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E-mail Access While Traveling

Jim 2011

Jim 2011

Novice
I searched these "Forums" extensively and could not find any "technical" discussions about e-mail while on the road. Here is my issue: I have cable access at home (roadrunner.com) through Time-Warner. While traveling in the past, and currently for that matter, we access the Roadrunner web site and log into our email account. But that, like Yahoo, Hotmail, Google, etc. is what I call "server-based" email and provides few, if any, of the attributes of a computer based email such as Outlook or Outlook Express. No folders. no picture inserts, very limited text formatting, you get the picture. Now maybe it is only Time Warner/Roadrunner but that is our cable company and we have the TV/Computer package deal. Our cell phones are on Verizon and I have been looking into the 4G "Toggle" for our laptop computer but, if I understand this correctly, all that does is provide a WiFi hotspot through our cell phones anywhere Verizon has cell phone coverage. It still doesn't answer the email issue. How do travelers, most particularly full timers, set up a proper email account? I'm certainly not locked in to Verizon, is AT&T any different? Anyway, I was hoping I have reasonable intelligence as evidenced by the fact that I have a 560 Ultra (#460) on order (which we will pick up in August) but I am feeling terminally stupid with all the new technology. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jim
 
Jim,

I'm with you. I can vouch for the fact AT&T sucks. The only good way that we have found is to take a tablet or laptop to a land line WiFi at a campground or McDonalds.

Hopefully Evan will have something more better.

Hilditch
 
But "Internet Access" is not the issue, I want to have full email capability while away from home. We can all get internet access if our travel computers are WiFi capable, or simply go to a library or cyber-cafe. But aren't you still forced to use your "provider's" web-based server email?
Jim
 
The way I understand it, mobile access is a condensed version of land line access filtered for/by the phone providers so you deal with a buffered server.

EVAN!!!

Hilditch
 
What software do you use to access your email at home? What are your 'travel' computers? You could potentially use the same software on both. The key is to set it up to leave the messages on the email server so that it can be accessed by both sets of computers.
 
You can also use different software. For example, I use outlook on my netbook but also have an iTouch4 with a mail application. Both are configured to access my email through their respective mail applications. Both leave the messages on comcast's server so that I could also access it through comcast's website if I wanted to use a public computer like in a library.
 
Microsoft say: "You can receive your Comcast e-mail messages by using Outlook from most places with an Internet connection. Comcast provides you access to an authenticated SMTP server — allowing you to send e-mail messages using Outlook from your Comcast account when you are using another Internet service, such as at your office or when traveling."

Evan will probably clarify this but I think the problem is the "authenticated SMTP server". This is part of the set-up of an account in outlook. I don't know if the verizon site would be authenticated SMTP server.
 
Joan asked "What software do you use to access your email at home?" I use Outlook Express. Not as "interactive" as Outlook but does a very good job on just email. Yes, I leave "a copy" of my email on the provider's server (Roadrunner) and then when I access their website I can read and, in a very limited way, respond. What I cannot figure out is how to "download" that email to my computer, just like we all do when we sign on at home, because Roadrunner cannot send that to me via WiFi, I can only read and respond while signed on to their server. As to a travel computer we take our laptop which is a good, up-to-date PC. And we already have Outlook and Outlook Express on that computer but they are not brought into "play" when I go to my email provider's website because it doesn't "transmit" any data via WiFi. Maybe I am just missing something really simple here but I told everyone I was feeling terminally stupid.
Jim
 
Thanks Pat but Comcast is not available in my home area (Carlsbad, Ca. which is 30 miles north of San Diego). I really appreciate all these responses.
 
Jim,
yes I understand you are using roadrunner the problem (I think) is not your service but the service that is provided by the wifi site. your picking up the email into roadrunner from (probably) not a autheticated server. Roadrunner says ok to it but Outlook or Outlook express says no. I believe there may be a way to change that setting in Outlook Express but I do not know how to do it.
 
Thanks Pat, the "authenticated server" issue is something new and now I am deeper in this unmapped maze then I was before. I will start some new research. Thanks,
Jim
 
Jim,

I think it is a matter of configuring your outlook express on your laptop to access your roadrunner email account the same way that your outlook express does on your home computer. It should not matter whether you are hardwired into roadrunner or accessing the roadrunner via wifi. (I have a router at home that allows me to do both.) I would be surprised if roadrunner had this restriction.

What you want to do is set up an account through outlook express on your laptop that has the same settings as your home outlook express. When you are connected to the internet through wifi, open outlook express and retrieve your email.

I don't have outlook express but the account settings will ask you for incoming and outgoing mail server information. Mine are mail.comcast.net and smtp.comcast.net. When you go to add the account, outlook express may have an autodiscover feature where you enter your email address and it sets up the account based on that.
 
Thanks Joan, we have much the same setup here as you do. I am hard wired via a cable to our cable provider (Time Warner). I have a Cisco Linksys Router that transmits throughout our home, and I suppose, the neighborhood. Mary Anne uses the laptop and is connected, via WiFi, to our network provider. That is all fine because the cable is feeding the router. But when we travel our email does NOT download, we have to go into the Time Warner (Roadrunner) website and then "work" there. But I haven't looked at the laptop's configuration as Pat suggested above. Thanks so much, at this rate of posting I will be a "Novice" before I know it. :-)
Jim
 
I'm sorry, I used the term Novice before, I see now that I should have said "Junior Member" as the next posting plateau.
Being in my 60's belies "Junior" anything but I love this forum even if I often do feel stupid.
Jim
 
I also think Pat may be on to something. I think you should check the 'my server requires authentication' settings as well as the 'server requires as secure connection' settings on the advanced tab. I would go through all of the tabs and compare them with your home computer.

On the otherhand, maybe roadrunner does have this restriction...

Good luck.
 
I don't know how Roadrunner or Comcast work, but with Verizon FIOS I can access my email normally on the road (I use Thunderbird). However, the only option that Verizon provides is an authenticated service with an encrypted password for both read (POP3, port 110) and send (SMTP, port 587). If you have it set up the same as at home with an unencrypted password, then that may be why you're having problems. But I would think that Outlook would give you an error stating that.

So, as Joan says, you should be able to get it to work. Look for instructions similar to these on your ISP site:

http://www22.verizon.com/residentialhelp/highspeed/email/setup+and+use/questionsone/86782.htm

Now the problem that I have with Verizon is that they provide an encrypted password service, but *not* encrypted email contents. So if you're OK with other people potentially eavesdropping via Wifi on your email, then you should be good. If not, you may want to stick with SSL (https) Webmail. In my case, I use Thunderbird over an encrypted Virtual Private Network (VPN), but that takes a bit more technical savvy to set up.

HTH
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks again, I printed the four page instruction and will read it closely. I hate fooling with settings I know far too little about but onward and hopefully, upward. But somehow I know that before I am done I will have returned this household to smoke signals and semaphore flags.

On a much happier note I see that you get your 560 next month, we are scheduled for late August. It seems forever.
Jim
 
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