I am having problem with the incoming and outgoing pop3 server

[Hankmarvin]

I have been using POP3 server with pophm.sympatico.ca for a long time.

Suddenly now I cannot access any incoming email. What I got from a Bell support was to reinstall my Thunderbird. It has been working well..why should I reinstall that email software? The problem is at the server.

Anybody having the same problem. It started today September 15, 2025.

[BellNick]

Hi there @Hankmarvin 
Thank you for your post.
We would recommend checking all of your settings to ensure something didn't get changed. 
Is your Thunderbird software up to date and can you share which version you have?
Have you checked and confirmed that the emails are accessible in Bell WebMail?
When you indicate you cannot access the incoming email, are you able to see the email? If so, what happens when you attempt to open it, are you receiving any error code or message you can share?
It's recommended to re-install existing software that is not performing correctly as it's a form of troubleshooting and gives the software a clean slate (to eliminate any bugs, glitches, performance issues, etc).
Looking forward to hearing back.

[Hankmarvin · Accepted solution]

Hi @BellNick 

The software is up to date as it is set up to automatically check the updates everytime. Mails are accessible in Bell Webmail. The software was not allowing the access the POP server. Re-installing would not  have changed anything. But after having searched a lot - I was able to find a solution that was not discovered by the agent talking to me. He should have known that VPN software might have been the reason of access denial. So I deactivated the VPN and everything went back to normal. So it would be worth to advise technical support that should advise users of that problem. Sorry for the late answer  - I only saw it today. Thanks for the suggestion anyway!

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

Good Day.

Thank you for your feedback. Glad to hear that your email issues have been resolved.

Bell's security prevents outbound mail from being sent when a VPN is used. The reason is that part of the mail protocol is verification of the sender. A VPN prevents this from occurring.

A VPN is not compatible will Bell SMTP.

Depending on your email client & VPN there are limited solutions to resolve this problem. What will work with one, may not work with another.

In order to send outgoing emails, you are going to need to pause your VPN or not use it at all.

Take care.