Yahoo Email "imap.tools.sky.com” on the default ports timed out

[Dale+Gribble]

Yesterday morning, Yahoo stopped working on my iMac and MacBook. This is the error:

There may be a problem with the mail server or network. Verify the settings for account “Yahoo!” or try again.

The server returned the error: Connections to the server “imap.tools.sky.com” on the default ports timed out.

I have deleted and added the Yahoo email account a number of times and no change. The error remains.

I am using Apple Mail on OS El Capitan so it's just within the recommended OS for the Yahoo mail to work.

I've checkd the port numbers and all seems to be as it should so I cannot figure out what I need to do. Yahoo mail is working perfectly on my iPhone but that looks to use a different IMAP server.

[Mark39]

Welcome to the forum @Dale+Gribble . You've probably guessed we're maonly customers here.

You'll probably need to use a generated password in place of your normal Sky password in your Mac setup. You can find the link to enable you to generate an app password in this guide from Sky: https://www.sky.com/help/articles/problems-accessing-sky-mail-from-your-email-app

[caesarome]

All you should need to do is to generate a 16 digit password and use that instead of the usual password it uses, you can you can generate the 16 digit password here:

https://www.sky.com/sky-yahoo-mail/manage-apps?client=email

[Dale+Gribble]

Thanks both

Yes, I'd seen that but it seemed to apply to a password error, which I'm not getting so I was a little hesitant. I cannot find any reports of this IMAP error online so I think my only option is to try the 16 digit password as you've suggested. Thanks.

[caesarome]

Let us know how you get on !

[Dale+Gribble]

My Apple Mail must be too old because there is no option to update the password, once the account has been created. Not that I can find anyway.
I tried deleting the account and adding it again using the 16 digit password but the account was not recognised, so I had to add it using my regular password.
After a fresh re-install of the account, I can send one email but if I try to send another, it just hangs and the email stays in my outbox forever. So the SMTP isn't working too well either. Anyway, I added the 16 digit password in the SMTP settings but that made no difference either.
I have a feeling I'll be transferring everything to my Gmail account!

[Mark39]

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@Dale+Gribble wrote:

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I have a feeling I'll be transferring everything to my Gmail account!

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For all manner of reasons, I would definitely recommend you doing that!

[caesarome]

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@Dale+Gribble wrote:

I have a feeling I'll be transferring everything to my Gmail account!

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That is a very good idea as Gmail just works and you will not have issues like this with them.

Regarding the account as it is, when setting it up again did you try setting it up as a Yahoo one when asked who the provider is ?

[Dale+Gribble]

Yes I did - I selected Yahoo from the list of providers. It won't let me create the account if I try to select 'Other...'.

So Gmail it is! Thanks for your help.

[Dale+Gribble]

No, still no solution. As I mentioned, it works fine on the iPhone but I'm pretty sure the phone uses a different IMAP server.  
As for the iMac, it's still not working so I'm giving up on Yahoo. I've started unsubscribing from all my email newsletters and am slowly transferring all my online accounts to my gmail address. It's a bit of a faff but has to be done. This is not the first time I've had trouble with the Yahoo address so hopefully soon I'll have issue-free email. 

If you do happen to find a fix, let me know because I'm sure that soon my parents will end up with the same problem. 

[jayach]

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@Dale+Gribble wrote:

My Apple Mail must be too old because there is no option to update the password, once the account has been created. Not that I can find anyway.

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Does this not work for you?

1. Launch Mail on your Mac.

2. Click “Mail” from the Mail menu and click “Preferences.”

3. Click the “Accounts” tab. A list of your email accounts will appear in the left pane of the Accounts preferences window.

4. Select the name of the email account.

5. Click the “Passwords” text field to select the old password, press “Delete” and type in your new password.

6. Click the red "Close" button at the top of the preferences window to close it.

[Dale+Gribble]

No that doesn't work, I think because of the version of Apple Mail. The only time I can enter a password is when I add the account. If I try the 16 digit password at this point, the account is not recognised so I have to use the regular password.
mince the account has been added, there is no option to change the password like you describe. I think that works for later versions of Apple Mail but not mine. And I can't update the OS because I have other Apps that would stop working. 
Anyway, the only place you can change the password is in the SMTP list, but adding it there does not solve the problem.  

[jayach]

I'm not an Apple user, but this link says it is for changing mail settings on your OS version.

How To Modify an Existing Email Account in OS X 10.11 - Liquid Web

Does that work?

Check the ports and SSL/TSL settings match those given by Sky.

Accessing your Sky Yahoo Mail | Sky Help | Sky.com

[jayach]

If you are currently using the Sky IMAP server (imap.tools.sky.com), try the Yahoo one (imap.mail.yahoo.com). If already using the Yahoo one, try the Sky.

Port 993, SSL/TLS

[Dale+Gribble]

Yeah the ports all match. And I tried changing the IMAP address which don't work either.