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

 

Introduction


Note: The message 'Retrieving 1 of xx' with less than xx messages displaying, does not indicate missing email
  • Your email is loading; please wait for all mail to load

Resolution Steps

 

  1. The Email Spool is Clogged:
     
    • 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 

       
  2. 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 messages 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    
       
  3. 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