topic Re: Email client login not working in Email

Email client login not working

dalegilbert — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:46:10 GMT

Re: Email client login not working

stumped — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:16:18 GMT

Same here. Has happened within the last 24 hours. Webmail is fine (on phone or laptop), thunderbird is fine (on laptop), gmail app (on Samsung phone) is not. Same on my wife's Samsung phone gmail app. My phone says the app was updated 4 days ago, but it has worked since then.

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:30:38 GMT

I'm getting the following error since about 1am this morning:

Warning Error returned by the POP3 server for mailbox account+mailbox on server mail.force9.net. Details:
-ERR internal server error

Re: Email client login not working

Townman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:55:17 GMT

@Gilgamoth - which email client?

@stumped - which email brand?

Try this diagnostic in a POWERSHELL window - substitute your credentials for userID and type your password at the prompt (not echoed).

curl.exe -v pop3s://mail.force9.net -u userID

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:04:31 GMT

It's a POP3 downloader for a local mail server, been working for years

PS C:\Users\> curl.exe -v pop3s://mail.force9.net -u mailbox+user
Enter host password for user 'mailbox+user':
* Trying 91.204.208.196:995...
* Connected to mail.force9.net (91.204.208.196) port 995 (#0)
* schannel: disabled automatic use of client certificate
< +OK POP3 ready <1901387638.1745420408@mail.enmail.co>
> CAPA
< +OK Capability list follows
< TOP
< USER
< UIDL
< SASL PLAIN LOGIN
< .
> AUTH PLAIN
< +
> xxx=
< -ERR [AUTH] Authentication failed.
* Closing connection 0
* schannel: shutting down SSL/TLS connection with mail.force9.net port 995
curl: (67) Login denied

I'm noting that it says "-ERR [AUTH] Authentication failed", however this is the username and password that I can log into webmail with

Moderators Note: Personal information removed

Re: Email client login not working

Townman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:35:21 GMT

Can you please retry that using the email address as the ID.

Are there any special characters in the password, if yes, which please.

Also is your userID of the ilk of account+forename.surname that is the is a "." in the mailbox name?

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:48:23 GMT

Getting the same
PS C:\> curl.exe -v pop3s://mail.force9.net -u address@account.f9.co.uk
Enter host password for user 'address@account.f9.co.uk':
* Trying 91.204.208.196:995...
* Connected to mail.force9.net (91.204.208.196) port 995 (#0)
* schannel: disabled automatic use of client certificate
< +OK POP3 ready <1359164678.1745422408@mail.enmail.co>
> CAPA
< +OK Capability list follows
< TOP
< USER
< UIDL
< SASL PLAIN LOGIN
< .
> AUTH PLAIN
< +
>=
< -ERR Login failed.
* Closing connection 0
* schannel: shutting down SSL/TLS connection with mail.force9.net port 995
curl: (67) Login denied

Password has no special characters, just letters and numbers

Moderators Note: Personal information removed

Re: Email client login not working

Townman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:44:28 GMT

Ref edit to my previous post - is there a full stop in the address part of your email address?

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:53:48 GMT

Sorry I missed that question, yes there are two full stops in the address part of the email address, however my wife's mailbox on the same account, doesn't have any and I'm getting the same -ERR Login failed, which is different from the Authentication Failure from before

Re: Email client login not working

Townman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 16:03:32 GMT

Full stop in the mail address now has an open incident.

Wife's mailbox does the command work using here email address? Can you confirm that she can login using webmail?

Really appreciate your assistance here.

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:59:54 GMT

Wife's account gets exactly the same error
Enter host password for user 'user@account.f9.co.uk':
* Host mail.force9.net:995 was resolved.
* IPv6: (none)
* IPv4: 91.204.208.196
*   Trying 91.204.208.196:995...
* schannel: disabled automatic use of client certificate
* Connected to mail.force9.net (91.204.208.196) port 995
< +OK POP3 ready <843402602.1745424243@mail.enmail.co>
> CAPA
< +OK Capability list follows
< TOP
< USER
< UIDL
< SASL PLAIN LOGIN
< .
> AUTH PLAIN
< +
< -ERR Login failed.
* closing connection #0
curl: (67) Login denied
 
I've even tried using the address of .force9.co.uk instead of .f9.co.uk
 
Edit: Yes we can both use webmail with no problems

Moderators Note: Personal information removed

Re: Email client login not working

stumped — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 20:37:41 GMT

My email brand is Force9 - which I notice Gilgamoth's is too. Co-incidence maybe but worth a look?

My email address does not have a "." before the "@" BTW. FWIW it is a catch-all address.

Re: Email client login not working

Townman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 20:45:55 GMT

Try logging in using the account name.

Re: Email client login not working

stumped — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:02:31 GMT

OK... that worked.

To add more detail (possibly not of any use but just in case) it worked in the sense of messages are now being received. Despite this there was still an error message at the top of the gmail screen asking me to sign in. This went away when I restarted the app.

As my wife uses an alias address, ie "wifeyname@username.f9.co.uk" this won't work for her (unless I'm missing a trick).

Re: Email client login not working

Townman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:18:28 GMT

If wifyname delivers to yourname, then no it will not work because that’s not the true name of the mailbox.

In other words you share ONE mailbox having dual personalities.

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:40:22 GMT

Okay bit of feedback from me:

Logging in with account seems to work
Logging in with mail.box@account doesn't work
Logging in with mailbox@account also doesn't work

Hope that helps troubleshoot the issue a bit more

Re: Email client login not working

dalegilbert — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:01:42 GMT

Just a thought but I wonder if it's anything to do with this which Plusnet have kindly omitted to actively advise us of:

https://www.plus.net/help/email-account-changes/

Yet another reason to be giving Plusnet the old heave-ho when the broadband contract finishes.

Re: Email client login not working

dalegilbert — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:09:19 GMT

I've just logged a fault. There's a known problem with Force9 emails.

Re: Email client login not working

changi1 — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:06:46 GMT

Finally I can join the discussion. Yesterday I could not use email on any PC or my phone but webmail worked fine. My missus' email was working fine however, as others have reported.

This morning I switched on and it was all working again.

last night before posting, I tried to retrieve my login as it's been so long, but the emails (I have 2 logins for reasons I have forgotten) with the password reset took more than 1h to arrive and had expired when I tried to use them. This morning I did the same and the email arrived instantly.

Yesterday I called the helpline who could not help but suggested they reset my password for me which never actually happened. There was/is something generally wrong or admins have been tinkering with the system which caused problems. It would be nice if the a*** could keep the elbow informed.

One benefit of my call was that I needed to renew my contract and I got a lower price than last year and bumped to 500Mbps for no extras, although 145Mb was mostly good enough. There must be a price war going on, they would not do this otherwise. They also offered to reduce my missus' EE bill.

While doing all this I discovered that free email and domain hosting is going or will be transferred out but I not received any notification of this. I have been with F9/PN since 2003 but nothing lasts forever. Recommendations for hosting, anyone?. Hostinger looks good and cheap so what's the catch?

Re: Email client login not working

Gilgamoth — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:14:38 GMT

I can confirm that I am now able to log in to all of my mailboxes this morning. Thank you @Townman for your hard work and dilligence, much appreciated.