.com, no matter what you try to enter.
iCloud Mail setup, do not choose .mac or MobileMe as type, but choose IMAP...
On second step where it asks "Description", it has to be a unique name, but you can still use your email address.
IMAP (Incoming Mail Server) information:
Server name: imap.mail.me.com
SSL Required: Yes
Port: 993
Username: [email protected] (use your @me.com address from your iCloud account)
Password: Your iCloud password
SMTP (outgoing mail server) information:
Server name: smtp.mail.me.com
SSL Required: Yes
Port: 587
SMTP Authentication Required: Yes
Username: [email protected] (use your @me.com address from your iCloud account)
Password: Your iCloud password
Also, you must upgrade your password to meet the new criteria: 8 characters, including upper and lower case and numbers. If you have an older password that does not meet these criteria, when you try to setup mail on your mac, using all of the IMAP criteria listed above, it will still give a server error message. Go to http://appleid.apple.com then follow directions to change your password, then go back to setting up your mail using the IMAP instructions above.
Thanks to dpepper...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3867171?tstart=0

I can send emails but not receive them. The sender address was rejected by the server

i can send emails but not receive them. The sender address was rejected by the server.

Your mail server doesn't like the sender's address for some reason, perhaps because his mail server has been blacklisted for spamming.

Can send SMS but not receive after update...

After updating my iPhone 4S to ios6 i have problems with receiving messages.I can send SMS but not receive. What to do?

Although I don't believe in consequences, I think this might be one of them. My email was working fine until I installed my VPN. I use the Thunderbird email application, which I like a lot, for three Hotmail accounts and two Yahoo accounts. After installing the VPN I could receive mail but could not send it on any of my accounts. I contacted the VPN and they sent me some numeric IP Addresses to put in my account settings. One for the Hotmail accounts and one for the Yahoo accounts. I did as instructed and the email seemed to work okay. It was late in the evening and I went to bed. The next morning, I could send and receive emails on the Yahoo accounts, but could only send emails on all of the Hotmail accounts.
I guess I'd like to know if anyone else is having this same problem. I'd hate to think it was just me. :-)
I would like for Thunderbird to tell me if there is a way to change the outgoing server in the Account Settings, so I can enter the IP Address in there, or does the fact that I entered an IP Address in the Server Name box, cause it to override any other entries? Or should that even make a difference with me receiving mail?
Also, at what time limit does Thunderbird send back a message that the connection to the server timed out? I continually get that message.
I found a way to do a ping on the Hotmail server and the fastest response time for the last two days was 258.09 which seems very slow for a business computer. At least for a business that wants to stay in business. So is that time above the Thunderbird threshold of the connection time out message to be generated?
Thanks for all your help and suggestions, Carole

HT1430 hey, I just reset my Apple ID and suddenly much of my Iphone text history disappeared. and I can send texts, but not receive any. what do I do? is this related to AppleID, or is the text issue from something else? thx!

hey, I just reset my Apple ID and suddenly much of my Iphone text history disappeared. and I can send texts, but not receive any. what do I do? is this related to AppleID, or is the text issue from something else? thx!

Hi blyther,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. If you're unable to receive texts, see this article for troubleshooting steps:
iOS: Troubleshooting Messages
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2755
Cheers,
- Ari

Why is mail sending messages but not receiving? problem just started.

not sure that anything has changed on my imac recently. i am running 10.7.3. i can send mail but it's not receiving. help appreciated.

benhill00,
Please look over Apple's Mail Setup, Troubleshooting etc.. link. I suspect a setting has just gotten "confused" or become corrupt somehow. Frequently all you need to do is go into the Mail's Account settings and re-input the settings.

How to send email but not receive it

Hi,
I have 2 email addresses, one for work, and one for other. I like my work email to be forwarded to my Gmail because it archives all of my messages. But in Mac Mail I want to send email from both accounts and only receive from my gmail. Currently I receive duplicate messages on every message because it gets mail from both places and if its a message to my work email, since its forwarded I get it twice.
I already checked, do not check this mailbox when automatically checking for updates, and that works some of the time, but if I need to hit the Get Mail button, it gets mail from that, and I go from 7 messages to 850.
So is there way to be able to have an email address just to send from and not get mail from?

what you describe is strange. how exactly do you forward messages from the work account to gmail? if you do it on the server then there should be no duplicates and your work mailbox on the server should be simply empty.
to send from two accounts yopu can try the following. delete the work account in Mail (that will delete all maiboxes associated with it). then add your work email address separated by command to your gmail address in mail preferences->accounts. also add the smtp server for that address to the list of smtp servers. you'll have to manually choose the "from' address and the smtp server when you send mail but it might work if your work smtp server doesn't complain (it might).

I can send mail but cannot receive it on my iMac since upgrading to Yosemite

I can send Mail but I cannot receive it on my iMac Mail account, have checked all account information and it is correct.

Hey phillipfrompaupack,
I see that you are having issues with your mail in Yosemite. Here is an article for you that will help you troubleshoot these issues:
OS X Mail: Troubleshooting sending and receiving email messages - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/ts3276
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
-Braden

TS3276 I am able to send mail but cannot receive mail. Can someone help?

I am able to send email but cannot receive mail. I am connected to internet. I can go thru Safari to receive.
Would appreciate any help.

What does Mail/Window/Connection Doctor Show? If the server is red, select it and look at the Show Details box.
Troubleshooting sending and receiving email messages

HT2500 hi - can't send mails but can receive them and use internet - pls help

Hi - please help, I can't seem to send mails but I can receive them and surf the net?

You need to open Mail>Preferences>Accounts>"Account Information" tab>and there input the required information for your Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP). Your Internet Service Provider will have the required information to give you to input here. Make sure that you also click at the end of the line "Outgoing Mail Server" on the arrows to get the dropdown list, and there click on "Edit SMTP Server List" and fill in the data in that resulting window also.

Cannot send mail but get receive mail

Cannot send mail but can receivr mail

I had this problem, too, when I took my laptop to work and tried to send mail using their wireless settings. (I have never had this problem with wireless internet at home.) After a lot of research it appeared to be a port issue. Apple and Yahoo directed me to contact AT&T, my email server provider, to inquire if there was another port setting or off-line port that could be used. This turned out to be too complicated because I had to get my boss's wireless codes, etc. I got around the whole thing by logging into my email through Yahoo rather than Apple's Mail program. This allowed me to send emails at work with no problems. Hope this helps.

Sending mail but not receiving

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