Why Can't I Send Or Receive An Email? - 10 Possible Reasons Why You Can't Send Or Receive An Email

Date First Published: 7th March 2023

Topic: Computer Networking

Topic: Network Services

Article Type: Computer Questions & Answers

Difficulty Level: 3/10

Learn about why you can't send or receive an email in this article.

Sometimes, there are times when you simply cannot send or receive an email in an email program. This can have a negative impact on your productivity, especially if you urgently need to send or receive an email. Below are 10 possible reasons why you can't send or receive an email and tips on how to fix these issues. This should help you to work out the cause of being unable to send and receive an email and find a solution.

1. Incorrect Username Or Password

In order to send and receive emails, you need to enter your correct username and password. For security reasons, all email and network providers require these details. If you use an email application (not a web-based application), the username and password are configured in the application. You should verify that the username and password you entered are correct. If you have forgotten your password, you should reset it.

A common reason for an incorrect username and password is when using lowercase and uppercase letters. Passwords are case-sensitive. For example, if the password for your email account was 'Corresponding', entering 'corresponding' would not allow you to sign in. Sometimes, when copying and pasting passwords, applications might add extra spaces. To ensure that you are not adding extra spaces, paste the password to the search box in your web browser. You will then be able to see if there are any extra spaces.

2. Email Server Issues

If the email server is down, it will prevent you from sending or receiving emails until it is back up again. If you are sure that you have a strong internet connection and that your username and password are correct, there might be issues with the email server. You should contact the email service provider and they might be able to tell you if there are any issues with it that are preventing you from sending or receiving emails at the moment.

3. Internet Connection Errors

Email is an online service and requires an internet connection. Internet connection errors will prevent you from connecting to the email server and sending or receiving emails. If your computer cannot connect to the internet or the internet connection is weak, you will have trouble sending and receiving emails. Verify that your computer can connect to the internet and then try again.

4. Email Program Incorrectly Configured

Errors with the sending and receiving of email messages are commonly caused by incorrectly configured email programs, such as the wrong POP or SMTP address. Both these protocols work in different ways, so if you can't send emails, the SMTP address might be incorrect and if you can't receive emails, the POP address might be incorrect.

5. Antivirus Or Firewall Settings

Sometimes, an antivirus or firewall can block an outgoing mail server connection. Verify that your antivirus or firewall is not blocking the POP or SMTP port. The default SMTP server is port 25 and the default POP3 server is port 110.

6. ISP Blocking SMTP Port

Sometimes, you might not be able to send an email using another network due to your ISP blocking port 25, which is the default port used by SMTP. This is because of restrictions on the ISP's network to prevent spam. You should verify with the ISP that an SMTP block is not in place. Some ISPs only allow you to use their own SMTP servers even if you have your own.

7. Spam Filters

Most email programs have spam filters that automatically identify messages as spam and move it to the junk folder or delete it. They are useful for detecting spam, but they can also incorrectly identify messages as spam. Make sure that your emails haven't gone into your junk mail or trash folder, or have been automatically deleted.

8. Reaching The Limits Of The Email Provider

Email providers, especially free ones, usually have a limit on the amount of storage that your messages take up or the total number of messages that you can send or receive per day. If you reach those limits, you won't be able to send or receive emails. If you have reached the storage limit, you should check your mailbox to see what is taking up the most space and delete anything that you no longer need. If you have reached the maximum number of messages you can send or receive in a specific amount of time, you might need to send or receive the email message using a different email address.

9. Large Attachments

Most email providers have a limit on the size of your attachments. Adding attachments larger than this will prevent you from sending the email. For example, Gmail has a maximum attachment size of 25 MB. If your message failed to send, try reducing the size, attaching a smaller file, or upload your file to a file storage service, such as Google Drive and add a link to the file in your email message.

10. Corrupt Or Outdated Email Program

If you have followed all of the above tips and you still can't send or receive an email, the email program might be corrupt, outdated, or have missing files that are required for it to work. Occasionally, it might need to be repaired and outdated versions of it might no longer work. This means that you should try uninstalling and reinstalling it. This is a simple process, but will take time to complete, depending on the size of the email program. If that doesn't work, you can try using another email program or a web-based email service.

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