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Old 24 Jan 2020, 06:58 AM   #1
noclue
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Mail not coming in or going out

This has escalated into a serious problem. It's been going long for weeks now, and I have had to keep a written list of what's not going out and what's not coming in. Now it's beyond what I can handle. I have been using another email company to place orders as that has been the worst problem. Until yesterday.

In general, what's not going out is stuff I try to buy. (Except, of course, Amazon.) Buying things from small companies results in that company never receiving the order at all OR my not being able to check out on its site. So I tried a different browser. Makes no difference. Plus it's a PIA to have to do that. By using a paper list of all the things I try to buy, I can see after a couple of weeks that the company never received my order because there is no confirmation email, and the items never arrive in the mail.

Personal emails quit coming in yesterday. That is a huge problem. All I know to do is to move to another email carrier, and FM has just yanked fifty bucks out of my bank account for a whole new year. (When did it get so expensive, and WHY? Off topic, I know. Just curious.)

I was doing some research on my iPad last night. This is for a part-time job I do. I have the FM app installed on my iPad. It's My procedure is not conventional, but what I do when I am researching is to email myself an Internet page that I want to study further at a later time. I send the page from my iPad to my iMac. The computer screen is larger, and it is, therefore, easier to read. That's the "logic" behind my research methodology. This has worked for years... NOT ONE of the seven emails I sent myself last night has yet arrived. I haven't done any updates on my computer. I haven't changed anything at all in months. I have, however, suddenly begun to receive copious amount of spam. That may or may not have anything to do with this. It just seems suspicious.

I am using an iPad Pro with the 12.4 OS and a iMac with the same OS. If you have a clue about what's going on, please pretend that I am a 4-year old child when you explain stuff to me. I do not speak tech at all. Hence, my username. Thank you for reading all of this!
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Old 24 Jan 2020, 10:15 AM   #2
FlashSheridan
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Join Date: Jan 2020
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Angry Me too, somewhat

Somewhat similar problem here. I’ve been unable to get mail on the built-in client on my iOS 10.3.3 iPhone (ticket ID: 615911), though my iPad with iOS 10.3.3 still works
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Old 24 Jan 2020, 02:52 PM   #3
noclue
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Did you recently upgrade? I haven't done anything with any of my Mac devices. Are you thinking it's a Mac problem, not an FM problem?
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Old 24 Jan 2020, 05:37 PM   #4
BritTim
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Are you using the FastMail browser interface to check for received messages on your iMac, or are you using the Mail app? If you have just looked for the messages using the Mail program, log in to FastMail through the browser, and see if the messages exist on FastMail's server. The most likely reason for the problems you are seeing is that messages are not being correctly synchronized between FastMail's server and the Mail client. There can be several reasons for this, and we can discuss how to resolve the problem if you discover that this is, indeed, what is happening.
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Old 24 Jan 2020, 06:10 PM   #5
noclue
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Thank you, Brit Tim. As usual, I am confused...

I am not understanding the relationship between FM and the "browser interface." I have had FM for 13 years, and even though I've changed computers s few times, I am using the "internet" version of FM. I know that sounds ridiculous, but...

I use the app on my iPad. No mail going there, either.
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Old 24 Jan 2020, 08:04 PM   #6
JeremyNicoll
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If, when you login to Fastmail, you do it by opening your browser eg Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome ... - then you go to https://www.fastmail.fm/ and login .... then your problems have nothing to do with an 'app' running on an iPhone or iPad.

If you do use an 'app' then the problem might be with the app, and it would be worth trying a browser on the iPhone/iPad instead.


Apart from the email problem, you said: "OR my not being able to check out on its site." If you mean that you're able to attempt to buy stuff on various websites but the final stage of this does not work - then that, which should have nothing to do with email - suggests there's something else (though I don't know what) going on.

Could you describe what does happen in a situation like that? For example most such sites let you click on various things you want to buy then will eventually show you a list of the things you selected, in your "trolley", "cart", or "basket". Are you seeing the list of things? If every page has a note at the top (as Amazon does for example) of how many things are in your basket so far, do you see that increasing as you choose more things to buy?

Does the problem affect all browsers?


You also said: "In general, what's not going out is stuff I try to buy. (Except, of course, Amazon.)"

Neither of those statements make sense to me. First ... "what's not going out is stuff I try to buy." Is this different from the checking-out problem? If it's different, what are you expecting "to go out" when you buy something?

And... if it does work ok with Amazon, why is Amazon ok "of course"? What is special (to you) about Amazon?

Have ALL your emails stopped arriving?


A while ago you experimented with some filter definitions which turned out to be deleting the wrong things. Have you set up any filters since then? Have you changed ANYTHING ELSE in the way that your FM account is configured?
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Old 24 Jan 2020, 10:16 PM   #7
TenFour
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An easy way to determine if your Fastmail account is working properly is to find another computer connected to the Internet--possibly at work, or from a friend, or at the library. Open up a mainstream browser like Chrome or Firefox and go to the website https://www.fastmail.com/. Log in using the button in the upper right corner of the web page. Do your missing emails appear there? If so, the problem is with how your iPad or iMac email programs are set up.
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Old 25 Jan 2020, 08:25 AM   #8
Berenburger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
Personal emails quit coming in yesterday. That is a huge problem. All I know to do is to move to another email carrier, and FM has just yanked fifty bucks out of my bank account for a whole new year. (When did it get so expensive, and WHY? Off topic, I know. Just curious.)
Oh no, don't change. The problem is not Fastmail. I'm sorry to say and I don't want to insult you, but the problem lies more between the keyboard and the head.

Quote:
I was doing some research on my iPad last night. This is for a part-time job I do. I have the FM app installed on my iPad. It's My procedure is not conventional, but what I do when I am researching is to email myself an Internet page that I want to study further at a later time. I send the page from my iPad to my iMac. The computer screen is larger, and it is, therefore, easier to read. That's the "logic" behind my research methodology. This has worked for years... NOT ONE of the seven emails I sent myself last night has yet arrived. I haven't done any updates on my computer. I haven't changed anything at all in months. I have, however, suddenly begun to receive copious amount of spam. That may or may not have anything to do with this. It just seems suspicious.
Can you exactly describe what you do here and what you see on the screen? Step by step, please.
In this way we might discover a mistake in your method. Oh, and focus on the problem when your posting. You often bring in too many other things. This only creates confusion for us readers.
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Old 26 Jan 2020, 12:46 PM   #9
noclue
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I log into FastMail on my Mac using the log in window which appears when I click on "FastMail" in my favorites bar on my Mac. I cannot go to another computer to run a sign in test. I am shut-in.

I use the app on my iPad, not the desktop Mac.

On business sites when I purchase something, I go to the checkout screen to enter shipping and credit card information. Then I try to complete the order, and it will not go through. I have resorted to placing orders by telephone. Using a different browser (other ihan Safari) does not make any difference. This does not happen on every business site, but It does happen with pharmacies and vitamin/supplement companies. It happens with Etsy. It happens with smaller businesses. It does not happen with Amazon.

I am not using any new filters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was researching Lithuanian history for a friend who was interested in the origin of her family's surname. I pulled up several sites on my iPad. I emailed them to myself at my primary FM address so I could read them on my computer instead of my iPad. None of them were sent.
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Old 26 Jan 2020, 08:52 PM   #10
JeremyNicoll
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
On business sites when I purchase something, I go to the checkout screen to enter shipping and credit card information. ... It does not happen with Amazon.
On the business sites (not Amazon), do you start by logging-in to them? I know that many sites don't need that, but then again some I've used require it later on in the checkput process. And some can be done entirely without registering... but you have to type in all the details every time.

Unfortunately I know nothing at all about Macs, Safari, and their options. I'm wondering if there's some sort of 'parental control' software turned on that might be blocking what sites you can use (as if you were a child). It's interesting that Amazon (a globally trustworthy site) works, but some others don't. Maybe on some list somewhere the ones that don't are considered in some way dodgy.



With Amazon, when you start your shopping do you sign-in? With the other sites that work, do you also sign-in? Are the ones that don't work those that either require sign-in only when you get to checkout, or don't require it at all?

I'm curious because you mentioned having to provide shipping & payment details, and for me most business sites I deal with already know these because I've registered with them. Maybe your real issue is that (perhaps because of the email problem) you've not been able to complete registration with the companies that require that at the start or during checkout?

I find it quite hard to believe that you could have all these website problems without any of them showing you any error messages. Are there none, or is it just that you you don't note down what happens so can't tell us?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email-wise: you say that no emails are arriving at FM. Apart from those that are purchase-related, did you, when it was all working properly in the past, get regular emails from friends, businesses (eg telling you about today's special offer etc), etc?

If you did, all the regular stuff should still be being sent to you by all those businesses.

If emails are being sent to you, and are not being received by FM, their staff should at least be able to find evidence of them being rejected by their servers.

If emails are being sent to you, and are being received, but then vanish so you never see them, their staff should be able to find out what is making them vanish. (I guess that that could be filters, or very aggressive anti-spam settings regarding all mail as spam, or it could be that another device is grabbing them all / deleting them before you see them.)

No-one here on the forum can look that closely. You DO NEED to ask FM staff for their hep.


You can raise a ticket via their website once you are logged in: click their icon at the top left, then choose Help, then 'contact our support team'. They do normally send emails out telling you when someone has replied to your ticket, but you don't need to be able to see those emails. Instead, every so often when you next login, go back through Help, 'contact our support team' and when you get to the place where you could create a new ticket, click on "Active tickets" to see those that are open, or "Closed tickets" to see those that have been closed (which might include any you create if you don't find them and reply soon enough).
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Old 27 Jan 2020, 08:35 AM   #11
FlashSheridan
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Angry Badly-reported settings changes

My problem turned out to be that my old settings were no longer permitted, and required a couple of changes, which were poorly reported.
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Old 27 Jan 2020, 01:13 PM   #12
noclue
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I use DDG to search for a business site. I order what I need, and then I proceed to the checkout. (I am registered at many of the sites, but not the ones I use infrequently.) I fill out pertinent data required by the site and then attempt to place the order. Sometimes it looks like I have placed the order. I get a confirmation notice of receipt of the order, but the item ordered never arrives. Sometimes I get no receipt for the order at all. Most commonly, I receive an on-screen notice on the business’ checkout page that my order cannot be processed.So I change browsers, but then the same problem hung happens.

I have contacted vendors about the problem, but they all (100%) will tell me that the problem is on my end, not theirs. WalMart Pharmacy is one example. iHerb and Vitacost are other examples. I just usually change to another company. What happens then is that I can order from the new company for a while, and then the problem starts all over again.

When I shop at Amazon, I have to sign in every time. I do not sign in at many other companies as they do not require it. Some do; some don’t. In the latter case, I have to be a “returning customer” with an account, but that sign-in comes at checkout.

I never receive any error notices with these transactions (or attempted transactions).
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Old 27 Jan 2020, 01:38 PM   #13
noclue
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Just happened again. Was researching home health care while sitting in the office recliner using the iPad. Emailed myself the page with the necessary information to read on the wide screen Mac. It was never received, and there was no notice that the email had not been sent.
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Old 27 Jan 2020, 09:18 PM   #14
JeremyNicoll
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlashSheridan View Post
My problem turned out to be that my old settings were no longer permitted, and required a couple of changes, which were poorly reported.
Where were these old settings? On FM's website? In their app? In something else?

And what did these settings affect? (Login, authentication, filtering...?)

If you weren't seeing mail in apps, did it at least show up on the FM server, as viewed by their webmail interface?

Last edited by JeremyNicoll : 27 Jan 2020 at 09:27 PM.
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Old 27 Jan 2020, 09:49 PM   #15
JeremyNicoll
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
I use DDG to search for a business site. I order what I need, and then I proceed to the checkout. (I am registered at many of the sites, but not the ones I use infrequently.) I fill out pertinent data required by the site and then attempt to place the order. Sometimes it looks like I have placed the order. I get a confirmation notice of receipt of the order, but the item ordered never arrives.
In cases where you get a confirmation notice, it's hard to see how non-delivery of the order can be caused by a computer problem. To pursue those non-deliveries you will need to have screenshots of these order confirmation screens, and then contact the vendor and ask why their delivery companies are not delivering to you. For a start you need to find out if the vendor is sending stuff or not. Maybe a local courier or postal service is at fault? Then again, maybe they've tried to deliver and failed and emailing you about that has not worked...


Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
Most commonly, I receive an on-screen notice on the business’ checkout page that my order cannot be processed.
Are you certain that the payment card has not expired and/or is not being (temporarily?) blocked by the card-issuer? Is it always the same card?

Have you asked the card-issuer (unless you already know from statements) whether any of these purchase attempts are being seen by them?


Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
I have contacted vendors about the problem, but they all (100%) will tell me that the problem is on my end, not theirs.
If you're speaking just to ordinary sales-oriented 'customer services' staff they may just say that, but it should be possible to find out what specific issues can cause an "order cannot be processed" message. You probably need the email issues solved first though, so you can send screenshots of their error messages to them, and get their replies.

Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
I just usually change to another company. What happens then is that I can order from the new company for a while, and then the problem starts all over again.
It's perplexing!
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