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DonnaM's avatar
DonnaM
New Contributor
12 years ago

Can't send e-mails

I saw this same question asked last September with not solution, so I need to revisit.  I cannot send e-mails through Cox.  That is using either Cox webmail, enhanced mail or MAC Mail.  The error message is:

"  The message was not sent to cmatthewsri@cox.net. There are several reasons why this may have occurred: 1) You may have exceeded the allowable sending limit via WebMail. If you have knowingly been sending numerous messages within a short time period, you may be blocked from sending additional messages for a period of three hours, at which time the block will be automatically lifted. 2) The content of your message may be considered spam by our anti-spam systems, and has therefore been blocked. Try sending an empty test message to yourself to see if you can receive it. If you receive it, this would indicate that the blocked message is considered spam. Please visit http://coxagainstspam.cox.net for more information. 3) There may be a temporary system problem or maintenance which is causing the failure. Please visit http://status.cox.net for current information about such issues. In this case, the service will be restored as soon as possible."

I know I did not send spam, and the Cox service is not down.  Some how I am exceeding the sending limits, which I am not.  

I bought an IMac in August 2012.  This problem started slowly at the end of September 2012 where I could not send e-mail on occasion.  The problem got worse and worse.  When I started the quest a couple of weeks ago with Cox Tech Support to solve the problem, sending came to a dead stop.  It was suggested that a virus on either the Mac or 2 laptops was spamming without me knowing it.  After disconnecting all computers, then systematically reconnecting them, I found that I could send for a day then the problem would return.  So, I could not isolate one specific computer as the problem computer.  I believe this is a Cox problem, which Cox Tech Support can't help me with.

So, is this a Cox problem or is it a home computer problem?  I am disgusted that I can't find a solution.  I am switching to gmail today!

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  • T_Willis's avatar
    T_Willis
    New Contributor
    12 years ago

    keep getting the same error message. also noticed not all of the emails sent to me are actually delivered. today, for the 3rd time since december I have missed yet another important work email. great job cox, i've had nothing but problems from your shoddy email service, i now HAVE to go back to using gmail or yahoo just to make sure i get all of my emails. NOT HAPPY! as soon as I have the time i am dropping cox & going back to at&t, at least then i can be assured all of my emails are delivered!

  • ChrisL's avatar
    ChrisL
    Former Moderator
    12 years ago

    A virus or some other process sending large quantities of email does sounds like the most plausible explanation based on the sequence of events described.  If disconnecting all of the computers resolved the problem even if just for a short period of time it sounds to me like one of them could be contributing to the problem.  If you also use any portable devices for accessing email such as Apple or Android it may also be worth removing and re-adding the email account settings.  Sometimes in the course of those devices receiving updates email settings can get corrupted to where our system sees too many bad email commands being sent and the account can get quarantined.

  • beachguru's avatar
    beachguru
    New Contributor
    12 years ago

    REJOICE!!!  I FINALLY FOUND THE FIX!!!!  After months of the same problem and coming very close to closing all cox accounts, I realized what the problem was.  Here is the fix:

    1.  Delete everything in your outbox (because each minute, it will continue to try to send and the system thinks you are sending a very large number of emails and it will think it's spam.)

    2.Delete all outboxes in all accounts affiliated with this email.  For me, this was my iphone mail's outbox.

    Once I deleted BOTH of the outboxes and waited the necessary hours for the system to allow me to send emails again, the problem NEVER came back.  Hope this helps everyone!!!

  • ChrisL's avatar
    ChrisL
    Former Moderator
    12 years ago

    Excellent advice, glad to hear that fixed the issue.