Email SSL Errors

Problem

Email clients can become unable to make a secure connection if they are not updated. This is because sometimes servers will disallow connections which are no longer secure after they are updated. This is often a problem with Outlook since Microsoft ends support of Office after a few years and no longer provides updates for older versions. The error in Outlook looks like:

Your server has unexpectedly terminated the connection. Possible causes for this include server problems, network problems, or a long period of inactivity. Account: 'mail.ncf.ca', Server: 'mail.ncf.ca', Protocol: POP3, Port: 995, Secure(SSL): Yes, Error Number: 0x800CCC0F

Other emails clients give a similar error:

SSL protocol error. Please try disabling SSL, or contact your other provider to verify the correct port settings.

Solutions

Zimbra webmail

You can check your email from any modern web browser, login at mail.ncf.ca.

Free email client

Many free email clients are available, we recommend Thunderbird which updates itself automatically. Download Thunderbird

Upgrade to a supported version of Outlook

You can buy a recent version of Office since Outlook can still able to make secure connections if it's up to date. Instructions to set up for Outlook 2016

Use a connection that is not secure

In Outlook, un-check the advanced option "This server requires an encrypted connection(SSL)." for both mail servers to disable encryption. This should allow obsolete versions to continue to work, although since the connections are not secure, there is a greater risk of someone being able to see your emails and password, so this setup should especially not be used on a public network.