My POP3/IMAP server is refusing my connection attempts

The standard server ports used for POP3 and IMAP connection are port 110 and port 143 respectively. If you receive a notification for refused connection by the POP3 or IMAP server we would advise you to check the connection from your computer to the appropriate port.

  How to run the port 110 check for POP3 issues and the port 143 check for IMAP issues

  1. Check port 110 or 143 with a Windows OS

 You should click on the Start menu button, usually located on the left low corner of the screen. There is a tab called "Run". You have to click on it, in order to proceed further. You will notice the appearance of a new small window on the screen. In the text field of this window you need to type "cmd" and then press the "Enter" key. Another window will open. It is the so called "MS-DOS prompt" or "command prompt". Just type the following command in the command prompt window:

 for POP3:                                                 telnet my-domain-name.com 110

 for IMAP:                                                   telnet my-domain-name.com 143

 2. Check port 110 or 143 with Apple/Mac

 Each Mac OS is delivered with a preinstalled terminal emulator. The terminal is a tool which allows you to execute commands from the command line. Usually, the terminal is located under your Mac HD -> "Applications" directory -> Utilities sub-directory. When the window opens, you will see a command line with a flashing cursor on it so you can start typing right away. Just type the following command:

 for POP3 :                                                 telnet my-domain-name.com 110

 for IMAP:                                                    telnet my-domain-name.com 143

 3. Check port 110 or 143 with Linux

 Please open your favorite terminal emulator and execute the following command in order to telnet your website:

 for POP3 :                                                 telnet my-domain-name.com 110

 for IMAP:                                                    telnet my-domain-name.com 143

 Results from the port check

 If the test is successful, you should receive one of the following mesages:

 for the port 110 POP3 test

 +OK Hello there.

 for the port 143 IMAP test

 * OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 UIDPLUS CHILDREN NAMESPACE THREAD=ORDEREDSUBJECT THREAD=REFERENCES SORT QUOTA IDLE ACL ACL2=UNION STARTTLS] Courier-IMAP ready. Copyright 1998-2005 Double Precision, Inc. See COPYING for distribution information.