Receiving Duplicate Emails in DC Metro, IL, MA, NY and PA

about 2 years ago | Article no. 2140

Introduction

Note: The message 'Retrieving 1 of xx' with less than xx messages displaying, does not indicate missing email

Resolution Steps

If you keep downloading the same messages, you likely have a clogged mail spool.

A large email or an email with a corrupted header is causing your email program to time out, and interrupt the download, without giving an error message.
Since the email program did not finish the download, it never marked the messages as downloaded and left them on the server.
The next time you download your mail, all of the same messages are still on the server.

Then the same thing happens again, and you never see the messages that come after the offending message.

The solution is to use RCN's web-based mail client to remove the offending message from the server at http://webmail.rcn.net
RCN Webmail displays all of your mail on the server, and you can delete mail from the servers.
When you delete the message(s) with RCN Webmail, message(s) are permanently removed from the servers.

Your Email Program is Setup to Leave Messages on the Server

If you are not repeatedly downloading the same messages, you are likely not missing any email.
Most likely, there is mail on our server that you have already downloaded.
You may have your email program to leave your messages on the mail server.
- Also, your email program may occasionally download an email, mark it as downloaded, and neglect to remove it from the server.
Example:
- Lets assume that you currently have 4 messages on our servers and that you have downloaded them all.
- Now a new email arrives bringing your total messages to 5, but the number of unread messages is 1.
- When you check mail, your mail program reports "Retrieving 1 of 5" and only downloads one new message.
- It may then delete all five messages from the server, leaving you wondering where the other four message are.
This can also happen when you receive attachments that have been split by the person who sent them, possibly without them even knowing it.
When you receive the split attachments, your e-mail program recombines them into a single e-mail, but still reports the "missing" numbers.
The solution is to use RCN's web-based mail client to remove the offending message from the server at http://webmail.rcn.net

A File on your System Needs to be Removed

This is a rare source of the problem that you have been experiencing, but it can happen.
You should only consider this possibility after you have looked at the first two possibilities.
Check with your mail client vendor for support articles that may identify a fix.

Internal Information

Commercial Agent Steps

Financial Agent Steps

Management Steps

How can we help you?