Is AOL/Yahoo or eM Client causing connection issues?

Mail
1

Apologies in advance for a rather long post, but a very important one.

Configuration:
3 iOS devices using native Mail app
1 Windows (eM Client)
ISP: AOL (Yahoo)

Issue: About once or twice a week, eM Client will not connect to AOL and I get the red triangle/exclamation point next to the mailbox. I then try to use Mail on the iOS devices and they also give an connection error. If I close all mail apps just walk away from all the devices and return (in say 15 minutes) all is OK. Annoying because of Sod’s Law: only happens when I’m expecting an important message :slight_smile:

Background: 1. I had the same experience using Thunderbird which is one of the reasons I switched to eM Client. At first I had no issues, thought this issue was solved, but obviously it is not. 2. Recently I did not have access to my Windows/eM Client computer for about a month. During that time I only had the iOS devices and never had a problem.

I have always blamed AOL/Yahoo for this so I am considering switching to a different ISP. Perhaps it could it be that eM Client connects to the server in a way to gums up the works. When I was using Thunderbird someone on that forum blamed Apple and said they gum up the works.

So my question: Who is gumming up the works? AOL/Yahoo? eM Client? Perhaps there are different methods to opening connections to the servers that makes a difference?

I am willing to change providers (hate AOL) but it’s very important to know before going through the HUGE effort to do that, just to find out the issue was eM Client all along. (And I really want to keep eM Client!)

Thank you,

Joe

2

Based on what you said it sounds like your email provider is the issue (AOL/Yahoo). I would suggest looking for a higher quality email provider.

3

Thank you for the reply and I also conclude AOL/Yahoo is the issue. However, switching providers is not easy. Also I make it more difficult because I want to avoid Google, Microsoft, etc. as they are rather evil when it comes to privacy. Anyway, thanks again!

4

Here is one consideration if you want a good email provider that supports eM Client: Seamless email experience with eM Client and Imageway | eM Client

1 Like
5

jueves 01 junio 2023 :: 0738hrs (UTC +0100)

Do you want/need Free or Paid for email?
For Free - search with Google or Bing or DuckDuckGo for instance
For Paid for Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides an excellent service
competitively priced solution worldwide.
They are also easily contacted online, also with an immediate telephone
support & sales based in Glasgow UK
(I have no connection with them, however, they are highly recommended
by a large number of our clients in Banking, Insurance, Government,
Airlines etc,. They have been in business for about 25 years.

skybat

ÂĄBuena suerte!

ÂĄLos mejores desde Valencia la soleada y mantente a salvo!

[email protected]

Hablo español, luego portugués, inglés, francés y alemån
con conocimiento de varios otros idiomas.

1 Like
6

Hi,
I had the same problem and the guilty was the antivirus app (Avast). I hope that helps.

7

@Psiax

So my question: Who is gumming up the works? AOL/Yahoo? eM Client? Perhaps there are different methods to opening connections to the servers that makes a difference?

eM Client uses “the same standard connection authentication methods” as other modern mailers. eM Client has nothing to do with causing your connection to randomly not work.

As you get the same issue with Thunderbird and your iOS devices, then agree with @lancealot
and @skybat that it does sound like your mail provider is the problem Both AOL & Yahoo in the past definitely have had issues with many mail clients.

What can sometimes happen is eg: where mail servers can get overloaded & have not enough connections available at random times and you can then get mail clients not connecting as a result. So the mail server software needs to be updated to accommodate that. Lots of mail servers unfortunately “are not updated or maintained well enough” so the users suffer.

Random mail connection issues can also happen with Mail servers due to eg: saving money and “not buying enough bandwidth to cope” with the amount of users accessing the mailboxes etc.

So as long as you are running a recent version 8 or 9 of eM Client then there won’t be any eM Client related issues. eM Client was also updated a while ago to support the new Yahoo .API .

Apart from the mail client and mail server, the only other things that can sometimes cause random mail connection issues are optionally installed programs such as @Bnick says Antivirus programs.

Also optional Firewall / Security programs and VPNs can sometimes cause random connection issues. So if you have any optional programs installed like the above, try completely disabling those to test.
.

.

1 Like
8

Removed Avast Worked for me too. Thank you.

9

viernes 02 junio 2023 :: 1340hrs (UTC +0100)

Hey


To anyone who might be interested


Personally, there are no circumstances under which I would have Avast products on any of my computers , however, the choice is yours; though I do appreciate that for many ‘Free’ is an attraction, however, there is no such thing as free meal.

Avast doesn’t only cause problems with email!

In 2020 Avast was found to collect and sell Your Browsing History!

By default, Avast collects your web browsing activity and offers it to marketeers through their subsidiary named Jumpshot.
Companies who pay Avast/Jumpshot can view full “clickstream data” to see what Avast users are doing online.

The data collected is so granular that Jumpshot clients can view the individual clicks that Avast users are making on their browsing sessions, including the time right down to the millisecond.

The collected data is linked to a person’s name, email and or IP address. Each user history is assigned to an identifier called the device ID, which persists unless the user uninstalls the Avast antivirus product.

Not that I have anything to hide, I simply have very strong opinions about this sort of activity and why I take this stance about my personal computers and company systems.
Further that my company could not offer the security that we do to our government, banking, insurance and blue chip clients, and potentially lose their trust.

As an alternative Microsoft’s Windows Defender, which is integrated into all versions of Windows 10 and above, and of course is free. Microsoft’s antivirus doesn’t have an agenda beyond keeping antivirus off your computer.

It doesn’t track your web browsing!

I combine this with Malwarebytes
and
Mailwasher Pro world leading anti-spam software
and
Surfshark VPN

I/we have never had any virus etc problems plus eMC works perfectly for me on all my computers.

skybat

ÂĄBuena suerte!

ÂĄLos mejores desde Barcelona la soleada y mantente a salvo!

[email protected]

Hablo español, luego portugués, inglés, francés y alemån
con conocimiento de varios otros idiomas.

1 Like
10

Hi @cyberzork

I know this is quite a delay from the original post–regarding intermittent inability to connect to AOL/Yahoo)–but here goes


Having worked on “behind the scenes” technology, this makes sense.

However, my laptop has eMClient for Windows. Twice in the last year I was travelling and away from my laptop. I only used iOS devices for about 2 weeks. I had no connection problems at all.

Incidentally, the second time I was without Windows I was using the new eMClient for iOS on one of the “iThings”.

So perhaps this is not an AOL/Yahoo issue after all?

Perhaps some difference in eMClient for Windows vs iOS?

I really don’t want to be on AOL, but changing mail ISPs is an experience I am avoiding (having to change online accounts, etc.)

Joe

11

@Psiax

Twice in the last year I was travelling and away from my laptop. I only used iOS devices for about 2 weeks. I had no connection problems at all

Incidentally, the second time I was without Windows I was using the new eMClient for iOS on one of the “iThings”.

Ok as eM Client iOS app could access your email ok while you were travelling, could then be your home internet connection is causing the problem, apart from any possible Windows issues.

Can you connect ok to AOL / Yahoo using your iOS device & eM Client mob app via “your home internet wifi connection”, or do you have the same connection or random connection problem at home like eM Client for Windows ?.

If you can connect ok to your mail accounts at home with your iOS device but not with eM for Windows, then that means normally something is running on your Windows PC causing that issue.

Now if you can’t connect to your mail accounts using your iOS device & eM Client app “via your home internet connection” or “you are getting random connection issues”, then there must be some issue with the home internet connection.

To see if your home internet is the issue “as you have a Windows laptop”, connect your laptop to your mobile via hotspot and see if that works ok with eM Client. If it does you know it’s your home internet connection somewhere causing it.

Perhaps some difference in eMClient for Windows vs iOS?

The main difference is that iOS devices use thin clients that don’t need anywhere the same amount of memory or processor speed to get the same data compared to heavy memory and processor dependent Windows & Mac PC’s.

So if your home internet is eg: not stable enough or not a constant speed and maybe delaying etc, then a desktop client can have connection problems.

12

Thank you for the reply!

When the intermittent issue occurs, all devices (3 iOS and 1 Windows) affected. But I only have issues at home. Only use eMClient for Windows at home. When not at home (no Windows), seem to have no problems.

I believe I have a very robust internet connection. Over many years, I have had almost no issues with any other applications or devices. It’s fiber and the speed is very constant.

So I very much doubt it is a wifi issue.

I can still appreciate that there could be a server issue (overloaded at times, etc.). Both Windows and iOS devices are affected when the issue occurs, which is about once per day, on home/wifi, and transient (that is, wait about 10 minutes and it usually resolves).

But my question: I was given to understand iOS Mail (and maybe eMClient iOS too?) “talks” to mail servers differently than Windows apps. If that is the case, could that not cause the server to “get upset” about this and temporarily block access?

Joe

13

@Psiax

It’s fiber and the speed is very constant

Both Windows and iOS devices are affected when the issue occurs, which is about once per day, on home/wifi, and transient (that is, wait about 10 minutes and it usually resolves).

Ok as your home internet is very constant as you advised, and this intermittent issue affects both your iOS device and Windows computer when it happens, then that does sound like mail server connection issues or some external connection issue getting to your mail servers.

But my question: I was given to understand iOS Mail (and maybe eMClient iOS too?) “talks” to mail servers differently than Windows apps.

IOS Mail Apps “work exactly the same”, except as I mentioned in my earlier post, they don’t need anywhere near the same amount of memory or processor speed to get the same mail data. They can also appear quicker due to the thin client