So why is Comcast trying (tracert ?) to connect to a mail server in Sunnyvale, CA when I am now in NYC?

philb2

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The last few messages in this thread describe how I'm now unable to get outgoing email sent on Outlook or my phones right now. https://hardforum.com/threads/is-so...mcast-no-recent-posts-hating-on-them.2026821/ We are based in northern CA, but visiting NYC on vacation.

I guess I don't understand why a tracert to smtp.comcast.net (see prior thread) doesn't just go to a NY area server? Why all the way cross-country to CA? I can't believe that there is just one instance of smtp.comcast.net, and all the way over on one side of the country, with all the long haul traffic that would result.
 
Mail isn't high traffic or latency sensitive, and comcast has a reasonable national backbone, so it basically doesn't matter where on the continent it is. That said, it does look like smtp.comcast.net is going through some sort of DNS based global load balancer (based on the CNAME). my house near seattle gets a chicago, IL ip, my hosted server in seattle gets an ashburn, va server, and my computer at my MILs condo across town from me (on comcast cable) gets one in hillsoboro, or.

It looks like it's available on ipv4 and ipv6. You might try the 'fix everything' option of disabling ipv6.
 
Mail isn't high traffic or latency sensitive, and comcast has a reasonable national backbone, so it basically doesn't matter where on the continent it is. That said, it does look like smtp.comcast.net is going through some sort of DNS based global load balancer (based on the CNAME). my house near seattle gets a chicago, IL ip, my hosted server in seattle gets an ashburn, va server, and my computer at my MILs condo across town from me (on comcast cable) gets one in hillsoboro, or.

It looks like it's available on ipv4 and ipv6. You might try the 'fix everything' option of disabling ipv6.
:mad: Just got back into the place we are staying, I turned off IPV6 for the wireless adapter for the laptop I'm using, No improvement and outgoing email is still stuck in my OUTBOX.:banghead:

This doesn't apply to me, but what if I was a Work From Home person? I would be seriously f***ed about now.:wtf:
 
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This doesn't appky to me, but what if I was a Work From Home person? I would be seriously f***ed about now.
Nah, you'd be using a company mail server that works fine ;) if you were work from home.
 
You might also try switching dns servers. Because it seems like comcast is just doing random selection, you might get to a server that works. It's refreshing to hear that disabling ipv6 didn't help, sadly it often does. (I'm not a big fan of ipv6, but direct ipv6 is much better than a whole country natted down to one IP, and other abuses of CGNAT)
 
Not uncommon for smtp out to get filtered on firewalls and such too.

Seen windows firewall and home routers muck with it all too many times.
 
What ISP is the place you're staying at using? I've found ISPs don't always like to be friendly with each other when trying to access email from another ISP. At work my boss likes to try and check his personal email (RoadRunner/Spectrum) in Outlook and our ISP (Breezeline, formerly WOW!) throws a temper tantrum and won't let it try since it see the SMTP and POP Spectrum server address. Hope that makes some sense lol.
 
This morning no issues with outgoing email.

I just got off the phone with yet another support person. She kept on talking about XFINITY DIRECT web access, but that was never the issue. The guy who took my call yesterday wrote in the support log that "after I update all my device passwords," outgoing email started to work again. Complete lie.I never changed any passwords and by the time I did the call yesterday Outlook had "spontaneously" started to send out email again.

I'm so pissed that i am going to write a letter to the Comcast CEO. Should I send a copy to someone in the FCC? Who?
 
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