I have a client on a Hostgator VPS that is having problems receiving emails. It will work for a while and then it stops working and she can no longer receive emails on any devices (she can get to emails in webmail). She is using mac mail, iOS mail and Thunderbird. If she deletes email accounts on her phone and desktop and then re-establishes connection, she can receive mail again for a period of time and then it happens again. Does anyone have any ideas about what may be causing this and what I need to look at to fix? Thank you!
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This whole area can be a nightmare to deal with. There could be many reasons for it, but in the end I just switched to an external service (Google Apps) to my great relief.
Perhaps say a bit more about how things are set up.
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As you are running on VPS, I assume that you have access to the server logs. Is there any error recorded when she could not receive email?
And when saying she could not receive email, is that on her devices, or on server too? Can she see emails from webmail?
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Yes, I do have access to server logs. I have looked at them but I’m not 100% sure what I am looking at. We have had Hostgator look at them and they have not seen any errors/problems. She can not receive email on devices. She can see them on server/webmail.
If she deletes connection and then re-establish them, they work for days, a week, maybe two weeks. Then device by device they start throwing an “invalid password” error or “can’t get mail” error or outgoing sits in the outbox and won’t send. At Hostgators recommendation, she has tried it with ssl and then without ssl. Same scenario occurs. It works for a while and then it stops again.
If she can see emails on server, the chance is connection between her devices and server. Have you checked the internet connection? The DNS of domain? Is it happening at the same time with both phone and desktop?
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I ran a DNS health check on Pingdom and found the following Delegation errors: Superfluous name server listed at parent, Superfluous name server listed at parent, Total parent/child glue mismatch, Too few IPv4 name servers (1). Could this be causing a problem? Thanks for your help!
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This seems that the domain has some missing config. You should check both in domain control panel and hosting account (or where the dns actually runs).
What type of control panel are you using on the account? I was thinking that perhaps it was a problem with the control panel but since you can restore your mail and it works fine for a time I don’t know if that is the root cause. Seems like HG would know if there was something that was fouling the mail delivery. I have heard of this happening on occasion but I have never followed to the resolution. I will keep an eye out for any solid answers.
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I’ve just wasted quite a few hours with a client whose e-mail has stopped working (iPhone AND Windows desktop). After setting up her e-mail account on my server (and accessing her Webmail account) AND having my host’s support doing the same thing, I’ve informed her that the problem is with her ISP (Verizon) either via her modem or blocking her SECURE e-mail ports. It was very frustrating all around.
Regards,
DK
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Control panel is cPanel and WHM
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Very interesting DK. Yes, a very frustrating problem! Was the problem with your client sending or receiving email or both? Was it resolved by changing port? My client uses Uverse for house and Verizon for mobile.
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The problem was evidenced by a sudden lack of connectivity with my mail server. I was able to create the account and download e-mail (without opening OR deleting from the server - whew!). There was NO change of port, just a sudden failure of Verizon to provide connectivity. There is a new modem on the way to the client so I’ll have to report back later.
Regards,
DK
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Message from client:
YAHOO!
Got the new router in the mail today - it works!!!!
Okay, it was not a change in ports (or port blocking) by Verizon, just a bum modem.
Regards,
DK
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have you ask your client if port 25 someshow blocked by their ISP?
try change SMTP port to 587 and apply these setting on client side too.
Ask your web host to look into it for you they can tell you by examining the logs if your vps is managed.
I have the same issue. Can anyone solve my issue?
Have you tried the above suggestions? If you have, and you’re still experiencing difficulties, then you’ll need to provide some more details.
for TechnoBear. It’s just too typical not to get the information needed to help members and this was certainly the case here.
Back a few posts, someone suggested using port 587 rather than port 25. That will cause (most) e-mail clients to ENCRYPT the posts (and automatically encrypt the password - but do NOT tell your client to encrypt as it’s already been done and a double encryption WILL not connect).
If you still have any question on this, best to contact your ISP as they will almost always have a web page explaining how to log into their mail servers on 25 OR an encrypted port - and it’s their job to help you connect!
Regards,
DK