How do I get a log of error messages

It now seems to randomly NOT send emails. They appear in the 'sent' box, however they haven't (sometimes) been sent! There are no messages to say why. Surely the main important thing an email client should do is reliably to send emails, and if it can't send them, give you a warning message?. There is an error console but that doesn't give details of messages it has been unable to send.

Sometimes Thunderbird says 'message sent successfully' briefly. Sometimes it doesn't (although sometimes the message is sent, but either way it is placed in the "sent" folder). I have looked at add ons, mail alert may be useful but doesn't seem to be reliable in itself. It seems that thunderbird as always had problems with mail. I know it's free, I know therefore nobody is paid to support it. Firefox is great, but maybe time to move on from Thunderbird

'too many messages' is a message from the server telling you that you are exceeding your limits. If this is occuring on a frequent basis, then I suggest you discover what these limits are and stop exceeding them. It would not matter what email clent you use, you would still be getting the same error message because it comes from the server.

At the end of the day, you can fix this this by not exceeding the limits.

Limits could be x number of emails per hour or per day or the number of email addesses sent as a single mail eg: bulk mailing.

Thunderbird is not and does not have a server, it connects to server and after authentication is ok'd by server, then emails are sent to server. So from Thunderbirds point of view it sent the emails, hence a copy was saved in 'sent' folder. What the various servers choose to do after that is beyond email client programs.

You could try using 'Options' > 'Delivery Status Notification' on emails.

BT are a pain in the derriere when it comes down to offering information of this type to residential users (as opposed to business).

Max attachment size is 20Mb.

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/48754/~/bt-mail-email-send-limits-(error-452-or-0781)

I think the limit on sending one email to several email addresses (bulk mail) is 50 email addresses. I would also reckon that if a bulk mail exceeds the limits eg: 51 then none would sent by server, a sort of bulk fail.

BT do not post or give out any information in any forum question on exactly what these hourly, daily, or bulk mail limitations currently are set at, so it's a bit of trial and error. This is because they do not want to alert this info to 'spammers', which is unhelpful.

Toad-Hall said

'too many messages' is a message from the server telling you that you are exceeding your limits. If this is occuring on a frequent basis, then I suggest you discover what these limits are and stop exceeding them. It would not matter what email clent you use, you would still be getting the same error message because it comes from the server. Limits could be x number of emails per hour or per day or the number of email addesses sent as a single mail eg: bulk mailing. Thunderbird is not and does not have a server, it connects to server and after authentication is ok'd by server, then emails are sent to server. So from Thunderbirds point of view it sent the emails, hence a copy was saved in 'sent' folder. What the various servers choose to do after that is beyond email client programs. You could try using 'Options' > 'Delivery Status Notification' on emails. Max attachment size is 20Mb. http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/48754/~/bt-mail-email-send-limits-(error-452-or-0781) I think the limit on sending one email to several email addresses (bulk mail) is 50 email addresses. I would also reckon that if a bulk mail exceeds the limits eg: 51 then none would sent by server, a sort of bulk fail.

Thank you more your reply. Bt's email has always been iffy, imo, and seems to be getting more so. Along with everything else BT, IMO

I certainly sent very view emails maybe no more than twenty in and hour and as bulk mail no more than 5-6 maximum. However that error has never occurred since.

I cannot find "options then delivery status notifications", I have looked for ages......sorry

On the toolbar > Options> Advanced > General Click on the return Receipt option button.

OR for per account settings

Right click the account in the folder pane, Select settings from the menu Select Return receipts for the account

Matt said

On the toolbar > Options> Advanced > General Click on the return Receipt option button. OR for per account settings Right click the account in the folder pane, Select settings from the menu Select Return receipts for the account

Thanks, but return receipt doesn't solve the problem. That's useful if the message has actually been sent by Thunderbird and the recipient gives a return receipt (usually they don't bother or don't understand what it is) What I find is that Thunderbird says it's sent the mail and put it in the sent folder even if it hasn't been able to send it. It actually did it again today, when my network connection was physically disconnected. There was an error message (usually there isn't) in this case it was 'an error occurred while sending mail. The mail server sent an incorrect greeting: Cannot connect to SMTP server 1.1.1.1:25), connect error 10060' Clearly nonsense, however the mail was put in the sent box!

jasee said

Cannot connect to SMTP server 1.1.1.1:25), connect error 10060' Clearly nonsense, however the mail was put in the sent box!

clearly nonsense alright. an IP address of 1.1.1.1 on port 25 would indicate you have some serious issues.

That IP address is assigned to the APNIC labs (Melbourne Australia) although google search indicates some Some ISP-side data compression proxies also use this address illegally. So I would suggest you and your ISP have a conversation

Matt said

jasee said

Cannot connect to SMTP server 1.1.1.1:25), connect error 10060' Clearly nonsense, however the mail was put in the sent box!

clearly nonsense alright. an IP address of 1.1.1.1 on port 25 would indicate you have some serious issues.

That IP address is assigned to the APNIC labs (Melbourne Australia) although google search indicates some Some ISP-side data compression proxies also use this address illegally. So I would suggest you and your ISP have a conversation

No, no, I had lost physical connection. There was no connection between my pc and the Internet! Thunderbird was trying to send to a non existent address, but it still put the email in its 'sent' box, why?

obviously Thunderbird is not talking to the internet, perhaps an anti virus program acting as a proxy, some sort of VPN. I have no idea how your device is setup. What I do know is if it is reporting a 1.1.1.1 IP address for a server it is not normal by any stretch of the imagination. Connected to the internet or not.

Sorry, I don't think you're understanding. Thunderbird should not be saying IMO that it has sent a message if the connections are like this

I understand all right. When we work out what is causing this bizarre use of a reserved IP address I would guess we will also work out why Thunderbird is doing what it is.

Pull the power cord from your laptop. That is more like what I see happening here. Although I have no idea what is going on.

If your computer is offline, Thunderbird should know that and refuse to even try and send mail. It should simply drop it into your outbox pending going online. So why is the network state a mystery to Thunderbird? My guess is because it is not talking to the network, but some other software be it anti virus, proxy or VPN which is making the environment unstable.

Matt said

If your computer is offline, Thunderbird should know that and refuse to even try and send mail. It should simply drop it into your outbox pending going online. So why is the network state a mystery to Thunderbird? My guess is because it is not talking to the network, but some other software be it anti virus, proxy or VPN which is making the environment unstable.

Ok well as it happens I am using Avast, you used to have to configure AV programs to intercept the emails, but now you don't have to. So I will turn it off on email and see if it makes any difference and report back

It doesn't make any difference with avast off.

I think the email message as I send should say 'Attaching' (if it is adding a photo for instance, then 'Sending' then 'Delivering' (with a percentage) then 'Message sent'

Sometimes (very rarely) I see all of this, most times I see nothing!

If the message isn't sent, it should still be in the 'out' box. But it never is! It is always in the 'sent' whether it is sent or not!