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Cal516

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2014
14
0
Maryland, USA
Running OS X 10.11.4 on 2012 Mac Mini Server (6,2). Apple mail will not send mail - SMTP Server shows as Offline. I have repeatedly checked all setup parameters. Same setup works on iPad & iPhone. I have researched on web and tried all recommended solutions short of manipulating files in V2 and V3 folders, which I am not comfortable with. Deleted & rebuilt accounts, deleted and rebuilt keychain entries, confirmed setup with ISP. SMTP does work on my Verizon account but not with Google or iPower.com accounts. All worked fine under Mavericks. My OS X is an upgrade from Mavericks, not a clean install, if that matters. I have done all steps in the Apple trouble shooting guide. Anyone got a solution?
 

Cal516

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2014
14
0
Maryland, USA
Thanks for your reply but, if it were that easy I wouldn't be posting here. I've done that countless times.
 

NoBoMac

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 1, 2014
6,244
4,931
Here's a dumb question: do you have a separate SMTP account for each mail service and they are assigned to each service?

In the case of Gmail, do you have two-factor turned on? In that case will need to use the app-specific password, not the main account password.
 

Cal516

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2014
14
0
Maryland, USA
Yes & yes.

No 2 Factor.

Here's a dumb question: do you have a separate SMTP account for each mail service and they are assigned to each service?

In the case of Gmail, do you have two-factor turned on? In that case will need to use the app-specific password, not the main account password.
 

Buggyflayer

macrumors regular
Nov 13, 2014
113
17
West Sussex, UK
Do you have Gmail set to IMAP?
are the SMTP settings as below?

Port 993 ☑︎ Use SSL
Authentication External (TLS client Certificate)

Use IDLE command
 

NoBoMac

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 1, 2014
6,244
4,931
Hmmmm...

My mother had same issue about a year or so ago, with her Cox e-mail. If I recall correctly, I kept deleting and re-adding the SMTP server for her account. Eventually started to work. Might have kept the original entry in place (renamed it to "Bad"), added new, made sure working, then deleted old.

Or, what I might had done was removed the password from the SMTP entry, then I was prompted for the password when trying to send.

Sorry can't get more specific or recall exactly how I fixed it. Like I said, it was a year or more ago.
 

Cal516

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2014
14
0
Maryland, USA
It appears the port data, SSL, and authentication you describe are the IMAP (incoming mail) settings. My issue is with SMTP (outgoing mail), Port setting is 587 SSL.

Do you have Gmail set to IMAP?
are the SMTP settings as below?

Port 993 ☑︎ Use SSL
Authentication External (TLS client Certificate)

Use IDLE command
[doublepost=1462888443][/doublepost]Thanks, but, as I said, I've tried new SMTP entries, and keychain purges. Nada.

Hmmmm...

My mother had same issue about a year or so ago, with her Cox e-mail. If I recall correctly, I kept deleting and re-adding the SMTP server for her account. Eventually started to work. Might have kept the original entry in place (renamed it to "Bad"), added new, made sure working, then deleted old.

Or, what I might had done was removed the password from the SMTP entry, then I was prompted for the password when trying to send.

Sorry can't get more specific or recall exactly how I fixed it. Like I said, it was a year or more ago.
 

eoblaed

macrumors 68040
Apr 21, 2010
3,087
3,202
Did you ever get this resolved? I'm running into the exact same thing right now.
 

Cal516

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2014
14
0
Maryland, USA
Did you ever get this resolved? I'm running into the exact same thing right now.

I updated to 10.11.5 using the downloadable updater (not the App Store) based upon advice from another forum. Unfortunately, the problem persists. Please let me know if you find a solution.
 

JohnDS

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2015
1,183
249
What happens when you run Connection Doctor in mail? Does it show as connecting to the SMTP server? If not, click on Show Logs and see what the corresponding error messages are in the logs.
 

haumana

macrumors member
Oct 10, 2008
31
0
Honolulu, Hawaii
Bump. Has anyone else found the solutions to this answer? I've altered the Accounts.plist, add/remove smtp list numerous times, add new smtp servers that i know work, but were never on the list. They all still go offline.

Tested the issue on a laptop, smtp worked fine, then moved my mail to the laptop, and back to offline status.

It's frustrating. Can anyone help?
 

stradify

macrumors 6502
Jul 4, 2015
292
148
USA
I recently had the same problem and discovered that my vpn, PIA (private internet access), was the culprit.
Turning off the vpn allows smtp to send mail. I'm now trying out a new vpn
which doesn't cripple my smtp outgoing mail. Turns out PIA has stopped allowing smtp outgoing mail
because of problems with people sending spam. They will whitelist my settings but it's been almost a week since I requested they do so and still nothing from them.


Bump. Has anyone else found the solutions to this answer? I've altered the Accounts.plist, add/remove smtp list numerous times, add new smtp servers that i know work, but were never on the list. They all still go offline.

Tested the issue on a laptop, smtp worked fine, then moved my mail to the laptop, and back to offline status.

It's frustrating. Can anyone help?
 

miner256

macrumors newbie
Nov 22, 2017
1
0
Bump. Has anyone else found the solutions to this answer? I've altered the Accounts.plist, add/remove smtp list numerous times, add new smtp servers that i know work, but were never on the list. They all still go offline.

Tested the issue on a laptop, smtp worked fine, then moved my mail to the laptop, and back to offline status.

It's frustrating. Can anyone help?

I've had this issue a few times before and the culprit for mine was a security certificate on the host's side.
 
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