You May Lose The Ability To Sent Email Via SMTP On Windows Mobile 6.1 Device

[Ed Hansberry]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958639/en-us' target='_blank'>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958639/en-us</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"You have a Windows Mobile 6.1-based device that is configured to use a POP3 e-mail account or an IMAP e-mail account. On this device, you experience the following symptoms:. <ul><li>You unexpectedly lose the ability to send e-mail messages</li><li>E-mail messages remain in the Outbox folder after you synchronize the e-mail account.</li><li>You may receive the following error message when you try to send an e-mail message: </li></ul><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">The message cannot be sent</span></strong><br /><br />Even though you lose the ability to send e-mail messages, you continue to receive incoming e-mail messages."</em><br /><br />What I find interesting, and frustrating, is this is because Microsoft has given yet more control to the carrier. As you read the rest of the KB article, you get to this paragraph:<br /><br /><em>"This behavior is associated with a feature that is introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. The feature allows for mobile operators to specify an alternate SMTP server name that is used if e-mail messages cannot be sent by using the user-specified SMTP server name. If the mobile operator does not specify an alternate SMTP server name and if the Windows Mobile 6.1-based device does not connect, the e-mail account is corrupted and cannot send e-mail messages."</em> <MORE /><br /><br />This blows my mind in two ways. First, how many times has Microsoft given the OEM or carrier control of how something on the device should work, and then when the carrier does absolutely nothing about it, the device doesn't function properly. I can think of two instances. The IE Cache settings are set by MS at something like 40MB and there is no way for the user to edit that without hacking the registry, and even that doesn't work on some devices as the registry value is reset on restart. MS expected the OEM to set it at a more reasonable level based on the device by the carrier, yet none that I know of do, so the storage on people's devices fill up over time because of the cache, unless they remember to go manually clear it. The other example is a few versions ago, Microsoft didn't put the necessary template on the device to control how Windows Media Player buttons could be assigned - that was the carrier's responsibility. Some carriers did, but others did not, leaving the user with no reliable way to assign buttons to WMP functions during use. I am sure there are other examples.<br /><br />The second way this blows my mind is, why in the world is Microsoft allowing the carrier to intercept SMTP messages and send them through its server? This may sound like a helpful feature if your SMTP server is down, but it isn't. If I wanted my email going through my carrier's SMTP server, I'd set it to do so. There appears to be no way to block this behavior, and it strikes me as a security concern and privacy issue.<br /><br />While Microsoft has yet to release a fix, which should, in my opinion, to&nbsp;remove the feature entirely, <a href="http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php/2008/10/15/windows-mobile-smtp-fix" target="_blank">Tracy and Matt's Blog</a> has given some details on how to fix this using information put together by one of the industrious individuals at XDA-Developers. <img src="http://www.ehansberry.com/ppct/thumbsup.gif" border="0" />&nbsp;Might be worth the time to copy the cab file and directions to your device so that if this happens to you when traveling, you can quickly fix it until MS releases a more permenant fix.</p>

[tsaxton]

why in the world is Microsoft allowing the carrier to intercept SMTP messages and send them through its server? This may sound like a helpful feature if your SMTP server is down, but it isn't. If I wanted my email going through my carrier's SMPT server, I'd set it to do so.

It sounds to me like they were trying to do a good deed for the <b>novice</b> user, by automatically redirecting SMTP traffic to the carrier's SMTP relay, whenever the user's ISP SMTP server refused to accept the job for anti-SPAM/security reasons. But they've stuffed up the implementation, and there's a bug. Oooops.

I can see what they were thinking -- I know dozens of Windows Mobile phone users who wouldn't know how to set the carrier SMTP server for themselves. Perhaps one of the carriers even put them up to it, by asking for the feature for their customers.

But I don't really like the idea of my outgoing email being sent via a server other than the one I requested. Email is typically vulnerable to interception, but still...

If they were being polite, as soon as the user-specified SMTP relay refused a job, the phone should ask something along the lines "sorry, mail.x.com refused to relay your email, would you like to use mail.yourcarrier.com instead?" with a checkbox option for "always do this". Something like that which fits on the screen, anyway!

[emuelle1]

I ran into that problem on my BlackJack II. So far, since I took it back for the Epix, I haven't had email problems other than gmail's current unreliability spats. It got very frustrating to me to be able to receive mail but I had to use gmail's web client to send.

The Tracy and Matt fix helped to a point, but did not completely fix the problem on my device.

Go figure; Microsoft fixes some of the issues from Win Mobile 5 and previous and introduces this.

[efjay]

In the months I've had my Omnia I havent come across this problem, using either my Hotmail or IMAP based email account.

[Dave Beauvais]

So this is something that happens -- when the carrier bothers to set it up -- transparently to the user? i.e., the user tries to send a message via their specified SMTP server, which doesn't respond for whatever reason. It then silently fails over to whatever the carrier (should have) configured? That's bad and could be a major security issue, in my opinion, as it's pretty unlikely that the carriers will configure their server to use SSL.

I sincerely hope that Palm starts a trend with their release of an unlocked phone direct from the OEM rather than from a carrier. The carriers have been given far too much control over the devices they sell, and it ends up making life difficult for users who just want things to work as they should.

[JvanEkris]

<em>"This behavior is associated with a feature that is introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. The feature allows for mobile operators to specify an alternate SMTP server name that is used if e-mail messages cannot be sent by using the user-specified SMTP server name. If the mobile operator does not specify an alternate SMTP server name and if the Windows Mobile 6.1-based device does not connect, the e-mail account is corrupted and cannot send e-mail messages."</em>.....The second way this blows my mind is, why in the world is Microsoft allowing the carrier to intercept SMTP messages and send them through its server? This may sound like a helpful feature if your SMTP server is down, but it isn't.Well, it would add robustness to the solution of your SMTP is blocked by the carrier. What they do on a frequent basis. They really want their SMTP to be used, instead of your own.
If I wanted my email going through my carrier's SMPT server, I'd set it to do so. There appears to be no way to block this behavior, and it strikes me as a security concern and privacy issue.Don't forget, carriers reguraly reroute the SMTP traffic to their own servers regardless of what you have said in the settings. I discovered this when I got a reply from a technically oriented friend that included a full header, which indicated I had used the SMTP of T-Mobile instead of my own....

Yes, this is a huge privacy issue, but they did this anyway. It is in the fine print somewhere on that 200 page EULA for their network.

Jaap

[murph]

YES! Thank you...I'm not going crazy. This has happened to me twice on my upgraded BJ1.

I have Gmail setup but don't like IMAP, so I still POP the last week of emails. Like I said, this happened twice and I had to re-create the account. I was going crazy trying to figure it out the first time, at least the second time I knew to just delete and re-create the account. Good to hear there is a fix coming.

The other quirky email thing...and I know this is different because it's my Exchange account...but when I manually try to sync (or when sending email) it will ask for my password like 8/10 times. The regular background Activesync connection never does this.

Just a few of those typical WM "quirks" that you learn to live with. At least one of them is being taken care of ;)

[mmidgley]

Is the registry change/addition mentioned at Tracy and Matt's Blog a Cure or Vaccine? In other words, should I do this now or just make note of it for if/when it happens to me?

m.

[Ed Hansberry]

Is the registry change/addition mentioned at Tracy and Matt's Blog a Cure or Vaccine? In other words, should I do this now or just make note of it for if/when it happens to me?

m.
Keep the instructions for when/if it happens.

[Omegajb]

I thought it was just my phone, I use an unlocked TyTNII on T-Mobile and am using a customer email domain throgh Go Daddy where they give me a SMTP server to use.
I fouind that if I save the username and password for the SMTP server it won't work, if I set it to ask for a password it works everytime.
I don't think it is a carrier issue because it works the same even with WiFi.

[Ed Hansberry]

I thought it was just my phone, I use an unlocked TyTNII on T-Mobile and am using a customer email domain throgh Go Daddy where they give me a SMTP server to use.
I fouind that if I save the username and password for the SMTP server it won't work, if I set it to ask for a password it works everytime.
I don't think it is a carrier issue because it works the same even with WiFi.
That is a different issue that I am not sure if it s related. The general fix for this issue is to delete your email account and start fresh, though there is a workaround with a registry hack linked to above.

The issue of yours not working unless you manually type the password is odd. I've never heard of that before.

[Kirkaiya]

Man, am I glad I checked SmartPhoneThoughts today. This is exactly the problem I've had with my Touch Diamond for over a week. I thought maybe my hosting provider was changing something (they're finally enabling my Zimbra Mobile, so I won't be on IMAP much longer anyway).

Sometimes I want to just take Microsoft's Windows Mobile team and... vent a bit. Seriously, can't they lure away some of the iPhone dev team or something? Stupid stuff like this just really annoys me.

Thanks for finding the fix and posting the article, once again SPThoughts saves the day!

[Jetjockgordo]

Thanks very much for that post!!!

My JasJar was suffering from that problem but I kind of gave up trying to find a fix since my Touch HD will be delivered in a few weeks. However, I like being able to send my emails again in the mean time.

Regards,
Gordo

[Eriq Cook]

I'm a T-Mobile user and have gotten accustomed to configuring POP accounts using T-Mobile's own email setup app, intead of through the standard Windows Mobile email account settings. I had problems getting email to send properly the latter method since the MDA.

I probably have a more complicated setup than the average user as well. I have a hosted Exchange account (via Sherweb) in addition to 3 POP accounts and a gmail account setup for sending email from different acconts on my Wing.

Now I just log into the T-Mobile website, add my pop email accounts, and then download the account settings directly from the T-Mobile email app on my device. T-Mobile's app automatically configures the SMTP settings for you. I'm not sure how other carriers do it now but sure there's a way to get it working.

[Brad Adrian]

I KNEW there were more good reasons not to upgrade the ROM on my device. If it ain't broke, do't fix it!

[Ed Hansberry]

MS has officially patched this.

Download details: WM 6.1 POP and IMAP Send Mail Patch (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=d9d71b2e-d2dd-44f2-86e5-1e53aad7fb7a&displaylang=en&tm)

See Pocket PC Thoughts: Microsoft Patches Windows Mobile 6.1 SMTP Bug (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/news/show/91260/microsoft-patches-windows-mobile-6-1-smtp-bug.html)

[Kirkaiya]

Thank you Ed, just applied the patch (which unceremoniously rebooted my phone without telling me it was going to).

Just over two weeks ago, my hosting provider (which runs Zimbra for email) finally enabled Zimbra Mobile, so I have actual ActiveSync/Push again anyway, but maybe I'll set up an IMAP account to pull my Gmail. I have the Gmail java app, which works, but it's a little clunky compared to having my mail in Pocket Outlook.