EMail Not Syncing - Having Trouble Describing Issue!

[rjbinney]

I am absolutely stymied here.

I use Outlook 2016 (all updates current) on Windows 10 64 (all updates current) with my AOL account.

Today, between 10:12AM and 11:31AM, it stopped sending and receiving messages.

Outlook shows "connected", but I get a "Send/Receive" error:


This happens whether or not I am connected to my 'home' ISP or tethered to my phone's T-Mobile account.

I am able to send and receive messages on my iPad, using its built in standard Mail app. On both WiFi and on its AT&T cellular service.

I am able to SEND messages via my Android phone's built-in Mail app, but I am NOT able to update my Android Inbox ,using either WiFi or T-Mobile. I don't receive an error message, it just eventually times out.

I just set up Thunderbird on my PC using same ports and authentication as Outlook, and it seems to send and receive just fine.

My Outlook sends and receives a non-AOL account just fine.

Checking mail on AOL.com appears to be A-OK. Using Outlook for WebAccess doesn't seem to do anything (no Inboxes, etc., update, and the test message shows in Sent but never did send. Then again, I don't know that I have ever been asked to provide my AOL password to OWA).

My AOL account on Outlook (on Windows PC) last received a message at 10:12 this morning. The next message in my iPad Inbox is at 11:31; it has not yet appeared in my PC Outlook.

I made no known changes to my Outlook configuration.

I attempted a System Restore, which failed - telling me my AntiVirus was interfering. I use Windows Defender, turned it off, and it still failed. (I have successfully used System Restore on this PC, with Defender running, in the past).

I am at my wits' end - it's clearly not an ISP issue (since it doesn't matter what network my PC is connected to). I thought perhaps it was a port issue on AOL's side - but how does that explain the iPad is working fine?

So I am in a pickle. I don't know what to try, or even who to reach out to - AOL? But even then, what is the issue? I know if I reach out to MSFT it will be weeks of back-and-forth was I re-explain everything in this post.

Thoughts? Help?

(And no, "Stop using AOL" is neither an option nor is it helpful.)

[BC_Programmer]

AOL is down, as seen here. Massive spike in issues.

Your iPad probably managed to connect at some point but your PC did not; not atypical if their servers are being spotty.

[rjbinney]

Funny, I tried Googling "AOL Mail Server Issues" and "AOL Not Connecting" as well as "AOL Outlook Sync Issues" and never got that. I presumed AOL wasn't "down" (so I didn't Google that) because iPad, T-Bird, and www.aol.com were all being Fonzie.

It hasn't been sporadic - the devices that will not connect will NOT connect. The ones that do, consistently do. (i.e., the WIndows Outlook as not synced at all today. The iPad and Windows Thunderbird ALWAYS connect.)

So I don't understand, but will be patient....

Thank you,

[Geek-9pm]

Have you tried other emails cervices other than AOL?
Possibly AOL may soon undergone a radical change. If that should happen, you will want to have an alternative email company.
Here is a quick list of  firms you never knewt:
https://adespresso.com/blog/5-best-email-tracking-services-know-when-your-email-has-been-opened/
But IMO, you should stick with the big guns:
Gmail
iCloud
Outlook
Yahoo
Why am I negative about AOL?  Lookl here:
http://www.theledger.com/news/20171104/gadget-daddy-aol-announces-big-changes

You know it has had a profound impact on America when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg eulogizes it this way: “AOL Instant Messenger was a defining part of my childhood. As part of the first generation to grow up with the Internet, it helped me understand Internet communication intuitively and emotionally in a way that people just a few years older may have only considered intellectually.”
Facebook and other services contributed to the demise of AIM. As one AOL vice president said, the end has come because “the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed.”

But a radical change might never happen.   

Back to your question.
I think if you try another service the problem will go away.     

[rjbinney]

Please see the last line of my original post.

[Geek-9pm]

OK. Don't  stop using it. Troubleshoot it. Break the problem into pieces.
First step is to have a standard to compare. This helps eliminate hardware and ISP issues and that kind of thing.
You need another e-mail account with another service to test out things. Your local ISP gave you an email account - Right? How welldoes it work doing the same things. Most mobile devices will let you have more than  one e-mail service at the same time.
Do you have a spare computer? Do you have an alternative internet connection?  Some local ISP companies may deliberately or carelessly  interfere with your e-mail service.** Having another PC and another service and another e-mail is how  you build a log of  things that happen.
Do yu have a friend or relative that seldom uses their smartphone? Borrow it and run some tests.

** Deliberate degradation of Internet service has been well-documented. Here is just one of many.
Top 6 Internet Service Provider Lies