Does Apple Mail work for you on Xfinity/Comcast to receive and send email?

[dplank]

I used to use Apple Mail easily with Comcast. For the last 18 +or - months I have had nothing but trouble getting and sending email. I have worked with Apple until it was determined that Apple could find nothing wrong with the way in which Mail handled email. I went back to Comcast to try what Apple suggested to help resolve this problem. I had a real problem finding someone at Comcast who knew what Apple had suggested to fix the problem. I finally found an "agent" who thought he knew what apple and I were talking about. We worked together and got Mail working on our two iPhones, an iPad and a MacBook Pro.

Since that time, I have had to call Comcast at least 12-15 times to reconnect all my devices. At one point I gave up and tried to use the Comcast/Xfinity email app for about 2 months. I got so frustrated using their app I tried to get Apple Mail working again. Didn't work! Same problem. Right now I can get email on Apple Mail only on my MacBook Pro, but I can't send email. Nothing on the iPhones or iPad.

Three hours ago I was told that an "agent" would return my call. Familiar technique to dump a call they don't want to deal with. So tired of dealing with them. Is there a better email service out there that can give me 75 bps+ in Northern Indiana?

Has anyone had better experiences?

Is there a solution?

DPlank

[Xairbusdriver]

I had problems several years ago, but that was due to Comcast switching from POP to IMAP. I seem to remember setting different ports but I can't remember how or where. That was probably done when setting up an email account, I don't even see a way of doing that in Mail in Mojave macOS 10.14 or macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

It might be worth setting up a new user on the Mac and then setting up Mail there. Hopefully, that will ask/allow setting the port that Comcast uses for IMAP. You've probably already checked their site for the current port number.

[dplank]

Setting up a new user would require a new email address, right? Don't really want to do that as too many contacts have my current address. And yes, I've corrected the port on several occasions.

Thank for your input,

D

[Xairbusdriver]

Setting up a new user would require a new email address, right?

Not really. But any mail you get will show as "New" only while logged into that account. When you switch or log in to your main account, it should appear there also, but that message will now show as being already read. And there is no point in setting up your custom mailboxes, just leave the default ones that Mail will create.

You can wait to see if others agree with me or if they have other suggestions. BTW, I'm not a reall expert, I just pretend to be with my wife (and occasionally here at TS)! Also, I was rong wonse!!

[Paddy]

Just to clarify, Dave - when Jim says to try setting up a new account, he means a new user account on your Mac, not a new email account. Sometimes things get corrupted in user accounts - this is a way to figure out if that is the issue. Just start up Mail, add the Comcast account and see if the issues are the same as they are when you're logged into your normal main account.

As for alternatives to Comcast - I have no idea, but this might help: https://www.highspeedinternet.com/in

As for alternatives just for your email, why not use iCloud? It's free - and you're not the product, the way you are with Gmail.

Most of the free email alternatives rely on advertising to you or collecting your data, so depending on how you feel about that, perhaps not the best option. But that said, Gmail is very good - I've got quite a few Gmail accounts for various things. And it's been reliable and has good spam filtering - which is more than I can say for Yahoo and its peculiarities (my ISP, Rogers, uses it, so I'm rather more acquainted with its foibles than I'd like).

The other option is to buy a domain and cheap hosting. Then you can set up as many email accounts as you want (depending on the hosting). And if you change ISPs at home, it doesn't matter - you keep your domain and email addy(s).

Or, if you don't want to bother with that and just want the email, then check out something like this: https://www.namecheap.com/hosting/email.aspx?sscid=b1k2_7yzkr&utm_source=SAS&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=1383199&affnetwork=sas - you can buy the domain from Namecheap. (I recommend them as a domain registrar and have a couple of client's sites there as well - good, reliable host). Or, my other fave (buy the domain at Namecheap) for hosting - Crocweb.com* - use the HOSTME coupon and sign up for 3 years and you get 3 years of hosting for just over $60. I have moved many of my clients there now; very reliable, good tech support, based in Canada, though bills in USD. Do NOT fall into the trap of signing up for something like iPage which has an intro price of $1.99, and then renews at $8-$10 a month.

*This site is now hosted at Crocweb. We moved from Asmallorange.com - they were bought out by host-gobbler EIG and the prices went through the roof. Avoid all EIG-owned hosts (Hostgator, Bluehost and on and on - look at the list at Wikipedia before signing up with anyone, should you go that route. They RUIN hosts; they're the Walmart of hosting companies)