Afternoon all,
I have had a most unproductive day trying to work out why after four years my outlook 2007 has stopped sending messages. Not just my machine either, the other two have exactly the same problem. Have checked all the usual suspects (put in every port listed and run tests ect.) and even resorted to phoning Orange for assistance as I think the problem is at their end. They demanded fifty Euro before allowing us to talk to a technician! Being a skinflint (and truly believing that the tech guys at Orange are still using Minitel) I wondered if anybody had come across this problem and managed to resolve it.
Many thanks,
Bernadette
I'm not saying it's the cheapest, nor that it's the most suitable option for light users of e-mail, but there's less hassle in the long term (after the initial configuration hurdle).
If you simply read your e-mail and then delete it, then a pop3 mailbox is fine (and you can have a vanity domain too). If you have relatively simple needs to organise your e-mail into folders then IMAP is also an option, albeit with shortcomings.
If you're used to the corporate world with Outlook via HTTP into Exchange letting you use rules to organise your vast e-mail inflows into a hierarchy, that you can access wherever you are, whichever computer you use, then if you need something similar for yourself as an individual, then simple mailboxes aren't up to the job, even with IMAP.
E-mail via Google Apps gives the private individual something very close to the organisational facility and power of Outlook/Exchange, but without the need for a corporate IT department with servers and support staff.
Horses for courses, but as I said, it's the most hassle-free e-mail solution I'm currently aware of.
The most hassle-free e-mail solution I'm currently aware of is Google Apps in combination with your own domain name.
So, if you've not already got one, register your domain name at ~£10 per annum, having as many e-mail addresses as you like, such as fred@fredbloggs.me, and subscribe to Google Apps at £33pa+VAT (30 day free eval). Once configured, you can then have your domain redirect to Google's web mail facility, so you can access your mail anywhere in the world simply by typing in mail.fredbloggs.me in any web browser. Google also has the best anti-spam filter. And yes, your e-mail can also be accessed via Outlook (and other clients too). I have set this up for two people so far (not me, as I use my own Exchange server), because the initial configuration is fairly technical.
I should add that Microsoft is now trying to provide a similar, competitive service to Google Apps, but it may end up being yet another 'also ran' (even if it may be better).
Agree Bob, In saying that BT (and have done for some years), not as the provider but as the domain name which cost me £1.50 a month (or about) and like you state you can redirect all other mail addresses, use Outlook (or similar if you wish) and a web based mail portal......
Well, I was going to suggest local firewall/anti-virus, but because you mentioned several PCs were all affected I (incorrectly) ruled that out as a possibility as I assumed they wouldn't all have the same firewall/anti-virus software installed. I'll add it back as a number 4) check next time... :-}
Incidentally, smtp-msa.orange.fr:587 is generally the better configuration option for outgoing server.
Checked all of the top three repeatedly, nothing had been changed.
Tried A with no joy. I am still receiving emails but my POP3 is not Orange.
And whilst writing found my problem............. It as not Orange but Avast. Had updated and the outbound email scan was blocking!
Thank you all for the suggestions. :)
I think the easiest way out would be to post via a free pop3 server.....
Let's get the 'have you plugged it in' type checks out of the way:
1) Have you changed your Orange username/password - and not updated Outlook with the new one?
2) Can you still log on and access your e-mail via the webmail facility at Orange's web site?
3) You haven't changed/reset your router's firewall settings?
Then try:
A) Changing Outlook's outbound SMTP settings to smtp-msa.orange.fr and port 587.
Their domestic hotline support is almost as legendarily bad as Nero's burning of Rome.
They changed their DNS addresses again and not flushed the caches on the routers ?
It really is bizarre, all machines were working perfectly and overnight lost the ability to send. Am off to look for someone with SFR broadband to check that is not a microsoft problem. OH did try Thunderbird yesterday and that traced the error back to Orange. They, as usual, deny all.
On the upside the cheap wifi repeater I picked up works brilliantly and I can now fail to send messages from anywhere on the property ;)
Haven't used their SMTP servers for ages, as I travel a lot, my laptops are set up to use Gmail's servers so I can send mail anywhere I can get a connection. I do have a lot of customers who are Orange customers and I haven't seen any problems on their setups.
They are not likely to go public on this are they.
That would explain it, and the reluctance of Orange to look into the problem. Thank you Michael.
Sounds like a virus their end Bernadette, it seems to be happening a lot with orange lately.
Get ready for a few unusual emails.