I’ve used Google’s email for a long time but with changes to their pricing and policy, I have moved all my email off to my ISP’s servers where I get free email accounts with the web space I already pay for. I have several email addresses and several year’s worth of history so it was a big job but eM Client did it for me quite well, moving whole folders of emails from one server to the other via IMAP.
I did this while evaluating the app and really like the interface. But after it was all moved over, I noticed the little triangle warning on three of my accounts when it checked for new email and no new messages were showing up for those three accounts. I mentioned this in another thread and was told to check server settings, turn off anti-virus, reboot my machine and other useless advice. The program had just moved thousands of emails, was connecting fine with identical ports and protocols to other addresses on the same mail server, and two other IMAP clients had no problems with the same accounts.
So I did some of my own digging and am convinced the problem is with the eM Client software, NOT the servers or any other setting on my computer. I’ll elaborate a little further as to why.
When configuring Accounts, there’s a “Diagnostics” tab; with both IMAP and SMTP checked, I clicked the Diagnose button for one of the problem accounts then looked at the generated log file. Scrolling down a ways, I noticed errors that look like something might be parsing the email incorrectly at some point because it lists a long set of characters as being an invalid IMAP command.
Reading through a few other forum posts here, this seems to be a problem that has been encountered before–the solution is never that the software could have a bug but it must be that server settings are incorrect or there’s some anti-virus that is causing the problem. What I found was that when I deleted the messages reference in the error log, the problem went away and I was finally able to get new messages. (That’s proof the server settings were not at fault.)
Now you might think that there must have been something terribly wrong with those emails but I viewed them just fine in another email client and looked and looked to try to find a weird character or large file attachment or something else–but they are just regular emails as far as I can tell. One other suggested cause mentioned in one of the forum posts was that it was a large email. I exported a whole thread of emails and then started deleting each one until all the problem messages were cleared out. I noticed that as I deleted each message, the processing would get a little further but then break on a different message; the largest message in the whole thread was just over a 1 MB. Size was not a problem.
Below is a large section of one of the log files showing the error–only my email address has been crossed out for privacy–I hope it is of use in finding the problem with eM Client.
16:23:36.227|0A6| 01: A5 OK List completed (0.011 + 0.000 + 0.010 secs).
16:23:36.227|0A6| >>> ListFoldersAsync(): Fake INBOX list notification added
16:23:36.230|0A6| >>> ListFoldersAsync(): End: 171 folders found
16:23:36.230|0A6| >>> Connection 1 is now spare
16:23:36.230|0A6| >>> Account folders synchronized
16:23:36.230|0A6| >>> UploadAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8)): Start
16:23:36.230|0A6| >>> AppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): Start
16:23:36.230|0A6| >>> DoAppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): Start
16:23:36.231|0A6| >>> FolderActivated(folder: /Sent [Sent]):
16:23:36.231|0A6| >>> DoAppendAsync(): Attempting catenate
16:23:36.231|0A6| 01: A6 APPEND "INBOX.INBOX.clients.Roberto (RPro8)" (\Seen clients/Roberto_(RPro8) Important) "12-Sep-2020 02:39:02 +0000" CATENATE (TEXT {236500+}
16:23:36.235|0A6| 01: A6 BAD Error in IMAP command APPEND: Invalid characters in atom (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.235|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.235|0A6| 01: Delivered-To: BAD Error in IMAP command [email protected]: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.235|0A6| 01: Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.235|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: X-Google-Smtp-Source: BAD Error in IMAP command ABDHPJZD7MKQVMINTNEYFSHQJV81CIXX0EUFHFLCXEFOMBC5XVNWYZWPOPQGXHSHJ4IDGOHXMYGY: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: X-Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: ARC-Seal: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: Delivered-To: BAD Error in IMAP command [email protected]: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: ARC-Message-Signature: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: X-Google-Smtp-Source: BAD Error in IMAP command ABDHPJZD7MKQVMINTNEYFSHQJV81CIXX0EUFHFLCXEFOMBC5XVNWYZWPOPQGXHSHJ4IDGOHXMYGY: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: X-Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: * BYE Too many invalid IMAP commands.
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: ARC-Seal: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: ARC-Message-Signature: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- RECEIVE: BYE EX
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- RECEIVE: CLOSED
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- CLOSE: PRIMARY START - NO LOGOUT
16:23:36.236|0A6| 01: --- CLOSE: PRIMARY FINISHED
16:23:36.236|0A6| >>> COMMAND CONNECTION EXCEPTION (retry: True): Connection was closed
16:23:36.236|0A6| >>> UploadAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8)): Start
16:23:36.236|0A6| >>> AppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): Start
16:23:36.236|0A6| 02: Connecting to mail.xxxxxxxxx.com:993 with TLS ...
16:23:36.249|0A6| 02: TLS stream established with Protocol: Tls12, NegotiatedCipherSuite: TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, CipherAlgorithm: Aes256, HashAlgorithm: Sha384
16:23:36.249|0A6| 02: * OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 SASL-IR LOGIN-REFERRALS ID ENABLE IDLE NAMESPACE LITERAL+ AUTH=PLAIN AUTH=LOGIN] Dovecot ready.
16:23:36.249|0A6| 02: A1 AUTHENTICATE PLAIN <Parameter removed for privacy reasons.>
16:23:36.259|0A6| 02: A1 OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 SASL-IR LOGIN-REFERRALS ID ENABLE IDLE SORT SORT=DISPLAY THREAD=REFERENCES THREAD=REFS THREAD=ORDEREDSUBJECT MULTIAPPEND URL-PARTIAL CATENATE UNSELECT CHILDREN NAMESPACE UIDPLUS LIST-EXTENDED I18NLEVEL=1 CONDSTORE QRESYNC ESEARCH ESORT SEARCHRES WITHIN CONTEXT=SEARCH LIST-STATUS BINARY MOVE SNIPPET=FUZZY PREVIEW=FUZZY PREVIEW STATUS=SIZE SAVEDATE NAMESPACE LITERAL+ NOTIFY SPECIAL-USE COMPRESS=DEFLATE QUOTA] Logged in
16:23:36.259|0A6| 02: A2 ID ("name" "eM Client" "version" "9.0.1361.0" "GUID" "EMCLIENT_V1" "vendor" "eM Client" "contact" "[email protected]")
16:23:36.263|0A6| 02: * ID ("name" "Dovecot")
16:23:36.263|0A6| 02: A2 OK ID completed (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.263|0A6| 02: Detected server type: Dovecot
16:23:36.263|0A6| 02: A3 ENABLE QRESYNC CONDSTORE
16:23:36.266|0A6| 02: * ENABLED QRESYNC CONDSTORE
16:23:36.266|0A6| 02: A3 OK Enabled (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.266|0A6| >>> DoAppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): Start
16:23:36.267|0A6| >>> DoAppendAsync(): Attempting catenate
16:23:36.267|0A6| 02: A4 APPEND "INBOX.INBOX.clients.Roberto (RPro8)" (\Seen clients/Roberto_(RPro8) Important) "12-Sep-2020 02:39:02 +0000" CATENATE (TEXT {236500+}
16:23:36.270|0A6| 02: A4 BAD Error in IMAP command APPEND: Invalid characters in atom (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.270|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: Delivered-To: BAD Error in IMAP command [email protected]: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: X-Google-Smtp-Source: BAD Error in IMAP command ABDHPJZD7MKQVMINTNEYFSHQJV81CIXX0EUFHFLCXEFOMBC5XVNWYZWPOPQGXHSHJ4IDGOHXMYGY: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: X-Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: Delivered-To: BAD Error in IMAP command [email protected]: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: ARC-Seal: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: X-Google-Smtp-Source: BAD Error in IMAP command ABDHPJZD7MKQVMINTNEYFSHQJV81CIXX0EUFHFLCXEFOMBC5XVNWYZWPOPQGXHSHJ4IDGOHXMYGY: Unknown command (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: ARC-Message-Signature: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: X-Received: BAD Error in IMAP command BY: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: ARC-Seal: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.001 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BAD Error in IMAP tag: Invalid tag (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: * BYE Too many invalid IMAP commands.
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- WARNING - Unknown server message: ARC-Message-Signature: BAD Error in IMAP command I=2;: Unknown command (0.000 + 0.000 secs).
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- RECEIVE: BYE EX
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- RECEIVE: CLOSED
16:23:36.271|0A6| 02: --- CLOSE: PRIMARY START - NO LOGOUT
16:23:36.271|0A6| >>> DoAppendAsync(): CATENATE disabled for the duration of this session
16:23:36.272|0A6| 02: --- CLOSE: PRIMARY FINISHED
16:23:36.272|0A6| >>> DoAppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): End: Error - Unknown transient failure
16:23:36.272|0A6| >>> AppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): APPEND FAILED
16:23:36.272|0A6| >>> AppendAsync(folder: /Inbox.clients.Roberto (RPro8), item: CY4PR16MB1493D7716541D4A0D0071F80A0250@CY4PR16MB1493.namprd16.prod.outlook.com): End
