Help → Error "Sending of username did not succeed. Mail server 127.0.0.1 responded: undefined is a unsupported domain"

Error "Sending of username did not succeed. Mail server 127.0.0.1 responded: undefined is a unsupported domain"

I have been using POPFile for years successfully, both with Outlook and with Thunderbird. Recently I was trying to add a new mail account to Thunderbird, an account on an Exchange mail server. I was not successful, so I removed the new account from Thunderbird.

Now I find I have a problem that whenever Thunderbird tries to fetch mail from the (original) POP account I get the error message "Sending of username did not succeed. Mail server 127.0.0.1 responded: undefined is a unsupported domain"

I don't understand this. I cannot see any obviously "wrong" configuration in Thunderbird; and if I change the account details so that Thunderbird does not use POPFile, it /is/ able to get the mail. What's happening?

glardner
01/31/10 22:10:28
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  • Message #1178

    When you switch from "not using POPFile" to "using POPFile" are you adjusting the Thunderbird account settings properly?

    Not using POPFile: 

      server   = pop3.example.com
  username = myusername

    Using POPFile: 

      server   = 127.0.0.1
  username = pop3.example.com:myusername

    Edit:

    Some mail servers require a username like myusername@example.com so when you switch to POPFile the username needs to be pop3.example.com:myusername@example.com

    brian
    02/01/10 00:00:47
    • Message #1179

      Oh, I think so. I have also checked the settings with another computer that gets mail from the same account (but doesn't clear it from the server), so I am reasonably confident of the basic settings in Thunderbird.

      Without POPFile I am using: 

      Server Name:   pop.iol.ie    Port: 110
User Name:     username

      With POPFile I use 

      Server Name:   127.0.0.1     Port: 110
User Name:     pop.iol.ie:username

      This has always worked before.

      I thought I saw something in the POPFile log about an internal server error, HTTP error 500, but after restarting the computer I cannot find it again (and POPFile still doesn't work).

      glardner
      02/01/10 01:13:28
      • Message #1180

        You can use Telnet to check that POPFile is able to connect to the mail server. If this works then there is either a problem with the Thunderbird configuration or with the communication between Thunderbird and POPFile.

        Here are some instructions:

        Shut down Thunderbird and POPFile.

        Start POPFile on its own. If you are using the Windows version of POPFile use the special Start Menu shortcut created by the installer:

        Start -- All Programs -- POPFile -- Support -- Message Capture utility

        This will display a list of messages in a scrollable window. When you see the "POPFile Engine v1.1.1 running" message POPFile is ready for use.

        Start a telnet session and connect to POPFile by running the command: 

        telnet 127.0.0.1 110

        You can either do this via "Run" on the Start Menu or by entering the command using a DOS box.

        If you are using Vista or Windows 7 then you will have to install the Telnet program as it is no longer installed by default. In the Control Panel select Programs then under Programs and Features select Turn Windows features on or off. You'll probably need the administrator password here. Scroll down to the Telnet Client entry in the Turn Windows features on or off list and set the checkbox.

        Do NOT set the checkbox for Telnet Server - all you need is the Telnet Client.

        The "telnet 127.0.0.1 110" command should generate the response: 

        +OK POP3 POPFile (v1.1.1) server ready

        Now try to login to the mail server via POPFile by entering the command: 

        USER pop.iol.ie:username

        This should result in a response similar to this (the important bit is the "+OK" part): 

        +OK Password required

        Supply the account password by entering the following command (replace XXXXXXXX with the real password): 

        PASS XXXXXXXX

        This should result in a response like this (the important bit is the "+OK" part): 

        +OK Welcome!

        If you get the "+OK" response after entering the password then the login has succeeded.

        Enter the command QUIT to end the session and close the connection. You should get another "+OK" type response to the QUIT command.

        Check that no error messages or warnings have appeared in the Message Capture utility. You can shut POPFile down using the system tray icon, the UI or the Start Menu (either "Shutdown POPFile" or "Shutdown POPFile silently")

        If this works then the problem is in the Thunderbird configuration or in the communication between Thunderbird and POPFile.

        Brian

        brian
        02/01/10 14:57:19
        • Message #1181

          Its not quite like you describe. When I run 

          USER pop.iol.ie:username

          I get the response 

          +OK username accepted

          not 

          +OK Password required

          as you suggested I should see. However, if I enter my password at that point, I get the response 

          +OK authentication successful

          Which, I guess, is an acceptable response. Not quite the response you suggested, but the "+OK" is there.

          OK, I'll try configuring Thunderbird to use POPFile again. Guess what - it's working fine today.

          That problem survived three reboots, but went away when I followed your instructions above. I can't see why that should have fixed it, but it seems to have done so. So, thank you for your help and patient replies.

          Best regards,

          Gerard

          glardner
          02/01/10 21:39:52
          • Message #1187

            Very strange. I've been away for a week. When I tried to use the PC to get my mail, the same problem recurred: 

            Sending of username did not succeed. Mail server 127.0.0.1 responded: undefined is a unsupported domain.

            I tried the same test sequence again, as Brian suggested in message #1180. It was slow to return after I sent the password; more than half a minute. Once it did return a +OK I quit Telnet, quit POPFile Message Capture Utility, restarted POPFile normally and ran the mail programs again - and they worked. What could have been the problem?

            Gerard

            glardner
            02/05/10 23:26:29
            • Message #1188

              It was slow to return after I sent the password; more than half a minute ... What could have been the problem?

              The problem could have been at the other end, i.e. at the mail server.

              Another possible culprit is your anti-virus program.

              At present you are using POPFile's default POP3 listening port which means POPFile's POP3 proxy server is running on port 110. If you have an anti-virus program it is probably running another POP3 proxy server on that port to enable it to scan your incoming email messages.

              In other words the proxy chain looks like this:

              Thunderbird -- port 110 -- POPFile -- port 110 -- anti-virus email scanner -- internet -- mail server

              (notice that port 110 appears twice in the chain)

              In theory Windows should be able to handle this situation ... but I have never trusted Windows to do this reliably so I have my POPFile installation configured to use a different POP3 listening port.

              The POPFile wiki's Proxy Chaining page suggests setting POPFile's POP3 listening port to 123 when an anti-virus program is scanning email.

              This would make the chain look like this:

              Thunderbird -- port 123 -- POPFile -- port 110 -- anti-virus email scanner -- internet -- mail server

              If you change the POP3 listening port on the CONFIGURATION page in the UI you will need to restart POPFile and you will also have to change the account settings in Thunderbird (or Outlook) to use port 123 instead of 110.

              Brian

              brian
              02/06/10 01:06:38
              • Message #1194

                I'll have to try this suggestion. It's becoming quite a nuisance - sometimes it works, other times it doesn't!

                glardner
                02/08/10 01:18:36
              • Message #1195

                Well, I have tried your suggestion and it seems to be working with Thunderbird - I'm getting the mails every time, so far.

                But I am struggling to get Outlook 2007 to collect mail from POPFile on port 123. Can you suggest which settings I need to change? I have followed the instructions for Proxy Chaining, but its not working for me; the instructions for specific clients do not refer to either Outlook 2007 (not so different from O2003, I know) or proxy chaining in Outlook.

                Gerard

                glardner
                02/08/10 01:44:12
                • Message #1196

                  I think all you need to do is change the POP3 port in Outlook 2007.

                  Outlook's "Internet E-mail Settings (POP3)" screen has a "More settings..." button. Clicking this should open a window with several tabs. The "Advanced" tab should let you change the "Incoming server (POP3)" port from the default of 110 to the value you have chosen for POPFile's listening port.

                  The Proxy Chaining page goes into a lot of detail but really all you need to do is change POPFile's listening port and then change the POP3 port used by your email program.

                  Before:
                  Thunderbird -- port 110 -- POPFile
                  Outlook 2007 -- port 110 -- POPFile

                  After
                  Thunderbird -- port 123 -- POPFile
                  Outlook 2007 -- port 123 -- POPFile

                  Outlook 2007 is a little harder to reconfigure because the port setting is not so easy to find as it was in Thunderbird.

                  Brian

                  brian
                  02/08/10 14:04:22
                  • Message #1197

                    OK, I found where I was making a mistake (I had missed changing the colon to a % in the Outlook Account Settings page). Its all working now in both T'bird and Outlook using port 123. Now lets see if it stays working - if using port 110 for both the POPFile proxy and the anti-virus proxy was causing the whole problem.

                    Again, thanks for all your help.

                    Gerard Lardner

                    glardner
                    02/08/10 21:28:48
          • Message #1182

            However, if I enter my password at that point, I get ... +OK authentication successful ... Not quite the response you suggested, but the "+OK" is there.

            Some mail servers are quite "chatty", some are very terse.

            I use POPFile to check six accounts and here are the responses I find in POPFile's log file after the PASS command is sent:

            Account 1: +OK
            Account 2: +OK user XXXXXX
            Account 3: +OK maildrop ready, 0 messages (0 octets) (0)
            Account 4: +OK logged in.
            Account 5: +OK Welcome.
            Account 6: +OK Welcome.

            I can't see why that should have fixed it, but it seems to have done so.

            Windows systems all seem to suffer from this kind of problem. My new Windows 7 system does that sort of thing now and again.

            Glad to hear POPFile is working again for you.

            Brian

            brian
            02/01/10 21:59:17
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