Common Mail Problems

Do you have an internet connection?

Browse to any website to see if you have a connection (e.g. google.com). If you’re reading this article from the computer or device with the trouble email, then your internet connection is fine.

Can you access your Webmail?

Try to access your email with Webmail. If you can’t log in, and you’re sure that your email address is correct, then you probably have a password error. Please check that the you’re entering is correct.

Is this a new email setup?

Some common errors during setup

  • User Name needs to be the full email address
  • The SMTP port is 465
  • Select SSL/TLS

Is this a new domain?

DNS propagation will need to complete before the email is fully active, as the incoming and outgoing server names (mail.yourdomain and smtp.yourdomain) will not be found. Alternatively, the IP address can be used instead of the server names until propagation has completed – which can take up to 72 hours.

Is this domain in the process of being transferred to OOWEBOO?

It’s a good idea to set up your new email addresses before the domain has been transferred, while still maintaining the previous email setups. In this way you can avoid losing any email during the transfer process, while email may be delivered to both the old and new hosting servers.

The names of the incoming server (mail.yourdomain) and outgoing server (smtp.yourdomain) will need to be temporarily replaced with the IP address of the hosting server.

If there are issues with mail after the transfer and propagation has completed, it is possible that MX records from the previous host are interfering and need to be corrected.

Are you using Mac Mail?

s your mail suddenly giving errors, possibly after an update? Take note of the following advanced settings:

  • Automatically detect and maintain account settings is not ticked
  • Use SSL is ticked
  • Authentication is set to Password

Check that these settings are saved by exiting the Accounts tab and then re-opening and confirming that the settings are still correct – unfortunately these settings often revert back on exit.

Can you receive but not send?

Check your Outgoing SMTP server settings, particularly:

  • that the server is smtp.domain (e.g. smtp.example.co.za)
  • that the port is 465

Can you send but not receive?

Check your Incoming Server settings:

  • The server name is mail.domain (e.g. mail.example.co.za)
  • Pop is port 995
  • IMAP is port 993

Table of Contents