Hotmail IMAP timing out

[ws3333]

One of three Hotmail accounts (IMAP) has been timing out for two plus days now. Just the message below. I have logged in to the account by browser. No change. Also, it is still possible to send mail from this account, even though none is coming in. Any ideas? Thanks much.

--- Version ---
OS: Windows 7
POP Peeper: 4.0.1.0
Webmail: 4.0.14.0
SSL: 0.9.8.10
IMAP: 4.0.1.0
RSS: 4.0.0.0
SendMail: 4.0.1.0
Notification Voice: 4.0.0.0
AntiJunk: 4.0.1.0
Spell Checker: 4.0.1.0
Web of Trust: 4.0.1.0

--- Error ---
Hotmail [1000: IMAP] ['imap-mail.outlook.com' (993) SSL: 1] [Smtp: 'smtp-mail.outlook.com' (587) SSL: 2]
Timed Out

[mjs]

I have noticed that Hotmail seems to be "timing out" more often in recent days. In fact I just now got the same exact error on my last "Mail Check" that your getting:
---- Error ---
Hotmail [1000: IMAP] ['imap-mail.outlook.com' (993) SSL: 1] [Smtp: 'smtp-mail.outlook.com' (587) SSL: 2]
Timed Out

When this error occurs for me they have been typically clearing the very next Mail Check however. In your case it sounds like this error has been more persistent for one specific account.

You might try this by going to the Menu Bar in the PopPeeper interface and click on: "Tools" > "PPTweaker" > "Connection" and increase the appropriate "timeouts" setting(s), in your case for "IMAP" the top (first) setting in the list. FYI, I've got mine set to "90" seconds instead of the default value of "60" seconds if that helps.

[Jeff]

Many people have reported problems with Hotmail's IMAP server. I don't use Hotmail personally, but on the few tests I've run when such problems are reported, I have found that Hotmail's IMAP server is subpar, to put it mildly.

You may have better luck by switching the "server type" to use Hotmail/Outlook or POP3. You'll lose some features that are unique to IMAP (especially once PP v4.1 is available), but reliability is probably a priority and people have reported much better success with the other protocols (fyi, Hotmail's POP3 should probably only be used as a last resort).

[ws3333]

Thanks. I'll try extending the timeout value. I'm reluctant to go back to Hotmail mode. I had it there before, and came back to IMAP, but I no longer remember exactly why.

[mjs]

Thanks. I'll try extending the timeout value. I'm reluctant to go back to Hotmail mode. I had it there before, and came back to IMAP, but I no longer remember exactly why.

On reason why Jeff is suggesting the alternative "Hotmail/Outlook protocol setting is that if in fact this specific account has significant IMAP server issues that remain persistent then increasing the "timeout" may not be of any help because in this case the account will "timeout" regardless therefore all that is accomplished is a longer "Mail Check" by the amount of time the "timeout" has been increased since in fact in this example the account is going to "timeout" no matter what. So for this very reason one must take into account other factors beyond just increasing the "timeout" setting that should come into play as far as how much you might consider increasing this setting.

Here is an example as to why I bring this up, in the event a person were to have a relatively large number of accounts in Pop Peeper (say 15-20 or more accounts) and if perhaps at some stage there might be for example 4 accounts that tend to persistently "time out" then the result of increasing the "timeout" setting from the default "60" to "90" would do little more than increase the elapsed time to get a "Mail Check" done by a factor of 2 minutes (4 x the 30 second increase per account that "timeout"). In other words, if in this scenario each of these 4 accounts for example are always going to "timeout" then there is presumably a significant problem with these specific IMAP account servers therefore increasing the "time out" setting is not solving the "timeout" issue if this were the case and instead the results are only that completion time for a "Mail Check" will be greater by adding the additional total of 2 minutes it takes for those 4 accounts in this example to consistently "timeout".

I mainly bring this up because this scenario could be an event that occurs at some point for anyone therefore you will definitely want to keep in mind that the number of accounts you may have in Pop Peeper should be factored in as to how much more you might consider increasing the "timeout" setting. For example in my case I'm not inclined to want to increase the "timeout" setting more than "90" seconds (+30 seconds more than the default) because in my case I do have more than 20 accounts in Pop Peeper.

Post back what in the end works for you.

[ws3333]

increasing the "timeout" setting to 90, even 120 didn't help at all

Hotmail mode is working, but there hasn't been time to recall what caused me to switch away from that mode previously

Time will tell, I guess. Thanks again.

[mjs]

increasing the "timeout" setting to 90, even 120 didn't help at all

Hotmail mode is working, but there hasn't been time to recall what caused me to switch away from that mode previously

Time will tell, I guess. Thanks again.

Probably at the time you had switched it was because the Webmail plugin needed to be updated due to changes made by Hotmail so as long as your webmail plugin version is current you will likely be OK (until Hotmail makes another change that is ). If an IMAP server is essentially "down" then increasing the "timeout" is of little to no help.