re. No need for any initial technical mumbo-jumbo. Soooo...

[bordoodle]

re.  No need for any initial technical mumbo-jumbo.

Soooo if there is a problem with server to server communications within Roger's / Shaw's data center in Calgary such as we're seeing with IMAP  then we, as users, can solve that problem by power cycling (turning off and back on) our gateways at home.  

The symptoms range from various users are:

- no symptoms and everything working fine.

- one IOS works and another beside it doesn't.

- duplicated contacts or messages.

- delete a message and there is a strike thru of the sender's name but the message doesn't move to the trash.

- an error message stating that, on a send, there was no password provided.

- there may be many more that I don't know of.

This may just be a sampling of the problems users are facing.  Based on that it's unlikely any one solution would help all users experiencing problems.  I applaud people like covkid that in spite of no help from customer service or poor / ineffective suggestions from others in this forum have managed to find a solution.

So all the user systems that have been running and stable for years and with no config changes all of a sudden its their fault when the data center hiccups?  

As for customer service it seems their script sentence 2 (or maybe sentence 3 but I'm not sure) is to ask users to unplug and then plug back in (power cycle) devices.  Imagine Google, Microsoft or Facebook IT power cycling all gateways, routers and firewalls rather than looking at the symptoms first.  As for mdk, Shaw customer service has a position for you.  It seems you don't have to read the script as you know sentence 2 already.  Its already proven, by other users here, that this is not the solution to the problem.  Just like the freezing / repeating video on many TV channels a couple of years back.

As for the IMAP problems Microsoft is having.  They have / were having IMAP issues with the NEW Outlook that they are trying to push people to and away from the older Windows Mail.  This is not to be confused with the present Rogers IOS and Outlook issues with IMAP.  Some Rogers / Shaw supervisors do not understand the distinction either.

So let's everyone take a deep breath, read EVERYONE'S comments and really, really, really understand what's going on before coming up with a mumbo jumbo solution.  Again, a tip of the hat to covkid.

[bordoodle]

Just thought everyone should know in case you don't know.

Finally got to another supervisor, this Sunday morning, who wasn't blaming users or Microsoft for the recent email problems.  She admitted not being heavy technical but knew enough to say the problem had been officially designated fixed Thursday last week and it was a CONFIGURATION issue.  Like that never happens (tongue in cheek).  

We decided that the next time someone makes a config change and it fails like this one then they can't leave the computer room until its fixed.  You can only leave for a bio break, no going home, nothing.  You stay !!!!  Also, you only get diet coke and cold pizza with bad toppings until you correct your mess.

Merry Christmas to all.

[mdk]

@bordoodle wrote  an error message stating that, on a send, there was no password provided.

If your portable device, such as a notebook computer or an iPhone, is connected to your home WiFi, then you can send an E-mail message through Shaw's mail-server. The IP-address assigned by Shaw to the cable-modem/router is within Shaw's network, and that "authenticates" you to send without using a password.

However, if your iPhone is connected through a non-Rogers cellular network, or a non-Rogers WiFi Access Point (such as TimHortons, Starbucks, et cetera) you must use your E-mail password as authentication when sending an E-mail.

So, if a user cannot send, it is their E-mail configuration that is causing their issue.

[mdk]

@bordoodle wrote: We decided that the next time someone makes a config change and it fails like this one ...

A previous employer had a "Quality Assurance Board'.  If someone wanted to make a change, they would create a document to define the change, its priority, and, most important, complete the "fallback" section of the document to describe what happens in any SNAFU. Changes were never allowed to be made on Friday -- so that nobody need be called-in on Saturday/Sunday.  Everybody on that Q.A.B. would assess the proposed change, and 100% approval needed to be granted.

That is a "best practises" approach to control I.T. -- using pizza & carbonated 0% beverage is no way to run a business.

[bordoodle]

>>>> If your portable device, such as a notebook computer or an iPhone, is connected to your home

>>>> WiFi, then you can send an E-mail message through Shaw's mail-server. The IP-address assigned

>>>> by Shaw to the cable-modem/router is within Shaw's network, and that "authenticates" you to

>>>> send without using a password.

For this latest outage, some users neither password or the fact they were directly on Shaw's / Rogers network allowed them to either receive or send email.  Even though my computer WAS on a Rogers / Shaw network the error I received about "no password" means that certain servers were either dropping requests or not talking to other servers so authentication failed.  Outlook operates at OSI Layer 7 and doesn't understand which network its connected to and thus makes no decisions when to send a password.  Also I'm not going to waste my time to run this through a sniffer to prove this as some other theory will just be presented as to why we should blame users.

>>>> However, if your iPhone is connected through a non-Rogers cellular network, or a non-Rogers WiFi Access Point (such as

>>>> TimHortons, Starbucks, et cetera) you must use your E-mail password as  authentication when sending an E-mail.

Funny, when I'm at Micky D, Target, Wally World, Starbucks, etc. and on their WiFi, I'm NEVER PROMPTED for a password as Outlook just does this automatically.  Again, Outlook is at Layer 7 and does not see this.

>>>>So, if a user cannot send, it is their E-mail configuration that is causing their issue.

WRONG.  If a user has had a stable config for years, no recent system changes (read and understand all the other user comments thoroughly) and all of sudden problems arise then there's a higher likelihood that the problem is somewhere else.  This is truly the case as Rogers IT made a config change and we have gone through almost 6 weeks of problems.  Especially if different email platforms (IOS, Outlook and ….) are experiencing similar problems all at the same time.

Not to give Rogers a free pass but the intermittent nature of the problem makes troubleshooting harder.  And when I say intermittent this means 2 computers side by side but only one has a problem.  Why?  That was a rhetorical question so DON’T answer.  Or you can't receive emails one week and can’t send the next week.  These symptoms may be due to them trying different solutions as troubleshooting progressed.

>>>> A previous employer had a "Quality Assurance Board'.  If someone wanted to make a change, they >>>> would create a document to define the change, its priority, and, most important, complete the >>>> "fallback" section of the document to describe what happens in any SNAFU.   Everybody on that >>>> Q.A.B. would assess the proposed change, and 100% approval needed to be granted.

Well, in spite of, hopefully, best practices and a full review, this is a great example of how long and badly things can go south. This is the second major email FUBAR for Rogers in the last 6+ weeks.

>>> using pizza & carbonated 0% beverage is no way to run a business.

That’s an inside joke and the supervisor and I were being facetious.   Not unlike at JFK Airport where one pilot reported to the tower that a very large rat was near a runway.  Another pilot jumped in and said “Call catering.   First class meal”.   Most people who’ve been in IT many years understand what it means.

Repeating a sentence you previously typed above.

>>>> So, if a user cannot send, it is their E-mail configuration that is causing their issue.

YOU"VE JUST INSULTED, MINIMIZED AND BELITTLED EVERYONE WHO WAS HAVING EMAIL PROBLEMS.  Rogers admitted that it was a config error on their part.  What part do you not understand ????

[mdk]

@bordoodle wrote  What part do you not understand ?

I do not understand why you techno-babble about "Level 7" and other nonsense.

If you have two nearly-identical devices, running the same level of the Operating System, and one device is fine, and the other device is not fine, then compare the E-mail configuration between the two devices, e.g., "requires authentication", and SMTP port-number, and saved passwords.

>> [the supervisor] and I were being facetious

Unfortunately, communication via posted messages does not show that  intent. Invent tags like "<facetious>& </facetious> to make your intent 100% clearer.

[bordoodle]

>>>> I do not understand why you techno-babble about "Level 7" and other nonsense.

This just confirms that you have LIMITED technical experience because if you did then you might, just might, understand how applications work.  You call explaining how an email app works in relation to this latest email issue "techno-babble".  Just great.  That shows that you more want to see yourself in print rather than help other users.   Suggested reading is the OSI 7 layers model.

You said that if anyone was on a Rogers / Shaw network then the authentication would just work and no problems.  Yet you ignore the fact that others who posted proved this as wrong.  YOU DON"T UNDERSTAND OR ACCEPT THAT THE THEORY YOU PRESENTED WAS INCORRECT.

>>>> If you have two nearly-identical devices, running the same level of the Operating System, and one device is fine, and the other >>>> device is not fine, then compare the E-mail configuration between the two devices, e.g., "requires authentication", and SMTP >>>> port-number, and saved passwords.

DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT OTHER PEOPLE AND MYSELF DIDN'T CHECK THAT ?????  COME ON, TELL ALL OF US THAT WE ARE THAT UNKNOWLEDGABLE.

>> [the supervisor] and I were being facetious

>>>> Unfortunately, communication via posted messages does not show that  intent. Invent tags like "<facetious>& </facetious> to >>>> make your intent 100% clearer.

What ???  I was just posting a bit of the conversation with a supervisor to let people know that the issue that everyone was experiencing was a config error and that their internal ticket has been closed.  Don't know what you are talking about just above.

[g-idk]

@bordoodle , Wow, give it a rest!  This is just a peer to peer discussion forum with regular folk just trying to help. You seem to want to turn it into something else, my gosh no one is perfect and if the advice given on here is not correct or what you were looking for then ignore it and move on.  No one on here is a Rogers/Shaw employee.  P.S. @mdk , don't bother to reply to this person again the conversation has turned toxic.  

[bordoodle]

>>>> Try changing her E-mail password to something more complicated (passphrase or upper/lower/number/special characters).

A password is a password.  Changing to something more complicated has no effect on anything.  You only have to satisfy the rules for length, upper / lower case and special characters.

>>>> Sending does not require your ID/password, if your device/computer is connected (wired or wireless) to your cable-modem

Not so.  Go into Outlook Account Settings -> Server Settings -> Outgoing mail and select Log on with username and password.  Enter your email password minus 1 character.  When Outlook tests settings it will fail immediately come back and ask for the password to be entered.

>>>> power-off/power-on of the cable-modem

If the problem is in Shaw's data center this will not correct anything.  It just wastes customer's time.  Same with the repeating TV channels awhile ago.  It was a Shaw / Comcast problem and doing a  power off / on fixed nothing.  There was no point trying that as the problem was elsewhere.

>>>> Yes, because that is the first thing that should be tried, and even technophobes can understand how to power-off/power-on.

Again, look at the symptoms.  This is NOT the first thing Google, Facebook, Instagram and others do.  And yes they understand how to unplug and plug back in.  But they look at the symptoms first.  Imagine Rogers / Shaw doing that and dropping millions of users.  It was estimated that only 10-30% of users were affected. but lets unplug the data center and affect even the users who are not having a problem.

>>>> The IP-address assigned by Shaw to the  cable-modem/router is  within Shaw's network, and that "authenticates" you to send >>>> without using a password.

Again as I stated above.  Go into Outlook Account Settings -> Server Settings -> Outgoing mail and select Log on with username and password.  Enter your email password minus 1 character.  When Outlook tests settings it will fail immediately come back and ask for the password to be entered.  YOU NEED A PASSWORD TO EITHER RECEIVE OR SEND.

>>>> user cannot send, it is their E-mail configuration that is causing their issue.

As others have stated here.  No changes were made, no software updates were done, nothing was different from the day before.  So this pointing fingers at users.

>>>> one device is fine, and the other device is not fine, then compare the E-mail configuration between the two devices, e.g., "requires >>>> authentication", and SMTP port-number, and saved passwords.

This what others and myself have done and proved that no settings were changed when the problems started.

No one is perfect including myself.  As an IT person with 35+ years of experience I'm very careful to research before telling someone to try a setting.  My one suggestion came from somewhere else and I confirmed that it worked before posting.  I also added cautions so that someone would not blindly try it blindly.

So mdk please read through my comments to all your suggestions / comments and consider this a learning moment.  I was a trainer for a number of years and always took great pride in my work. I always hoped that I gave them the foundation(s) that some day they would exceed me.

Merry Christmas and all the best to you in the New Year.

[bordoodle]

re. mdk

PS.  If you'd like to go private I'd be happy to give you my email address if you'd like to ask me questions outside of this forum.  Again, I know that I don't have every answer but I know where to look for a deep dive.