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smtp server times out

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  • Last reply by djmuirhead

djmuirhead
djmuirhead
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Currently using Thunderbird version 52.3.0 (64-bit) in Ubuntu 16.04, set up for two email accounts, one centurylink and on gmail. Everything has worked fine for 18 months until three days ago when the trying to sen email from the centurylink account returned “smpt.centurylink.net has timed out.” Centurylink tech support had a recorded message the email might be “sporadic” so I just waited, but after three days still no luck so I called. They checked and said my centurylink email is working fine and it must be a Thunderbird issue. I then checked the gmail account and found it also times out when trying to send. I continue to receive emails with no trouble.

I have reviewed account settings and the smpt server names are entered correctly and port numbers are correct. I have tried both STARTTLS and SSL/TLS for the centurylink account which made no difference. There has been absolutely no change to the computer during the past three days. I am wondering if there was a version upgrade that might be causing the problem.

Any help is appreciated.

Currently using Thunderbird version 52.3.0 (64-bit) in Ubuntu 16.04, set up for two email accounts, one centurylink and on gmail. Everything has worked fine for 18 months until three days ago when the trying to sen email from the centurylink account returned “smpt.centurylink.net has timed out.” Centurylink tech support had a recorded message the email might be “sporadic” so I just waited, but after three days still no luck so I called. They checked and said my centurylink email is working fine and it must be a Thunderbird issue. I then checked the gmail account and found it also times out when trying to send. I continue to receive emails with no trouble. I have reviewed account settings and the smpt server names are entered correctly and port numbers are correct. I have tried both STARTTLS and SSL/TLS for the centurylink account which made no difference. There has been absolutely no change to the computer during the past three days. I am wondering if there was a version upgrade that might be causing the problem. Any help is appreciated.

Modified by Wayne Mery

Chosen solution

It seems to me that smpt.centurylink.net should be smTP.centurylink.net

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Wayne Mery
Wayne Mery
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Chosen Solution

It seems to me that smpt.centurylink.net should be smTP.centurylink.net

djmuirhead
djmuirhead Question owner
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Very true. Unfortunately that was a typing error in my message, not a problem with my Thunderbird settings. But thanks for responding.

I have done more research. As best I can make out, Thunderbird is having problems with a number of smtp servers as the servers work to beef up security. There don't appear to be any solid answers, just lots of things to try which sometimes work and sometimes don't. So far it has been "don't" for me but I'll keep trying.