Forum Discussion

Raskie's avatar
Raskie
New Contributor III
2 years ago

Incoming email delay

Yesterday I noticed a considerable delay for incoming email ( anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours).  I sent myself numerous test messages from my gmail account and my hotmail account.  Each to nearly 30 min to arrive in my Cox Webmail.  The problem resolved itself around 10:00PM and a flood of email came through.  Now I am experiencing the same delays this morning.  Everything else is normal and internet speeds are normal.  Anyone else having this problem?  Any suggestions?

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III

    Yup...I can confirm this recent delay.  I sent myself one email from my client configured with Cox to my Cox account.  Not only was there an hours delay to receive it, but I received the same email six times.  I think the vendor likes "online" maintenance.

  • Darkatt's avatar
    Darkatt
    Honored Contributor

    I know we are used to email being almost instantaneous, but.... IAW RFC Specifications, the delivery of email must take place within 24 hours of the SMTP server receipt from the sender. That basically translates to, once the smtp server receives it from the sender, it is supposed to be delivered to the incoming mail server for the recipient and placed into their inbox for the recipient to be able to receive it. As long as you receive it within 24 hours of it's being sent, it's within specification.

    • Raskie's avatar
      Raskie
      New Contributor III

      When you are using a web site that sends an authentication code via email that times out in ten minutes, a 30 minute delay is definitely a problem.   I think the IAW RFC Specifications are out of date with modern email usage. 

      • WiderMouthOpen's avatar
        WiderMouthOpen
        Esteemed Contributor

        Have you tried sending yourself a blank email? Is that delayed? I wonder if some anti-spam mechanism is at work, delaying the email.

    • WiderMouthOpen's avatar
      WiderMouthOpen
      Esteemed Contributor

      My Gmail comes within seconds. Saying "it's in spec" is like saying someone with a downstream power level of 15dB is "in spec" even though you know it's a problem.

      • Darkatt's avatar
        Darkatt
        Honored Contributor

        except that the RFC specifications for email require delivery within 24 hours. if it's outside of that, it's a problem, but in this case, there is nothing to fix. 

  • DRVEGAS's avatar
    DRVEGAS
    Valued Contributor

    Yes don't use Cox for your email address.  I get my Gmail emails within seconds.

  • Lovemylab's avatar
    Lovemylab
    Contributor III

    While my wife and I each have "old" Cox email accounts, and have synching to Outlook enabled, we largely avoid Cox email. It's been slow for some time. There have been numerous breaches from multiple sources that have exposed Cox email addresses. Anything that is crucial I enable via Gmail or Outlook. I strongly dislike navigation in Google. Additionally, I spend a significant amount of time as a volunteer working with systems that use the full Microsoft 365 ecosystem, including Teams, so Outlook remains my preferred interface. Also, I almost always configure messages for 2-factor authentication to come to my phone.