Unable to Access Email over VPN -

[UserTom]

I have an @ntlworld.com email address and download emails to my laptop using the Pop3 server, and send email using the SMTP server. I also have a VPN provided by Norton. I have been using these together for some time. Starting from yesterday 11th June, I have to turn the VPN off to allow me to send/receive emails to my ntlworld.com email; my other email addresses still send and receive OK with the VPN On.

Has something changed on the POP3 and SMTP virginmedia.com servers?

[Client62]

It is another VM network routing fault affecting traffic to AWS , Google DNS, Github  and more.

The Norton VPN may be a good workaround until it is fixed.

[coenoby]

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@UserTom wrote:

Has something changed on the POP3 and SMTP virginmedia.com servers?

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It's possible but I have just tested sending and receiving VM emails using a VPN, (although not Norton's) and I can send and receive emails fine using Thunderbird over my VPN.

Are you getting any error messages from your email app/client?

To get the actual reason the VM SMTP server is not authenticating your emails turn on your VPN and then try the following:

1) Copy the following line of command text and then paste it into a MS Word document (or which ever text editor you prefer) so that you can edit it.
curl -v smtps://smtp.virginmedia.com -u username:password

2) Once you have pasted it into Word, replace "username" with your full Virgin Media email address, and "password" with your email password. So that part should now say something like

richardbranson@virginmedia.com:fox-soft-read-lane

It is important to keep the colon : and the space before and after that piece of text exactly as per the original line of text in step 1.

3) Type cmd into the Windows 10 / 11search bar, press Enter and then Open the Command Prompt app.

4) Copy the full line of text that you just amended in step 2 from the Word document and paste it where the cursor is blinking in the Command Prompt. Then press Enter.

After a second or two you should then see a string of output.

If the VM sever has authenticated and not found a problem you will see a line which includes the phrase "Authentication successful"

If there is an error then you will see a line which says something like "< 535 5.7.8 Authentication Credentials Invalid (VM300)"
 It is that line, particularly the VMxxx code that we need you to give us please. (Do not post the full output from the curl command.)
Sorry to go on at such length but that VMXXX error code would be very useful. to know what's going on.

Coenoby

[Alex_RM]

Hi UserTom,

Thanks for posting, sorry to hear you've had some issues accessing email over VPN. As Client62 advised we were aware of an issue which has since been resolved.

Let us know if you're still having any issues.

Alex_Rm

[UserTom]

Thanks for your suggest Coenoby, After a couple of days the problem dissappeared, but it returned sometime last week. The error message I am getting is:"Receiving' reported error (0x80042108) : 'Outlook cannot connect to your incoming (POP3) email server. If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP)." which to me suggests some kind of routing error.

I have now done some more logical checking. When the VPN is on I cannot ping pop3.virginmedia.com. When the VPN is off I can ping the POP3 server. I think I will try raising it with Norton

Thanks for your time

Tom

[coenoby]

@UserTom wrote:

When the VPN is on I cannot ping pop3.virginmedia.com. When the VPN is off I can ping the POP3 server. I think I will try raising it with Norton

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Did you try running the curl command (curl -v smtps://smtp.virginmedia.com -u username:password) that I set out in my first post? Run it with the VPN on.

That might give a more informative error message. You really need to know why the VM servers are rejecting the emails from Outlook. It's then VM 3NN code that we need.

Coenoby