Mac OS X Mail and NTL Broadband

Tim Danaher · 24-11-2003, 08:10

Sorry it this one's been done before...

Anyone having any issues using Mac OS X Mail with NTL Broadband? I'm continually getting the message 'The server 'pop.ntlworld.com rejected the password for account xxxxxxx@ntlworld.com'.

I have to re-type my password n times before it's accepted, and acceptance/rejection seem to be on a completely random basis.

Things work fine in Eudora...but Eudora's a mess compared to OS X Mail.

Anyone have similar experiences/workarounds?

TIA,

Tim.

NtlRebelReborn · 24-11-2003, 08:28

Hi Tim and welcome to the site.

it sounds as if the settings have become corrupted for some reason. IMO the best thing to do is to delete the mail account then re-add it back in again. Usually works for me.

Hope this helps. :p

UNcabled · 24-11-2003, 09:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by NtlRebelReborn

Hi Tim and welcome to the site.

it sounds as if the settings have become corrupted for some reason. IMO the best thing to do is to delete the mail account then re-add it back in again. Usually works for me.

Hope this helps. :p

This can't be the case because all the passwords are stored in the OS X keychain and the Mail settings are all still intact. What happens is it takes ages to connect to pop.ntlworld.com and then ages to send the password which then rejects on a random basis. If you try to access webmail, this will also not allow you to log in.

It's a problem with the ntlworld email servers. Do what I do and get your own domain with a few pop addresses and use those instead. Far more reliable.

downquark1 · 24-11-2003, 10:00

I have this problem too, it doesn't happen all the time and sometimes the same thing happens on my PC. I came to the conclusion it's NTL's fault.

**Chris** · 24-11-2003, 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Danaher

Sorry it this one's been done before...

Anyone having any issues using Mac OS X Mail with NTL Broadband? I'm continually getting the message 'The server 'pop.ntlworld.com rejected the password for account xxxxxxx@ntlworld.com'.

I have to re-type my password n times before it's accepted, and acceptance/rejection seem to be on a completely random basis.

Things work fine in Eudora...but Eudora's a mess compared to OS X Mail.

Anyone have similar experiences/workarounds?

TIA,

Tim.

I have to agree with UNcabled, this is not a problem with Mail, it's a problem with ntl's mail servers. They are notoriously fickle and can sometimes take an age to respond to a request from a mail client. Unfortunately you can't adjust the length of time Mail will wait before timing out, and once it does, the 'rejected password' error message is the one you are most likely to get, although I have seen others.

The best solution to this is to acquire yourself an alternative POP mail account and then permanently redirect all your @ntlworld.com accounts to it. As you're a Mac user I can wholeheartedly recommend a DotMac account - I have two email addys as well as 100mb of webspace. The email is very reliable and the webspace, when used in conjunction with iPhoto to create online albums, is great. The whole lot's well worth the ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£75 a year.

UNcabled · 24-11-2003, 11:30

If you look at the ntlworld Server Status page there have been 6 (count 'em!) faults with e-mail in just over 2 weeks.

pitscof · 24-11-2003, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by UNcabled

If you look at the ntlworld Server Status page there have been 6 (count 'em!) faults with e-mail in just over 2 weeks.

Only 6 times? thats doing quite well compared to a few months ago when it was literally daily when they would fall over!

Jeremy

**Chris** · 24-11-2003, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by pitscof

Only 6 times? thats doing quite well compared to a few months ago when it was literally daily when they would fall over!

Jeremy

The laughable thing is, the problem has gone on for so long that I implemented the 'workaround' and then forgot about it.

Do you think being so consistently awful that people consider it 'normal' is in NTL's business plan?

Lew · 24-11-2003, 21:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by towny

As you're a Mac user I can wholeheartedly recommend a DotMac account - I have two email addys as well as 100mb of webspace. The email is very reliable and the webspace, when used in conjunction with iPhoto to create online albums, is great. The whole lot's well worth the ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£75 a year.

I second that. The freebies they regularly give out to members are quite nice. So far they've given away 12 games, a blogging app, a 'post-it note' app, backup software, virus software (for those who also own Windows machines), a full version of Alladin DropStuff, a year's access to VersionTracker plus, sound effects for iMovie supplied by Skywalker Sound and background music for iMovie from Freeplay Music. You also gain the ability to synchronise your address book and Safari bookmarks with iSync so that you can access them from any computer. I also received a copy of The Sims for renewing my subscription.

**Chris** · 24-11-2003, 23:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mimizuku no Lew

I second that. The freebies they regularly give out to members are quite nice. So far they've given away 12 games, a blogging app, a 'post-it note' app, backup software, virus software (for those who also own Windows machines), a full version of Alladin DropStuff, a year's access to VersionTracker plus, sound effects for iMovie supplied by Skywalker Sound and background music for iMovie from Freeplay Music. You also gain the ability to synchronise your address book and Safari bookmarks with iSync so that you can access them from any computer. I also received a copy of The Sims for renewing my subscription.

I got The Sims too!

Sadly I haven't installed it yet, my current video project is so huge I daren't put anything more on the HDD for the time being. But that means I've been able to make use of one of those Skywalker Sounds instead ... I'm doing my closing credits like a silent movie, with the film projector sound effect and the aged cine film picture effect.

Tim Danaher · 25-11-2003, 07:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by UNcabled

This can't be the case because all the passwords are stored in the OS X keychain and the Mail settings are all still intact. What happens is it takes ages to connect to pop.ntlworld.com and then ages to send the password which then rejects on a random basis. If you try to access webmail, this will also not allow you to log in.

It's a problem with the ntlworld email servers. Do what I do and get your own domain with a few pop addresses and use those instead. Far more reliable.

Thanks to everyone who replied...always nice to know that it's not just you! The one oddity here though, is that the problem never arises with Eudora...maybe because the time-out is set to longer.

Cheers,

Tim

**Chris** · 25-11-2003, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Danaher

maybe because the time-out is set to longer.

That is almost certainly the case, although having never used Eudora I couldn't say.

Stick around the forum Tim, it's always nice to have another happy Mac user around!

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UNcabled · 25-11-2003, 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Danaher

Thanks to everyone who replied...always nice to know that it's not just you! The one oddity here though, is that the problem never arises with Eudora...maybe because the time-out is set to longer.

Cheers,

Tim

Correct. It doesn't happen with Entourage either - I think that has options to set the time-out length as well, but it is set far longer than Mail.app by default.