Seems there are others mentioning this, so it could be a server issue: https://downdetector.com/status/xfinity/

https://www.xfinity.com/support/status https://downdetector.com/status/xfinity/map/

Some people mentioning restarting router/hub has worked for them.

Thank you. Among other things, I never knew of downdetector.com.

Sick over the hours wasted on this with Comcast chat and phone support, I just stopped into a Comcast/Xfinity store in hope of getting a better answer from someone live. As I was pretty livid, they sent me the in-house techie, who at least knew what "IMAP" meant.

His understanding is that recent email changes (which include web-based access through xfinity.com, no longer through comcast.net) eliminated IMAP service, as well as web service, to comcast.net. (To his knowledge, though, the email domain will remain comcast.net.) IOW (as he understands it) this is a branding campaign.

I said that seems like a pretty big deal to be so low-key, but he thought not. He said most people just use web browser access, not a mail client, and so were not bothered by the redirection from comcast.net to xfinity.com. (That explains why the support "tech" I talked with on Saturday never even heard of IMAP - or POP, for that matter.)

I had no idea we ("old-time" mail users) were becoming extinct. Who knows? - Maybe email itself will go the way of news/Usenet/nntp, as the web gobbles up other communication protocols. [Is this forum an example of that?]

<sigh> Web-base communication just seems so inefficient -- but maybe it's a natural evolution in response to the top-posting-quote-the-whole-thread paradigm that MS Outlook introduced to email ~25 years ago. That gobbled up email first, making it ugly, illogical and inefficient, so maybe webmail will not be such a big step into inefficiency (and may eventually introduce some new way of content threading?).

I feel too old for this. Anyway, sorry to have disturbed this forum for what is definitely not a Thunderbird problem, and I thank you again for your reply.

Infinity took over but that does not mean access via imap/pop/smtp has been removed. According to the infinity website you should be getting a full service. The internet would be overwhelmed by people with a comcast email address asking what was going on if everything stopped and it is not. So, IMAP access to server imap.comcast.net has not been stopped overnight.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/email-client-programs-with-xfinity-email

To log on to webmail you would use this link : https://my.xfinity.com/ Info : https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/sign-in-to-email-or-voicemail-on-xfinity

Maybe you need to logon to webmail via Infinity link above and select a setting to allow IMAP or POP. I'm not sure what is in the settings because I do not use Infinity. Some servers require selection of IMAP to allow it.

As you are not able to access anything: Infinity claim they will only deactivate a comcast account if you have not accessed it within last 12 months. Only you would know if you have not accessed it via webmail or via Thunderbird in that timeframe. Loads of useful info at this link. https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/email-activity

To check status look at the info in this link: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/email-activity-status

The settings for email in Thunderbird should be: Incoming Mail Server Name: imap.comcast.net Port Number: 993 Connection Security: SSL/TLS Authentication Method: Normal Password User name : full comcast email address.

Outgoing Mail Server Name: smtp.comcast.net Port Number: 587 Connection Security: STARTTLS Authentication Method: Normal Password User name : full comcast email address.

I have sent a test email to your comcast email address and I can confirm that it was not bounced back, so it has been received which means that email address is still live.

check out the information, but it really could be down in your area. The downdetector.com may show if their access to server is down, but it also has good comments from users and also at the bottom comments from social media. Sometimes this can show up issues in specific areas. But it is always worth rebooting your router.

> "Infinity took over but that does not mean access via imap/pop/smtp has been removed. ... The internet would be overwhelmed by people with a comcast email address asking what was going on if everything stopped and it is not." I made exactly that point in the Xfinity store. The tech assured me that the vast majority of Comcast customers use web access (which I have been able to do, throughout; I just prefer TB handling IMAP).

> "https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/email-client-programs-with-xfinity-email" Though that article purports to be about "How to Set Up Your Comcast Email Address with an Email Program", it does so reluctantly, recommending "We recommend you access your Comcast email by going to Xfinity Connect and clicking Email." [BTW: That message is repeated on the next page, after instructions on how to set up "third party access". Clearly, as the in-store tech, said, they are trying to firmly push users into web access.]

However, it does link to "step-by-step instructions" <https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/third-party-email-access> which mention a key: in the switch from comcast.net to xfinity.com, an "Xfinity Connect Third Party Access Security" checkbox was introduced, which must be checked to allow IMAP or POP access. "If this box is unchecked, you’ll receive an error message when [fetching] Comcast.net email through a third party program." (One of the FIVE phone support agents I spoke with might have mentioned that.)

It also says that "If you currently use a third-party program to read your email, the security setting is checked by default." Note: That is the only way I have accessed the account in the past year. I don't use the account much, just once or twice a month on billing and related issues, and almost never by web access. Still, contra that note about the default, the box was not, so I checked it. Then the error messages changed, so at least that was part of the problem, and I'm getting warm. I will let you know what else is involved.

BTW: The setup ports, etc, that you mention are exactly as I already had them on both phone and computer, but thanks for that, and for your test message (which I see via web access). Thanks for your interest.

BBTW: Though I appreciate your help, this exchange has been painfully inefficient compared to a news or mailing list. Without an efficient quoting mechanism (among other things), it's easy for threads to get lost - kind of goes to what I was saying about the relative efficiency of mail compared to web-based communication. Don't you find this more painful? Wouldn't it be easier to have this discussion ABOUT Thunderbird IN Thunderbird? [OTOH, if you prefer this channel, can you point me to some explanation about what I'm missing?] Thanks.

Before I leave my desk for the night, I should note that Comcast mail is back. Apparently the key was that new checkbox, introduced in the transition from comcast.net to xfinity.com, which needed to be checked to affirm "Third Party Access Security".

Why did it not work immediately? Maybe it took some time to register in their mail server database. I don't know how long that was, but it was more than five minutes but less than a day -- and maybe the fact that I did my last mail check after midnight allowed things to be updated.

Again I note: Comcast should make their support techs aware of this -- but then, as I also noted, their "techs" were mostly ignorant of IMAP and just seemed to assume that everyone uses web access.

It is quite a common case where 'techies' employed by eg: Infinity, are not very knowledgable when it comes to protocols eg: IMAP,POP,SMTP used by third party apps like Thunderbird and Outlook. You often find that they only seem to understand their own system/webmail and always claim that most people use webmail despite the fact that MSOffice's Outlook is very popular with a lot of business's and Thunderbird is also very commonly used. I think the techies are told to make those claims if asked because they assume no one has any valid statistical data to refute it.

The place where all communication is displayed in one place is in the Thunderbird Support Forum. Whilst all comments are sent out to the users to their email address, it is usual to read the contents of the email and then click on the 'Post a Reply' button which automatically takes you to the correct question in this forum, where all comments can be seen and responses posted. If you want you could create a bookmark for your profile so you can quickly locate it and also see all the quesions you asked. Here is the link: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/user/kaufmann

However, it's good to hear all is now ok. I thought there might be something in the actual account that might need to be set.

> " I thought there might be something in the actual account that might need to be set."

You were right about that. It was the new "Xfinity Connect Third Party Access Security" checkbox that needed to be checked (which could only be done via the new xfinity.com web access).