Pop Mail Not Working

[jayach]

@PaulABZ 

Glad you were able to prove the POP servers are still working.

As the clients that are having problems are old Microsoft software, I wonder if the latest Windows update has removed something they require.

[PaulABZ]

It does point to some windows update issue, jayach.

I'll have a look at that as I'd like to get to the bottom of it. The 'new' version of Outlook Express looks workable, but you've to pay to unlock some features. I think it might be time for me to move into the 21st century for my PC email and get something more up-to-date. 😄

Thanks for helping.

Paul

[jayach]

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@PaulABZ wrote:

I think it might be time for me to move into the 21st century for my PC email and get something more up-to-date. 😄

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Thunderbird is free and fully up to date, but can be a bit "techie".

Thunderbird — Free Your Inbox. — Thunderbird

[PaulABZ]

Thanks again jayach, but OE Classic looks ideal for me and will be worth paying the $39 for three years worth of use.

It might also allow me to move away from this Windows 7 PC at long last!! 😧

[Terrym4]

i can send emails but not receive any on outlook express using microsoft office 2007. message says -cannoy connect to POPserver.

[Mark39]

@Terrym4 you're not alone. I've added your post to an existing thread on the same subject. Something appears to have changed with Outlook Express.

[jayach]

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@Terrym4 wrote:

i can send emails but not receive any on outlook express using microsoft office 2007. message says -cannoy connect to POPserver.

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The version of Outlook that you get with Office 2007 is not Outlook Express, so are you using O.E. or Outlook 2007?

Was it working O.K. and just failed?

[jayach]

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@Armadillo1969 wrote:

My pop3 email also stopped working this week (Windows Live Mail on PC), no emails received since Tuesday.

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I've tried installing Windows Live Mail on a couple of Windows 10 PCs but finally gave up because of a variety of errors.

However, strangely, it installed without problems on Windows 11 and I can confirm it connects to the Sky POP server without problem.

What version of Windows are you using?

[Armadillo1969]

Windows 7, same OS as the original poster I think?

I've also tried downloading and installing OE Classic and that does work. I wonder what suddenly changed in Windows Live Mail for it to suddenly stop working on Windows 7.

[jayach]

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@Armadillo1969 wrote:

I've also tried downloading and installing OE Classic and that does work. I wonder what suddenly changed in Windows Live Mail for it to suddenly stop working on Windows 7.

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I had suspected a Windows update may have broken something, but that is unlikely on Windows 7.🤔

[Tony_J]

I have the same problem as @PaulABZ . Also using POP3 mail settings on Outlook Express with Windows 7. The rejection of my connection attempt is instant. Nothing has changed on my PC and a system restore to before 5 September makes no difference.

Sky or Yahoo must have changed something but kept quiet about it. The easiest workaround for me is to start using the IMAP servers in Outlook Express instead which work (thanks to LotusGreg in another thread) but this in not ideal. It creates a new set of Inbox, Sent Mail, etc. folders below the old ones and so splits my email archive as well as now mirroring the webmail email folders which it didn't do before.

I am not a current Sky TV/Broadband customer and wondered if this is something to do with it as they try to shake me off. I dropped by a friend yesterday who also has Outlook Express on Windows 7 and his email has continued working seamlessly. I checked all the POP settings and they are identical to mine. He is a current Sky TV customer but not does not use them for his ISP. So my theory that Sky may be rejecting non Sky IPs cannot be the issue either.

It's a pity that Sky do not seem to have any means of contacting anyone technically able to troubleshoot this or give a straight answer as to what they changed and the reasoning. As IMAP still works it is a little baffling and random as to who is affected with identical email client/Windows OS.

I suppose this is just a moan but I would like to get it working as before if possible.

[Mark39]

@Tony_J if you read through the previous posts here, you'll see that Outlook Express is the issue possibly as a result of  Windows Update. 

Nothing has been changed by Sky. I'm still using POP3 on Sky servers perfectly satisfactorily via Outlook (not OE).

[Tony_J]

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply Mark. I have read through the entire thread and only see speculation that Outlook Express has changed and is the problem, nothing conclusive.

I have checked my Windows 7 installation and regular Windows Updates have not been happening for years. The last update was an occasional Malicious Removal Tool update on 13 August 2025 after which Outlook Express continued to work OK until early September.

I think something has changed at Sky.  I accept that POP still works for many people so has not been switched off entirely. I can only guess that it might be a subtle change like dropping support for an older TLS encryption method on the mail server which my combination of Windows 7/ Outlook Express relies upon to still function.

The Sky POP mail server is there and seeing my connection attempt then instantly rejects it. If I use a different port number like 993 then the system hangs waiting for a response.

I don't suppose that anything can be done now if this is progress but I am sure nothing has changed on my system.

[jayach]

@Tony_J 

It's interesting that you say a fried with similar setup still works. Is that also with a Sky account, and are you both using the same POP server, either pop.tools.sky.com or pop.mail.yahoo.com.

Have you tried with both POP servers?

[PaulABZ1]

@Tony_J 

Looks like you were using the same set-up as me.

I bit the bullet last week and invested in a new Mini PC with Windows 11 and installed OE Classic on it and it works great - I wish I'd done it years ago!

The three year subscription cost £34.61 and it's just like OE6 - but better...and Pop3 works perfectly with my three Sky Yahoo mail addresses.

Good luck with finding a fix though.