Thunderbird 17.0.7

[shankle]

Wiffie has been using the Thunderbird email program for quite a while. All of a sudden she can't send a
message or forward a message. I have been all over the program trying to get it to work
with no success. I'm being threatened with getting a tech to come in and fix it. :(
Of course I am getting all kinds of "SMTP" messages as I change things with no luck.
Maybe someone like SinSi can give me a clue.....

[dedndave]

be sure you have the right server address for your account
it's almost always port 25 for sending (110 for pop3 receiving), although this may vary with provider
then, Tools - Account Settings.....

[shankle]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for responding.
Forgot to mention my ISP is AT&T.
I got the Bellsouth service before AT&T took it over so I am using @bellsouth.net after her name.
Also incoming is inbound.att.net and outgoing is outbound.att.net
They want 995 for incoming and 465 for outgoing.
More fun - they want SSL and a password.
When I enter the PW I get one of those glorious messages
by SMTP complaining.
I got rid of this program years ago but I don't have to tell you about "Wiffies".
I have been doing all the stuff you show for days with no luck and different
numbers of course.

[dedndave]

check the server address against this list
http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB401570&cv=804#fbid=Udax1SOFzFe
if you still have problems, give them a phone call   :P

If you created a free att.net email address after June 11th, 2011 you will not be able to use an email client to access your email. Retrieve your email at http://www.att.net.

if that's the case, i would switch to a gmail account - and get any remaining messages on the web server

[shankle]

We haven't called AT&T so far as we have dumped AT&T for Greenlight Fiber Optics.
I checked the list and I am using what they want.
It hasn't gone thru yet so maybe they will help.

[shankle]

Problem is now sort of solved. She is finally going to give up on Thunderbird.
Called AT&T and even they couldn't solve one of her identities. So it will be a slow
attrition of Thunderbird and move to Outlook.com.

[dedndave]

i would change to a different provider
at least, for e-mail
it doesn't appear that AT&T is interested in supporting POP3/SMTP
whereas gmail (google) accounts do - and they are free   :t
an added advantage is that, if you change service providers for a connection, you can retain the same gmail account   :t

[sinsi]

Sometimes if your email address isn't with your ISP they won't forward your outgoing email to the right mail server.
You might need to change the outbound server to use a different user/password, usually the bellsouth.net account.
I know in Outlook there is an option, something like "my outgoing server requires authentication".

ISPs don't like having to relay mail to another server because a) it costs them and b) spammers quite often do this.

edit: try googling "smtp relay" and your isp's name