# Thunderbird email client fails to connect to ANY pop3 server



## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

The past couple days that is. I can still go to email website just fine. But I want my pop3 email. Why are they ALL not connecting. Oh and I updated Thunderbird to latest version, same thing. Oh and I tried some alternative email clients. Geary doesnt do pop3, only imap. Evolution refuses to believe I have an internet connection so wont try, telling me I am offline. Seriously why not try and then inform me of failure? How does it know if I have internet until it tries? Sylpheed tries but also fails to connect.

So am I being blocked somehow, my internet is through usb tether to my cell phone. Why ALL four of the pop3 servers and just for past couple days??? Oh I can open a terminal and ping the pop3 servers. So they are up and active. Shouldnt be able to do that if pop3 servers are blocked.

Another curiosity still have an old AOL email account, remains of AOL recently bought by Verizon. And now requires @aol.com tacked onto my username. Fine but for some time Thunderbird will let me update my server settings but then wont remember the change next time I boot up. Oh and gmail just doesnt like it cause I dont want to let them follow me around the web by synching every thing and staying logged out of my gmail account. So they do occasionally block access "for security reasons" until I log in and tell them its still me and not to worry their pretty little blonde heads about it. Cant just accept I dont want big brother hovering and spying so they know everytime I pass gas.


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## Rural Kanuck (Apr 13, 2020)

The Thundrbird update a few days ago had a problem its now fixed so simply update again and everything will work fine!


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

If it's all 4 servers at once, my guess is your ISP started blocking whatever port Tbird is using for those POP accounts (are they all using the same port?). Usually the email providers will have whatever server settings they like on their website; if not, just try some standard POP port numbers and see if something works. If nothing works, maybe try IMAP instead of POP.

By the way, good to see you posting again. You were gone so long, I thought you may have departed the planet.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Hmm, could be all same port, just odd, have to look. I know they used to block smtp port 25 if I remember, but email started using alternate ports. I dont remember any ever blocking the pop3 port. They blocked port 25 cause they didnt want spammers using it to send out oodles of junk email on their server. That was long time ago. There would be no reason to block incoming mail.

I updated to latest version Thunderbird this morning. So should be corrected version. Sylpheed was only other one I could get to even try and it failed too. Not related to Thunderbird or Mozilla. Better chance the port is being blocked but why??? Afraid I am getting too much email? Oh well, will try a different version linux just in case. But wont help if its the isp.

Oh, not dead yet, but days I feel bit like death warmed over, least no stamina to do anything except basic chores and read some. Going to get groceries is a big adventure and I get home and stuff put away, thats it for the day.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Well, in my experience, mail servers and ISPs do whatever they want with ports without bothering to tell anyone when they make changes, and you just have to figure out why it stopped working and what will make it work again.

Earlier this year I accidentally discovered some dietary changes that did quite a bit for my energy level and overall health. I was trying to remineralize a tooth (which I did manage to save... in a little plastic bag ) so read up on dietary & nutritional requirements for that. Turns out, the same things are pretty good for the rest of you too; who knew? Very simply, it's nutrient-dense, lots of good fats, no bad fats, no sugar. Accidentally lost some extra weight, and have more energy and alertness through more of the day. Basically, lots of eggs, meat, butter, cheese. For fats, lots of dairy fats, meat fats; avocado, peanut, coconut oils are good too. Nothing you'd find in the grocery store labeled vegetable oil, or Crisco etc., zero refined (white or brown) sugar on most days, little bread. Honey and maple syrup/sugar are OK. My typical breakfast (and main meal) now is a baked potato with lots of butter & cheese, maybe fried onions, sour cream, a little meat, etc., with 2 fried eggs on top. Try it for a week or so; who knows, might help, and can't hurt. Lots of info on the web if you want to do a bit of research.


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## Hiro (Feb 14, 2016)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Well, in my experience, mail servers and ISPs do whatever they want with ports without bothering to tell anyone when they make changes, and you just have to figure out why it stopped working and what will make it work again.
> 
> Earlier this year I accidentally discovered some dietary changes that did quite a bit for my energy level and overall health. I was trying to remineralize a tooth (which I did manage to save... in a little plastic bag ) so read up on dietary & nutritional requirements for that. Turns out, the same things are pretty good for the rest of you too; who knew? Very simply, it's nutrient-dense, lots of good fats, no bad fats, no sugar. Accidentally lost some extra weight, and have more energy and alertness through more of the day. Basically, lots of eggs, meat, butter, cheese. For fats, lots of dairy fats, meat fats; avocado, peanut, coconut oils are good too. Nothing you'd find in the grocery store labeled vegetable oil, or Crisco etc., zero refined (white or brown) sugar on most days, little bread. Honey and maple syrup/sugar are OK. My typical breakfast (and main meal) now is a baked potato with lots of butter & cheese, maybe fried onions, sour cream, a little meat, etc., with 2 fried eggs on top. Try it for a week or so; who knows, might help, and can't hurt. Lots of info on the web if you want to do a bit of research.


I don't get befuddled often. But, you got me with the 2nd paragraph.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Hiro said:


> I don't get befuddled often. But, you got me with the 2nd paragraph.


Should I have noted that it won't help with the mail servers?


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## Hiro (Feb 14, 2016)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Should I have noted that it won't help with the mail servers?


I am not sure how you could have prepped me for that non sequitur. The problem is on my end, carry on.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Hiro said:


> I am not sure how you could have prepped me for that non sequitur. The problem is on my end, carry on.


Well it did "sequitur" John's last paragraph in his last post above.


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## Hiro (Feb 14, 2016)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Well it did "sequitur" John's last paragraph in his last post above.


Yep, problem on my end.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

did "telnet pop.email.domain 995" Got unable to connect. Same with 110. So yea ports are blocked one way or another. Even opened a new free gmx.com account on Thunderbird run from live linux MX19 dvd. Thunderbird couldnt connect to check password in its automated setup. though I set it up with FIrefox in MX19.

I just never heard of blocking incoming email ports. Oh yea they have the imap blocked too, tried that. Now hmmm... since I am tethered to cell phone for my internet, is it possible the cell phone is blocking the ports? Will have to try different cell phone.

Already low carb, cant do potatoes or starchy stuff due to diabetes. Lot veggies, eggs, and flax/sunnies/etc.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

You can use nmap to scan the ports. You'll want to read the man page, but what you need to do is pretty simple:

nmap -p <port-number> <host>

So,

nmap -p 993 imap.mail.yahoo.com

Adjust accordingly for your case.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I couldn't get the html version of gmail for several days. Then it suddenly started working again. I didn't update or change anything.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

[email protected]:~# nmap -p 995 pop.gmx.com
Starting Nmap 7.70 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2021-10-16 21:02 CDT
Nmap scan report for pop.gmx.com (212.227.17.171)
Host is up (0.0051s latency).
Other addresses for pop.gmx.com (not scanned): 212.227.17.187

PORT STATE SERVICE
995/tcp filtered pop3s

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.78 seconds


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

HermitJohn said:


> PORT STATE SERVICE
> 995/tcp filtered pop3s


So 995 is being filtered somewhere along the line. If 110 is also being filtered, you're hosed for POP3, unless the servers can use nonstandard ports that aren't being filtered. But if 110 shows open, then it just might work if you turn off encryption, or try a different encryption.

But you might want to switch to IMAP anyway, as it has some advantages over POP3. I would try creating new IMAP accounts in Tbird, and see if its automatic account setup works. It does most of the time.

Your ISP probably started filtering POP3 ports for security, figuring that no one uses it anymore, which is true, mostly. Chances are pretty good that IMAP will work fine.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Ok, the imap blocked too. And yes both 995 and 110 blocked, I have one email using 110 though most moved to 995. I even installed K9 email client on the Motorola phone. Nope, it cant access imap email, doesnt do pop3.

Now had night to sleep on it. So took the SIM out of the unlocked Motorola E2 I had been trying out and put back in my old Sonim (feature phone based on limited Android 4.4). Tethered to it and no problem, Thunderbird can get pop3 again. Its the phone not the network blocking ports.

The Motorola E2 has Android 6. Are there settings on it that could block pop3. Not that I care that much though be nice to get pop3 when tethered to it. For me phone is mostly for voice calls and to tether the computer. But am curious. The Sonim is dang big chunky thing to carry around, but fine to tether and battery charge lasts forever. The Motorola is smaller, was in nice shape, unlocked, and less than $20. Fresh reset of Android when I bought it. But I frankly could care less about apps on a phone. I turned off most of the Google ones built in that couldnt be removed. Thats cruel to install bunch junk that cant be removed on phone with limited space. Hmm... suppose I could have disabled some app on the phone that caused the blocking of pop3??


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I am not a computer guru and I don't play one on tv. Have you tried getting it back using this method?






How To Configure Windows Mail App To Connect To A POP/IMAP Mailbox







kb.intermedia.net


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

HermitJohn said:


> The Motorola E2 has Android 6. Are there settings on it that could block pop3.


I don't know, I never use my phone to tether, but I would think it's unlikely. Android locks stuff like that down pretty hard unless you've rooted the phone.

One solution would be to run a VPN on the computer. That would bypass anything the phone wants to block. But you might not want to mess with that since it works with the other phone.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Danaus29 said:


> I am not a computer guru and I don't play one on tv. Have you tried getting it back using this method?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The settings in the email client are ok, my internet is by tethering my computer to my cell phone and sharing the phone's data/web. I can tether with either phone after swapping the SIM card. BUT the Motorola phone lets me tether but has ports closed/filtered that are needed for pop3 or IMAP email. I can surf, just cant use email client on either my tethered computer or the phone itself. I tried by installing a third party email client called K9 on the Motorola phone.

The other phone, also can tether and email client works so ports arent blocked on it. This is with same exact SIM card so its not the phone company blocking the ports, its in the phone. I am not that knowledgeable with Android. Its not a rooted phone, so I am limited to whats basically a user account. I cant make basic changes under the hood. So depends why these ports are blocked, was it done at root lever or at user level. I would have no earthly idea why it would be blocked in an unlocked phone (GSM phone not locked to any provider), so assume its probably some user setting. I turned off bunch Google apps I couldnt uninstall so maybe disabling those apps also blocked the email ports??? I suppose I can turn those apps back on though thats tedious. Seriously dont like all the Google big brother stuff baked into Android phones. But Google and Apple have cell phone market tied up and both are heavy into the big brother stuff. And lot so called third party apps make money tracking and data collection. So whole cell phone thing is a big scam.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

backwoodsman7 said:


> I don't know, I never use my phone to tether, but I would think it's unlikely. Android locks stuff like that down pretty hard unless you've rooted the phone.
> 
> One solution would be to run a VPN on the computer. That would bypass anything the phone wants to block. But you might not want to mess with that since it works with the other phone.


I have never heard of any cell provider blocking email, remember the email client K9 that I installed on the Motorola phone cant get through either. thus highly unlikely an unlocked GSM phone is going to block email by default. I turned off bunch baked in Google nonsense so assume it was probably me that unintentionally changed some setting. And probably have to reverse that one by one. Or I could just reset the phone I suppose. Bleh. Painful enough the first time trying to avoid setting up a Google account. Lot built in gotchas to keep people from doing this, not straight forward at all. I sideloaded F-droid and us it rather than Google store.


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