iCloud mail outage, no advanced warning, disgusted

[dan1000]

I hope I'm the only one this has happened to, but I suspect I am not. On Friday, and again today, although I could log in to iCloud with no problem and access my calender, contacts, etc., I could not access my mail. Clicking the mail icon resulted in an error message (details appended below). Additionally, all my other devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone) cannot log in to retrieve mail. Please note that I had no problem logging in to iCloud itself. My problem is in accessing mail using either iCloud or any of the mail applications. Note also my password/username has not changed recently.

Apple Express Lane Support (excellent service, in general) told me that my account was being migrated to a new server as part of the move away from MobileMe to iCloud, and that it should be done within the next 24 hours or so.

Scheduled maintenance, I can accept. What seems wholly unacceptable to me is this:

1) 24+ hours of downtime while migrating someone's account from one server to another is unprofessional.

2) When a user is going to be affected by an outage, the user should be told in advance ("scheduled maintenance"). This was not done in my case.

I hope none of you are similarly affected, but if you are, please let me know. BTW, the remainder of my family, which also have iCloud accounts, are not having this problem. Their email works fine. I've also tried accessing my iCloud mail from their computers, to no avail.

Any suggestions?

Sincerely

Dan

Summary of the error message from the iCloud error window's "details" pane:
ISFATAL
true

APPLICATIONNAME
mail

TITLE
Mail could not be loaded

MESSAGE
There was a problem loading the application due to a possible network error or missing resources. Please try again.

LOG
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: MAIL in main()
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: WARN: Attempting to process mailprefs from CloudOS…
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: WARN: Rejecting mailprefs from CloudOS because timeZone information is unavailable in mailprefs
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 1: POST to https://p99-mailws.icloud.com:443/w...5&id=931070F54E16D63A222FDB6307B231251FFB3EF0, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: ----------------> Request out: /wm/preference-list-->1342482308323/1
wmsid: 42
params: {"locale":"en-us","timeZone":"Pacific/Honolulu"}
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc1129:dispatch('load content')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: "2.0 Waiting for Content" handled event 'load content' (no transition)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc2514:dispatch('noContent')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: "6.2 pop up View" handled event 'noContent' with a transition to "6.2.2 No Content"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: -> entering "6.2.2 No Content"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Attempting to load 'addresses'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'addresses' is not loaded, loading now.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Loading JavaScript file in 'addresses' -> '/applications/mail/frameworks/addresses/en-us/1K63/javascript.js'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc3420:initStatechart()
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: -> entering "9 Address List Not Visible"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: ContactsAutocomplete name order preference set: 'first,last'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 2: GET to https://p02-contactsws.icloud.com:4...7B231251FFB3EF0&locale=en_US&order=last,first, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'addresses' finished loading.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Evaluating and invoking callbacks for 'addresses'.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'addresses' has completed loading, invoking callbacks.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:09 GMT: DEBUG: APPLICATION: Received applicationWillBecomeActive
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:09 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 2: 200 (913ms, suspended for 62ms), headers: Cache-Control=no-cache, no-store, private, Content-Type=application/json; charset=UTF-8 body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:09 GMT: WARN: APPLICATION: Received applicationDidBecomeActive
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 1: 200 (8533ms), headers: Content-Type=application/json-rpc; charset=UTF-8 body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: <---------------- Request in: /wm/preference-list-->1342482308323/1,httpStatus: 200,round trip time: 8532ms, wmsid: 42
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 3: POST to https://p99-mailws.icloud.com:443/w...5&id=931070F54E16D63A222FDB6307B231251FFB3EF0, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: ----------------> Request out: /wm/folder-list-->1342482316893/2
wmsid: 42
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc1129:dispatch('load content')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: "2.0 Waiting for Content" handled event 'load content' (no transition)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Prefetching module 'cloudkit/error_catcher'.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Loading CSS file in 'cloudkit/error_catcher' -> '/applications/mail/frameworks/cloudkit/error_catcher/en-us/1K63/stylesheet.css'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Loading JavaScript file in 'cloudkit/error_catcher' -> '/applications/mail/frameworks/cloudkit/error_catcher/en-us/1K63/javascript-strings.js'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'cloudkit/error_catcher' finished loading.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'cloudkit/error_catcher' was prefetched, not evaluating until needed.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 3: 200 (5592ms), headers: Content-Type=application/json-rpc; charset=UTF-8 body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: <---------------- Request in: /wm/folder-list-->1342482316893/2,httpStatus: 200,round trip time: 5592ms, wmsid: 42,104,no imap connection
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: FolderDataSource.localFetchResponse error = 104/no imap connection
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc1129:dispatch('propertyChanged')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: ERROR: Bootstrap error: FolderList.LoadFailed.ServerError
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: "2.0 Waiting for Content" handled event 'propertyChanged' with a transition to "2.1 Folder List Item"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: <- leaving "2.0 Waiting for Content"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: -> entering "2.1 Folder List Item"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:09 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 4: POST to https://p99-mailws.icloud.com:443/wm/ping?dsid=128047505&id=931070F54E16D63A222FDB6307B231251FFB3EF0, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:09 GMT: DEBUG: ----------------> Request out: /wm/ping-list-->1342482849830/3
wmsid: 42
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:14 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 4: 200 (4740ms), headers: Content-Type=text/html body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:14 GMT: DEBUG: <---------------- Request in: /wm/ping-list-->1342482849830/3,httpStatus: 200,round trip time: 4740ms, wmsid: 42


ORIGIN
server

TYPE
error

APPSTATECHART
SC.Statechart:sc763
initialized: true
name: cloudos-statechart
current-states: [
active.application.displayingCurrentApp
]
state-transition:
active: false
suspended: false
handling-event: false


BUILDNUMBER
1K.53438

TIME
Mon Jul 16 2012 14:02:52 GMT-1000 (HST) (1342483372809)

HOST
www.icloud.com

USERAGENT
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_7_4) AppleWebKit/534.57.2 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1.6 Safari/534.56.5

DSID
128047505

PRSID
128047505

RECENTLOGMESSAGES
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: MAIL in main()
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: WARN: Attempting to process mailprefs from CloudOS…
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: WARN: Rejecting mailprefs from CloudOS because timeZone information is unavailable in mailprefs
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 1: POST to https://p99-mailws.icloud.com:443/w...5&id=931070F54E16D63A222FDB6307B231251FFB3EF0, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: ----------------> Request out: /wm/preference-list-->1342482308323/1
wmsid: 42
params: {"locale":"en-us","timeZone":"Pacific/Honolulu"}
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc1129:dispatch('load content')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: "2.0 Waiting for Content" handled event 'load content' (no transition)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc2514:dispatch('noContent')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: "6.2 pop up View" handled event 'noContent' with a transition to "6.2.2 No Content"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: -> entering "6.2.2 No Content"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Attempting to load 'addresses'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'addresses' is not loaded, loading now.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Loading JavaScript file in 'addresses' -> '/applications/mail/frameworks/addresses/en-us/1K63/javascript.js'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc3420:initStatechart()
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: -> entering "9 Address List Not Visible"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: ContactsAutocomplete name order preference set: 'first,last'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 2: GET to https://p02-contactsws.icloud.com:4...7B231251FFB3EF0&locale=en_US&order=last,first, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'addresses' finished loading.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Evaluating and invoking callbacks for 'addresses'.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:08 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'addresses' has completed loading, invoking callbacks.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:09 GMT: DEBUG: APPLICATION: Received applicationWillBecomeActive
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:09 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 2: 200 (913ms, suspended for 62ms), headers: Cache-Control=no-cache, no-store, private, Content-Type=application/json; charset=UTF-8 body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:09 GMT: WARN: APPLICATION: Received applicationDidBecomeActive
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 1: 200 (8533ms), headers: Content-Type=application/json-rpc; charset=UTF-8 body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: <---------------- Request in: /wm/preference-list-->1342482308323/1,httpStatus: 200,round trip time: 8532ms, wmsid: 42
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 3: POST to https://p99-mailws.icloud.com:443/w...5&id=931070F54E16D63A222FDB6307B231251FFB3EF0, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: ----------------> Request out: /wm/folder-list-->1342482316893/2
wmsid: 42
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc1129:dispatch('load content')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:16 GMT: DEBUG: "2.0 Waiting for Content" handled event 'load content' (no transition)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Prefetching module 'cloudkit/error_catcher'.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Loading CSS file in 'cloudkit/error_catcher' -> '/applications/mail/frameworks/cloudkit/error_catcher/en-us/1K63/stylesheet.css'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Loading JavaScript file in 'cloudkit/error_catcher' -> '/applications/mail/frameworks/cloudkit/error_catcher/en-us/1K63/javascript-strings.js'
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'cloudkit/error_catcher' finished loading.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:17 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Module: Module 'cloudkit/error_catcher' was prefetched, not evaluating until needed.
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 3: 200 (5592ms), headers: Content-Type=application/json-rpc; charset=UTF-8 body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: <---------------- Request in: /wm/folder-list-->1342482316893/2,httpStatus: 200,round trip time: 5592ms, wmsid: 42,104,no imap connection
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: FolderDataSource.localFetchResponse error = 104/no imap connection
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: SC.Object:sc1129:dispatch('propertyChanged')
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: ERROR: Bootstrap error: FolderList.LoadFailed.ServerError
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: "2.0 Waiting for Content" handled event 'propertyChanged' with a transition to "2.1 Folder List Item"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: <- leaving "2.0 Waiting for Content"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:45:22 GMT: DEBUG: -> entering "2.1 Folder List Item"
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:09 GMT: DEBUG: --> Request 4: POST to https://p99-mailws.icloud.com:443/wm/ping?dsid=128047505&id=931070F54E16D63A222FDB6307B231251FFB3EF0, headers: Content-Type=text/plain, body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:09 GMT: DEBUG: ----------------> Request out: /wm/ping-list-->1342482849830/3
wmsid: 42
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:14 GMT: DEBUG: <-- Response 4: 200 (4740ms), headers: Content-Type=text/html body: (omitted)
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:54:14 GMT: DEBUG: <---------------- Request in: /wm/ping-list-->1342482849830/3,httpStatus: 200,round trip time: 4740ms, wmsid: 42

 

[NazgulRR]

So what happens to emails that have been emailed to you while your account/iCloud was down for maintenance? Do you get those emails after iCloud comes back online? Or is it lost forever and you never know you've been emailed?

 

[percusso]

Same problem here

I have had the same issue for the past few hours. No access to email on my Macs or iOS devices (keeps asking for my password, which I haven't changed recently). iCloud.com gives me access to all services except email. I can't access Apple techs support as it's 10.20pm on a Tuesday night in Sydney Australia. Grrrr....

 

[Poisednoise]

I can access email to download, but the sending servers seem to be down.

 

[dan1000]

Back in business this morning

This morning, all was well with my iCloud mail once more. The outage lasted somewhere between 15 and 22 hours (uncertainty because it may have come back while I was asleep overnight). This morning, I had many emails from yesterday, so it seems they weren't lost.

Overall, while I'm pleased to be back in business, I remain significantly underwhelmed with how the situation was handled. This is the first time it has happened, so my decision now is do I write it off as an anomaly or move from "the devil I know" to "the devil I don't" (ie: another email hoster).

Oh well, nobody died.

Dan

 

[Peace]

Almost everybody has an ISP with included email.

Use that one.

 

[Mal]

Almost everybody has an ISP with included email.

Use that one.

Not a chance in the world would I ever use an ISP email. If I change ISP's, I lose that email address, and there's no way I'd want that to happen. I use my mac.com and Gmail addresses for everything, because I know no matter what, they will continue to exist.

OP, outages happen. Apple's certainly had a history of outages, but they're not the only ones, and they can't exactly send out notifications to every user affected each time. They do have a System Status link in the bottom left corner of the iCloud.com sign-in page, which you can bookmark if you like:
http://www.apple.com/support/icloud/systemstatus/

That will show any outages that they are aware of, along with the percentage of users estimated to be affected.

jW

 

[Bahamut Eos]

My @mac.com (iCloud) e-mail is down right now. It keeps telling me I have the wrong password. Password worked yesterday, and I know I have the right password. I'm not getting any other error messages right now.

edit:

I can sign into iCloud website, but mail app is not working with iCloud for me right now.

edit 2:
Turns out Mail app inside of iCloud website is not working, sent report to apple.

 

[dan1000]

Sadly, the system status showed no known outages, even though they knew of the outage (or at least, they told me over the phone that they knew of it).

I agree, Apple are not the only ones with outages. What upsets me here is that this one was apparently known in advance (according to support), yet no measures were taken to inform users. This strikes me as lazy and irresponsible. In fact, so much so that I think a more likely scenario is that tech support invented the "oh, it's because we're moving some users from MobileMe to iCloud, it should be back within 24 hours" excuse. I think Apple is more responsible than to schedule a 24 hour email outage for its users at all, and certainly not without informing them first.

-- Dan

OP, outages happen. Apple's certainly had a history of outages, but they're not the only ones, and they can't exactly send out notifications to every user affected each time. They do have a System Status link in the bottom left corner of the iCloud.com sign-in page, which you can bookmark if you like:
http://www.apple.com/support/icloud/systemstatus/

That will show any outages that they are aware of, along with the percentage of users estimated to be affected.

jW

----------

FWIW, this is exactly the same behavior I was getting. Something's afoot!

- Dan

My @mac.com (iCloud) e-mail is down right now. It keeps telling me I have the wrong password. Password worked yesterday, and I know I have the right password. I'm not getting any other error messages right now.

edit:

I can sign into iCloud website, but mail app is not working with iCloud for me right now.

edit 2:
Turns out Mail app inside of iCloud website is not working, sent report to apple.

 

[Bahamut Eos]

For what it's worth, it seems to be back up for me.

A friend of mine (great source I know) told me that data centers tend to have problems in extreme heat like most of the US has been having this month, and anticdotaly I've had a lot of my normally solid computer services having outages the last few weeks.

Known outage seems trumped up to me as well.

 

[percusso]

Back up for me too

Mail seems to be back up for me again too this morning. Phew!

 

[bobnob]

Same issue

I'm experiencing same problem. Able to log into iCloud but Mail not loading. Spent morning talking to Apple support and was told my account would be offline for up to 24 hours. No warning. Totally unacceptable.

 

[Arelunde]

Well, iCloud email appears to be down again today. I just posted a thread asking if anyone else noticed it. Went down around noon and, as of 1:30 pm, still not up. Time is US Pacific time zone. What's with this????

 

[percusso]

Down again!

It's down again for me again as of around 9pm Sydney time. No access via Mail.app on my Mac or via Mail on my iPhone. Let's hope it's up again tomorrow morning or I'll be pissed. MobileMe NEVER had a single outage. Grrr...

 

[pyroxp7]

Well you guys are quite lucky. My iCloud email is still down...it's been over 2 weeks. Also I was never a user of MobileMe, so I never had to migrate, etc.. It randomly went down and I could no longer access my email. This is simply disappointing and embarrassing for Apple. I believe hundreds of people have had this problem, which has actually been going on since last year.

 

[iLog.Genius]

It's down again for me again as of around 9pm Sydney time. No access via Mail.app on my Mac or via Mail on my iPhone. Let's hope it's up again tomorrow morning or I'll be pissed. MobileMe NEVER had a single outage. Grrr...

Yes it has. At least 2 IIRC.

Well you guys are quite lucky. My iCloud email is still down...it's been over 2 weeks. Also I was never a user of MobileMe, so I never had to migrate, etc.. It randomly went down and I could no longer access my email. This is simply disappointing and embarrassing for Apple. I believe hundreds of people have had this problem, which has actually been going on since last year.

This isn't the first time and definitely won't be the last time iCloud goes down. As much as we hope that there isn't an outage, reality is systems go down. Funny how all the anti-RIM people were just going on about BIS/BES going down, now they'll experience that no matter what company, stuff like this is going to happen period.

 

[aliennerd]

All my mail seems to have disappeared from iCloud, whichever device I access it from, even via Safari.

Rather disconcerting really, being old school I'm glad I use Thunderbird and download all messages from the server.

Relying on some anonymous data centre in the middle of nowhere and the connection betwixt is not for me.

Is anyone else's mail missing?

 

[T935]

All my mail seems to have disappeared from iCloud, whichever device I access it from, even via Safari.

Rather disconcerting really, being old school I'm glad I use Thunderbird and download all messages from the server.

Relying on some anonymous data centre in the middle of nowhere and the connection betwixt is not for me.

Is anyone else's mail missing?

Indeed... just lost 4years of emails and only have first ever sent email using .mac 5 years ago... not a happy bunny!

 

[madasasnake]

Just happened to me!

Asked a couple of times for my password, which it said was incorrect when it wasn't!!

The Inbox was locked so I restarted and now have no emails other than those in the Deleted Folder!!

I have logged into iCloud and can access everything except mail?

I hope that everything returns to normal in a few hours or I really have no idea what I will do?

 

[JMD123]

Same Thing

Same thing is happening to me... Here is something interesting though... I tried resetting my password... my old pass word was 7 characters/numbers with only capital letters in it... now they require 8 charachters and they require BOTH upper case and lower case...

I need my email back...