Can't download emails to thunderbird

[#1]

Ok here's the full cURL command for POP with output.  I've only blanked out the User and Password details.  Both of which ARE correct as I use them in Webmail which works.

curl -v pop3s://mail.free-online.net -u ???:???
* Rebuilt URL to: pop3s://mail.free-online.net/
* Trying 217.46.26.45...
* TCP_NODELAY set
* Connected to mail.free-online.net (217.46.26.45) port 995 (#0)
* successfully set certificate verify locations:
* CAfile: /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
CApath: /etc/ssl/certs
* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS handshake, Client hello (1):
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Server hello (2):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Certificate (11):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Server finished (14):
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS handshake, Client key exchange (16):
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS change cipher, Client hello (1):
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS handshake, Finished (20):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Finished (20):
* SSL connection using TLSv1.2 / AES256-GCM-SHA384
* Server certificate:
* subject: jurisdictionC=GB; businessCategory=Private Organization; serialNumber=03279013; C=GB; L=Sheffield; O=Plusnet plc; CN=mail.plus.net
* start date: Aug 19 00:00:00 2024 GMT
* expire date: Aug 18 23:59:59 2025 GMT
* subjectAltName: host "mail.free-online.net" matched cert's "mail.free-online.net"
* issuer: C=US; O=DigiCert Inc; CN=GeoTrust EV RSA CA G2
* SSL certificate verify ok.
< +OK POP3 perditon ready on mail.free-online.net 0002a1a8
> CAPA
< +OK Capability list follows, mate
< UIDL
< USER
< .
> USER ????
< +OK USER ???? set, mate
> PASS ????
< -ERR failed: Connection Negotiation Failure
* Access denied. -
* Closing connection 0
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS alert, Client hello (1):
curl: (67) Access denied. -

Hope this helps.

[#2]

---

@Purvez wrote:

I'm only using POP with no authentication.

---

You cannot use the inbound servers without authentication.

Did you mean without encryption?

The diagnostics I am drafting will use the best available options for the brand; offering pre-built commands for all options is not viable.

[#3]

Attached are my Setting for the free-online account in Thunderbird. 

[#4]

@Purvez 

what happens of you use this command

curl -v pop3://mail.free-online.net -u userID:password

This will use port 110

[#5]

Ref screen shot - Server is .NET not .co.uk

As Dan suggests, try the not encrypted option.  The negotiation error is odd.

On a successful connection (to Plusnet on POP3), following the > PASS response I see...

< +OK logged in.
> LIST
< +OK POP3 clients that break here, they violate STD53.
1 1526
2 27126
3 2207

... up to item 3283.

Please try the IMAP diagnostic.

[#6]

@Dan_the_Van 

Here is my curl command as you suggested with output:

curl -v pop3://mail.free-online.net -u ???:???
* Rebuilt URL to: pop3://mail.free-online.net/
* Trying 217.46.26.25...
* TCP_NODELAY set
* Connected to mail.free-online.net (217.46.26.25) port 110 (#0)
< +OK POP3 perditon ready on mail.free-online.net 00029e1e
> CAPA
< +OK Capability list follows, mate
< UIDL
< USER
< .
> USER
< +OK USER set, mate
> PASS

====== Long pause before the following appeared.
< -ERR failed: Could not connect to server
* Access denied. -
* Closing connection 0
curl: (67) Access denied. -

[#7]

That suggests either a problem with cURL in your environment or an issue with the mail component.

Can you please try the IMAP and SMTP diagnostics as per the earlier post.

What special character might be in your password? "&" per-chance? curl: (67) Authentication failure - Stack Overflow

[#8]

@Townman 

I hear what you are saying regarding the server name but I've been using co.uk since .....forever.  I'll try .net and see if that makes a difference.  Thanks for your help

[#9]

@Townman 

I changed the server name to .net in the Settings but there was no difference in behavior.

[#10]

@Purvez 

That would imply that you have not been using secure encryption for sending user name and passwords ... forever.

Yes it will work with .co.uk but that is not the certified server name.  Working with .co.uk and encryption will give rise to issues and is thus bad practice.

[#11]

Just to clarify.  I can send emails from the free-online account. 

For sending emails is there a separate server than the POP3 one?  I seem to remember something about SMTP server but I can't find any settings for that within Thunderbird.

[#12]

Inbound and outbound servers are different and entirely different messaging protocols.  Something is very fishy here and I am beginning to suspect your environment - it is not windows and the responses from cURL are different to that seen on windows.

I am becoming a little concerned that the "measuring tool" is not dependable in all environments.  Have you run the IMAP and SMTP variants?  If the IMAP one works, then there is a specific issue on the POP3 interface.

Do you have a windows environment?

[#13]

@Townman 

I'm on Ubuntu 18.04 not windows.

[#14]

---

@Purvez wrote:

I'm currently on Ubuntu 18.04 and thunderbird version is 102.11.0

---

---

@Purvez wrote:

I seem to remember something about SMTP server but I can't find any settings for that within Thunderbird.

---

From the top bar menu in that version of Thunderbird, click on [Edit], then choose [Account Settings] from drop down list.

On the left hand side of the resulting screen, there should be "Outgoing Server (SMTP)", click on that.

.

[#15]

---

@Purvez wrote:

@Townman 

I'm on Ubuntu 18.04 not windows.

---

That I understood ... and this makes some comparisons difficult.  There is some possibility that is the source of your problem.

Have you ran the SMTP and IMAP tests please?