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21 Nov 08 - 12:51 PM (#2499415) Subject: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw Mudcat has helped me many times, and here I am again. I have several email accounts, and recently I tried sending myself a note from one to the other, but it vanished. Many times. Tried turning off spam filters, turning off McAfee email screening, tried everything I could think of, including spending an hour on the phone with AT&T tech support. His conclusion: a fluke. Well, the fluke is back to stay, apparently and I can't figure out what is causing this. I used to be able to do this. Last time it got all "fluked" up the address had turned up as a blocked address on my web server. No blocked addresses are there now. The message goes into my sent folder but never appears in the inbox or spam or anywhere else at all. Just vanishes. Except for after 59 minutes with tech support, when it showed up once and then never again after we both hung up. Any ideas? |
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21 Nov 08 - 01:04 PM (#2499423) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: John MacKenzie See if it will let you change the password. Strange as it may seem, that's what worked for me. JM |
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21 Nov 08 - 01:07 PM (#2499427) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Rasener Do you get an e-mail back, telling you that it can't be delivered? |
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21 Nov 08 - 01:12 PM (#2499434) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw No email back. No sign of the message except in the sent folder, either on the web or in Outlook Express. Will try the password change... |
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21 Nov 08 - 01:19 PM (#2499446) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Phil Edwards Well, that's your problem right there - you're not supposed to be sending email to yourself, email is for sending messages to other people. Try sending email to someone else and see if that works. OK? Glad I could help. Pip (did I ever mention I used to work in technical support?) |
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21 Nov 08 - 01:49 PM (#2499475) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: PoppaGator The software shouldn't "know" that a message's destination address happens to be one of the sender's other accounts. What we're talking about here is sending a message to "oneself" from one email account to another ~ right? I'm curious as to whether this happens for every combination of your different email accounts, or just one, or some but not others. (I'm assuming you have more than two email addresses, since you wrote the word "several.") Does the same failure occur when sending from A to B, from A to C, from B to A, B to C, C to A, C to B, etc.? I use Yahoo email, and the Yahoo interface ~ I don't use either flavor of Outlook. In that context, it is possible to send a message to yourself, literally ~ that is, from [myname]@yahoo.com to [myname]@yahoo.com. This works when you include yourself as a "cc" on a message to someone else, and even when sending a note only to yourself. I do this on occasion as a way to easily access attachments, often in order to copy files from work to home and vice-versa. Yahoo allows you to "save as draft," which saves the message in a "Drafts" folder, but it does not keep attachments with the draft text ~ so the sending-to-oneself option seems to be the only way to save attached files within my Yahoo email account so that they're accessible from anywhere. |
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21 Nov 08 - 02:05 PM (#2499495) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Phil Edwards The software shouldn't "know" that a message's destination address happens to be one of the sender's other accounts. No, of course not. (And actually, contrary to my evil twin posting up above, it's perfectly possible to send email to the address you're sending from.) With my real tech support hat on, I second PoppaG - try all the other possible combinations of your email accounts. If mail is disappearing when you send from account A to account B, try sending from account A to account C, then try sending from account C to account B. Mail disappearing is odd, but it would be very, very odd for mail to start disappearing for one specific combination of email accounts. |
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21 Nov 08 - 03:37 PM (#2499559) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Jack Campin Some kinds of spam generate messages that look like you're emailing yourself. Some anti-spam software accordingly makes them vanish. Cloudmark filtering (used by Demon) has done that to me at times when I'm sending myself a large binary. I'd suggest finding out what kind of anti-spam filtering is applied to your incoming messages, where it's done, and whether it's logged. |
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21 Nov 08 - 03:40 PM (#2499560) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: JohnInKansas AT&T has been quite good at solving all our problems, although we've found some "complexities" that we didn't have with prior services. It did take us a while to figure out, when we switched to AT&T, that there is one "Master Account" and login to that master account is required to make changes in any of the "subsidiary accounts" used to set up or manage another of our "subsidiary" AT&T email addresses. I haven't attempted it, but if you change a password in a sub-account without going through the master account it may not "take" as intended(?). Your accounts may be different, and/or may include non-AT&T accounts. If you've contacted AT&T support, they should have directed you to the correct places and logins for account management of any AT&T email accounts and/or subaccounts you may have; but they may not have made it clear how the "account hierarchy" (at AT&T) actually works. If some of your email addys are not subs of your AT&T master you may need to go directly to another ISP for help. Our service is technically from "AT&T/Yahoo." AT&T provides the lines, modem, and DSL hardware setup, but Yahoo technically is the ISP providing the internet connection and email. A result is that I can log in (with the same "identities") at separate websites for "AT&T,"AT&T/Yahoo," or just "Yahoo." Each of these sites has "Support" sections, including FAQ, but while the information is "mostly consistent" there is some difference between them. I avoid the "just Yahoo" site, since their answer to everything is that I need to install some new Yahoo crapware. The AT&T/Yahoo site has been generally most helpful for us. If you don't find an answer at one place though, you may have alternative help places appropriate for your service. When we set up our AT&T DSL with new AT&T email accounts, we were given the option of having mail to our old email addresses forwarded. We were not told, but on our own found that AT&T did not forward bulk mail so anything sent to the bulk folder at the old account did not show up. AT&T directed us to a method to "append" a "[bulk]" tag to stuff in the bulk mail folder in the old account, which permitted the mail to be forwarded, although we had to create a new, separate, folder in the new accounts to receive the junk (which sometimes, in the beginning, wasn't really junk). Forwarding from "non-AT&T" accounts, as we set up for our old accounts, was for a specified period, so if the email addresss that isn't getting the mail is not an AT&T one, the time period for forwarding may simply have "expired," if the forwarding was set up that way. I have ceased getting forwards from my old Hotmail account, although the last time I checked there was still "incoming" there. (The only "simple" way to cancel a free Hotmail account is to not access it for 30 days, so I'm reluctant to look again now for fear of reviving it. Lin's MSN email addy of course disappeared instantly when we stopped payments for it.) I haven't looked to see if there is a "permanent" setup for forwarding mail from a non-AT&T account to an AT&T one. We are set up using "email programs" to receive/send email. If you're using only "web mail" there will likely be some differences. Nearly all "receiving" email services look in your address book (contacts list in Vista) and may reject some things, especially forwards and/or with multiple addressees, from people who aren't listed. Your problem might be as simple as not having your own sending address in your receiving account addy book. With some email providers who assume that everybody uses web mail it may be necessary to log in to the receiving web email page and add the sending address to the on-site address book, since some of these services don't look at the local book on your machine. This is all rather "generic" info, but may help you to find better explanations of what's happening - if your setup is sufficiently similar to ours. John |
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21 Nov 08 - 04:19 PM (#2499589) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw I have ATT/Yahoo, with 5 different sub-accounts. All work sending mail to each other except for one account. I can receive outside mail to it but can't send myself something at that account. I have the address listed as a contact in each account on the web. Am forwarding all the accounts to one primary account, and they all get there (including spam) except for -lately- this one, if sent from myself. (By the way, I was sending myself a midi file of a tune I wrote, so I could access it away from home on my laptop via the web-based mail, in order to remember the tune to work on lyrics). I tried turning off all the spam filters and rechecking all the redirects and contact lists. ATT support was very supportive (for over an hour) and led me through all the things I had already done, only to arrive at the conclusion that it was a fluke. So yes, it is very odd that this one particular mail account disappears. Still wasting time trying to figure it out... |
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21 Nov 08 - 04:49 PM (#2499598) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw New mysteries. Changed the password of the bad account, and all worked fine! For a minute. Then I tried sending that midi file again, and all is back into the twilight zone. Nothing anywhere but the sent folder. Did however get a returned mail notice this time, saying my main account had a permanent fatal error and "Deferred: Connection reset by mx2.sbc.mail.yahoo.com. Message could not be delivered for 1 day Message will be deleted from queue" Huh? |
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21 Nov 08 - 04:52 PM (#2499602) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: McGrath of Harlow Are you writing out the address or clicking on it in a list? If the latter maybe there's something gone wrong with the file containing the list so that the address being copied is wrong. I had a problem at one point with sending stuff to my son's email, because an address which was supposed to have the ending ".com" had been turned into one with the ending "co.uk" |
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21 Nov 08 - 04:57 PM (#2499605) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw I'm typing out the full address same way each time. Worked for awhile, now it doesn't. |
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21 Nov 08 - 05:11 PM (#2499609) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw ...well, now I'm getting messages like this: ----- Transcript of session follows ----- 451 4.4.1 reply: read error from mx1.sbc.mail.yahoo.com. 451 4.4.1 reply: read error from mx2.sbc.mail.yahoo.com. ... Deferred Message could not be delivered for 1 day Message will be deleted from queue How'd I do that? Maybe it has to do with the midi? |
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21 Nov 08 - 05:26 PM (#2499618) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Cluin Perhaps your ISP is applying its own spam filters/blockers, etc. without your knowledge or consent. Some do, to cut down on useless email traffic or some of their customers employing spam-like techniques that result in complaints being sent to them. There is no good reason you can't send email to yourself, especially to the same eddress you are emailing from. That is the first diagnostic technique you try to see if your email is working. Whenever one of your emails does come through, try this: right click on that email in the inbox and select "Add sender to Address Book". Then use THAT entry to send emails to yourself. It sounds redundant, but for some reason it works. (this is assuming your are using Outlook or Outlook Express for an email client). |
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22 Nov 08 - 03:08 AM (#2499850) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: JohnInKansas Can you send from one of your other accounts to the one that doesn't get through? If so, try doing as Cluin suggests: send yourself a message, from the account that's not receiving the mail to the one that's not sending, and in the one that can't send click on the "add sender to address book" - and if it tells you the sender is already there click the "replace" option (or rename, if it's offered). Note that most addy books can have the same name with multiple email addresses, or multiple names with the same email addy, so you may have to sort out which one is the new (reset) one. This should assure that the send-to address is up to date and contains all the necessary info. You haven't indicated what email program you're using. If you're using "web mail" in a browser, all your email is on the server, and even though limits are pretty generous, the receiving account may be "stuffed too full" to receive the midi (although most midi files are pretty small). AT&T/Yahoo does have a downloadable "connection analyser" that they've recommended to me. Unfortunately the recommendation always came when I had NO CONNECTION so I couldn't download it and haven't tried it out. It may or may not check out each individual account. Your help desk advisor should have checked out everything that the automated analyzer can do, but sometimes "automation is better" (?). While "walking through" multiple accounts - especially with remote advice - it's easy to think everything looks the same when there is some small difference, especially after an hour on the phone (after time on hold and all the bad music and adverts in the voice-while-waiting). Last resort: get a "memory stick" and sneaker-net the stuff between home and office (unless your office tech crew has disabled saves via USB ports or otherwise prohibits it). John |
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22 Nov 08 - 03:43 AM (#2499868) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: JohnInKansas Barbara: For reference: AT&T Self Support Tool Download You may not want to get into using this little wizard now, but it could be someting you'd like to have on hand in case of future (and maybe different) problems. Note that there are separate versions for a.) Vista, and b.)Everything Else. The initial download is a small installer (.exe) that you can either run or save and then double-click. The article indicates that the installation may ask for additional downloads, so it needs to be installed when your connection is working so it can retrieve any "extras" needed - before you actually need it to fix a problem. (If you have a current Windows and IE you probably shouldn't need any of the extras, at least for the initial installation.) As indicated, I haven't tried it out; but other "utilities" AT&T has used for support with us have been pretty good. John |
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22 Nov 08 - 02:22 PM (#2500164) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw Well, I figured out the problem by eliminating each variable, and now I'm trying to decide whether to waste more time by calling up tech support to tell THEM what it is. Mudcat folks however are worth taking the time for... JohnInKansas' suggestion to reset the password got the account back up and running again, and then I tried various things one at a time to get it to shut down again. The problem is sending the midi file to an address which is redirected to my primary address. I was able to send emails to myself at this account and they were redirected correctly, until I sent a file attachment with the message. That seems to have confused it, causing a read error which shut down the account. What I had to do to fix the problem is remove the redirect of the messages. Did not need to reset the password. Resetting it the first time enabled me to try process of elimination, but now I know I don't need to do that next time. So I know the problem and how to work around it, but it's a nuisance that I have to work around it. It was handy having all my mail delivered to one address, although now I'm wondering how much of it I may have lost! Thanks to everyone for the interest and suggestions. |
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23 Nov 08 - 01:18 PM (#2500618) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Barbara Shaw I take part of it back. It failed again with no attachment. The redirected URL is the problem, but only for this one account. Remove the redirect and it works. Sheeeeesh. |
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22 Oct 10 - 04:04 AM (#3012803) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: andrew e This happened to me sending to my Gmail email address. Gmail was blocking it and it ended up in the more/spam on their web page. You can set Gmail to never send emails from a particular address to spam, but there doesn't seem to be a setting on Gmail to never send anything to spam. |
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22 Oct 10 - 11:02 PM (#3013470) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Genie Interesting. I often do get my own emails being sent back to me, when I hit "reply all" to a group email I have been sent. Since my e-dress is on the original list of recipients, I do end up "replying" to myself as well as the others. That happens on aol., yahoo., etc. Then, as Jack Campin alluded to, I sometimes also get SPAM "from" myself. I can't imagine why I would be SPAMming myself to sell myself penis enlargements or viagra, but, hey! It's coming from my own e-dress, so it must be from me, right? |
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22 Oct 10 - 11:28 PM (#3013482) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: wysiwyg No, it's a spoofed email address. ~S~ |
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23 Oct 10 - 04:43 AM (#3013554) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Genie I know, Susan. ; ) I was just being silly. I'd still like to know how they do that, though. |
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23 Oct 10 - 09:40 AM (#3013664) Subject: RE: Tech: Can't send email to myself From: Nick >>I'd still like to know how they do that, though. Incredibly simple to do - Email spoofing. Not because I do it but because I needed to understand it in the past for work when we had a problem with people spoofing our addresses and our clients (in their naivety) thinking we were sending them viruses. |