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Yahoo! mail problems

One of my clients had a problem earlier today. I helped them choose a new email setup, and they went with Yahoo Business Edition Mail. It’s worked like a charm for them until today. Oh, sure, they’ve had to adjust their business processes a bit, but it was a vast improvement over their previous situation, where only allowed one person in to view his or her mailbox at a time. And it’s quite low maintenance and fairly easy to learn, as it was entirely browser based.

But today, the web client for Yahoo! was busted. New layouts, new colors, old functionality gone, intermittent changes in the GUI, the whole bit. I got on the phone with Yahoo! support, and they assured me it was simply a webmail client problem. No mail was being lost. But, as Joel explains, for most folks, the interface is the program. You try explaining the difference between SMTP and POP and mail storage and local clients to an insurance agent who just wants to send her customers an application.

One of the worst bits is that, other than getting on the phone with Yahoo! support, there was absolutely nothing I could do to fix the problem. Alright, this isn’t entirely true–I could have worked on migrating them off the web client, and perhaps off Yahoo! entirely. And, had the outage continued, I probably would have begun that process. But fixing the web client was entirely out of my hands. That’s the joy and the pain of outsourcing, right? The problems aren’t yours to fix (yay!) but you can’t fix the problems yourself (boo!). Also, chances are the outsourcing provider is never going to be more enthusiastic than you about fixing your problems, and might be significantly less.

361 thoughts on “Yahoo! mail problems

  1. Kris says:

    Thanks for the link to Joel. I really loved the iceberg analogy.

  2. Antonio Martin says:

    When login in Yahoo mail, most of the times appears the following message:”This page is currently unavailable. Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.”. I’m not able to solve this problem yet.

  3. Dustin says:

    sign in through chat and than click on mail link at the top of the page. I have the same prob. and this is what i have to do every time.

  4. Tallulah says:

    I also have that problem – but with all Yahoo related sites including Chat and Geocities. At first clearing out my temp int folder (including cookies) worked like a charm… but now that doesn’t even work!

  5. PB says:

    The very day I finally ditched AOL and decided to start relying solely on my Yahoo! free mail I began to get this message. Some luch, huh? Googled the error message and found this forum. The logging in through Chat seems to be working for now. Thank you for this advice.

  6. john says:

    Is Yahoo! even aware of — or working to resolve — this very serious issue??

  7. Clara says:

    Hey, I thought I was alone with the yahoo sign in problem… nothing on the net about it.

    I too was able to access the account by going through the chat sign in.

    I am local to yahoo’s home turf and tried to call them but they won’t take calls on free services like mail, chat etc…

  8. Wehn says:

    I am trying to access my yahoo mail here in the uk, but I only got this message this morning and evening:

    “Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.”

    Yahoo does not post any information on what this trubble is caused by.

    Frustrating.

  9. patrick says:

    I’ve had the same Yahoo email sign-in problem for over a month now. I thought I had all my computer problems solved when I got the “Drive Switch”(great product) from e-bay stores, but this email thing is really frustrating. I emailed Yahoo and got a message from some auditor wondering how well my problem was handled. I answered that I never got an answer from Yahoo. Now I can’t find the place I “clicked on” to mail Yahoo. They probably wouldn’t answer anyway. They must be working on their site. I’ve seen this in the past with other sites, where they are “upgrading” but don’t tell you to be patient or whatever. They just leave you hanging!!!!!!

  10. Maria says:

    I’ve got this problem for almost a week…Nobody can fix it?
    What is doing the Yahoo people??
    Regarsd.
    M.

  11. Philip Chen says:

    Looks like someone should teach them a lesson and publish this (lack of customer service) in the newspapers–like Business Week, what do you say?

  12. L says:

    Well, look at this, I thought we werer the only ones with this problem.”Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.” Seems not. Except I dont have this problem yet. My mother does though. I can still get into my mail, my mom cant on the same computer, through Yahoo? I dont understand. I am no fundi, Is the system crashing????????

  13. chesley says:

    I’ve been having the same problem. I found that if I go to signin and click the secure link under the signin button I can get in. For some reason I can’t access yahoo profiles either… yahoo is a pain!

  14. Bob jaques says:

    I am getting the page is currently unavailable. This is happening too often when i wish to access my E-mail, should I change to Msn

  15. Gene says:

    Well, well, well! MORE people with the same difficulty. I have been unable to access my e-mail since Christmas Eve. It’s been very frustrating, getting the same message you all have: ‘Sorry, the page is UNAVAILABLE.’ Even more frustrating is finding the proper link to contact Yahoo about the problem. Finally called them–OOPS! for ‘free’ users, we can only use the automated service. Used the automated service and got the response: ‘It’s not OUR problem. Contact your internet service provider or your system administrator. I contacted the ISP. Their response: “Sorry, things are fine here. It’s not OUR problem.’ Contacted the system administrator. Their response: ‘Sorry, everything is fine here. It’s not OUR problem.’
    Well, it’s SOMEBODY’S PROBLEM!!!! What is equally frustrating is, I can go to somebody else’s computer and get on fine, but can’t do it on my own computer. So, if I want to access all of my e-mail addresses, I have to go somewhere else. My response: I’ve gone elsewhere. I’ve set up a new e-mail address at JUNO, and things are working FINE, thank you very much!

  16. J. Belt says:

    I’ve found that I can access Yahoo mail with Mozilla Firebird but not with Internet Explorer.

  17. Ajay says:

    I am facing the same problem.But i have found a solution for it.Just log on using yahoo messanger and if there is new mail in your mailbox a popup
    windows will come and ask that u have got a mail.
    just select go to yahoomail and u can access ur mailbox.

  18. greg says:

    I am having the same problem.
    I am trying to Access my YAHOO GROUPS and getting this…………..
    Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

  19. Hip City says:

    Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

    To get around this
    before you sign in tick the secure box and sign in – this should work ok

  20. greg says:

    unfortunatly did’nt work.
    but it works fine on my home PC.
    I only have this trouble with my work PC.
    Oh Well.

  21. souh15 says:

    Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

    it’s the same problem …

  22. ravi says:

    I am facing the exact same problem when I try to access Yahoo mail and Yahoo groups. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I couldn’t find a link to mail them about the problem either.

  23. Elizabeth says:

    I had the same problem. I think it’s Yahoo! trying to get people to sign up with their better service.

    P.S. The secure button link works great for me.

  24. Tampa says:

    I’ve been having the same problem, along with some thousands of people it seems.

    My problem is with yahoo groups, but the error message is the same.

    I believe this has to do something with some anti-spam action taken by Yahoo. If there are too many requests from the same IP, then that IP will be locked down for about 24 hrs or so. If you share IP with other surfers, then you might be suffering for the sins of others.

    As an experiment I built a html page with links to 50 yahoo groups join pages in iframe tags. When I load this page from my harddrive, I always get locked out after about 15-30 join-pages have loaded.

    You can work around the problem, either by setting up a http proxy under your LAN settings in Internet Explorer, or you could talk to your ISP about getting your own personal IP.

    Good luck

  25. Danny says:

    This yahoo login problem seems to be a serious one. Anyway, I use ‘secure’ mode in stead of standard and it works for now. Good luck.

  26. k. says:

    same problem here for the last 3 days but only on yahoo groups! how annoying!

  27. stef says:

    I have had the same problem for 2 months now. I can log into Yahoo Mail when using Netscape, but I can’t log in when using IE. This is unreal. Where are these yahoos??? 😉

  28. Yahoo Hater says:

    Another frustrated yahoo user. This needs to be fixed. For now, everyone just use the secure sign in option. It works fine.

  29. Tampa says:

    Is there such a thing as a yahoo support ? Would be good to get some kind of official statement on this. Since I’m mainly interested in yahoo groups, the secure sign in option doesn’t do me much good.

  30. kscouple says:

    Ok, so I am having the same problem, obviously, or I wouldn’t be here. But I went in and I went through the secure site for a little while today and it worked….then, all of a sudden I am getting the “Page cannot be displayed” message…no matter where I go. I thought I would be smart and try to sign up for Yahoo Messenger since I didn’t have one and try signing in through there and I still get the page cannot be displayed message there too. Do we have any other ideas, because I am completely frusterated that I cannot get into my mail or look at my groups listings. I am a moderator of a few and I cannot even get to them….grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    >:-[

  31. kscouple says:

    Ok, so I am having the same problem, obviously, or I wouldn’t be here. But I went in and I went through the secure site for a little while today and it worked….then, all of a sudden I am getting the “Page cannot be displayed” message…no matter where I go. I thought I would be smart and try to sign up for Yahoo Messenger since I didn’t have one and try signing in through there and I still get the page cannot be displayed message there too. Do we have any other ideas, because I am completely frusterated that I cannot get into my mail or look at my groups listings. I am a moderator of a few and I cannot even get to them….grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    >:-[

  32. abdul hamid says:

    we are unable to open yahoo mails. it showing “THE PAGE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE, WE ARE APOLIGIZE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. ” pls do it as soon as possible. we are suffering since from january 2004
    i hope u find our problem and sort it immediately.
    thanking you

  33. tampa says:

    Until Yahoo get around to fixing this, one way you can remedy the situation is by using a proxy. A bit slower, but whatcha gonna do…

    Pick a proxy from http://www.samair.ru/proxy/realtime/index.htm
    Most, but not all of the ones that say LIVE work.

    Newbie-guide to proxy setup: In Explorer, Tools – Internet options – Connections – Lan Settings

  34. Bob says:

    Hey,

    I thought i was the only one getting this error too. And yes, i’ve gotten all those “This page cannot be displayed” messages. It’s damn annoying. I agree with the person up at the top, we should call up our local newspapers and tell them about this, tell them to go to this site and see how many of us we have, without actually knowing how many are out there with this problem. If anyone agree’s with me e-mail me at one_messed_up_child@yahoo.com . If someone finds a way to fix it, please let me know.

    P.S. Secure works, but Yahoo! is very slow as of late compared to other sites like it. Does anyone else have this probelm??

  35. Mahmood Ibrahim says:

    I have Same problem no solution yet – exccept i used opera or anyother browser when this problems ouccers – others browswer work fine.i’m not sure its yahoo problem or bugsoft sorry microsoft problem 🙂 – any how for checking mail or other problems like u get problem go greeting page etc etc. use other web broswer instead of Microsoft IE.

  36. xavier dsouza says:

    Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.Hah i thought i was the only one to face the problem but there r so many people who r facing this problem . i think yahoo should seriously attend this problem for the better prospects of his yahoo customer. thank for . all the best

  37. Dave Stewart says:

    It seems to be a problem with internet explorer because if I use another browser on the same computer I don’t have the problem.
    Anyway try this it worked for me :
    On the YAHOO email site under the ‘SIGN IN’ button there is a ‘Mode’ option. Click the ‘SECURE’ option then try to log in.

  38. Dave Stewart says:

    Another possible fix is:
    In Internet Explorer goto ‘Tools’ menu
    ‘Internet Options’
    click on the ‘Security tab’
    click on the big green ‘Trusted Sites’ icon
    then below that click on the button labeled
    ‘SITES’
    A new window will open. At the very bottom of this window is a check box labeled “Require server verification…” make sure this is UNCHECKED.
    email me (if you can) at thisisjustforjunkmail@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

  39. Tonya says:

    I also found that when I signed up for my free Juno email, which seems to be working PERFECTLY by the way, there is a place you can search the web once you login. When you do this, put in yahoomail.com
    Then it will bring up a response. Click on that and it will bring you to Yahoo. Click on the secure feature when you log in and I get in every time. Just an idea!!!

  40. Jose says:

    Shocked to see so many people having the same problem, but no official report has been published.

    I tried all the solutions provided in this forum. Tried using the yahoo! chat, unchecked ‘Required Server Certification’, tried using the secure site and even changed my proxy settings suggested here. Nothing seem to working!!

  41. Mahmood says:

    Simply use other browswer then IE until problem get solved

  42. Glen Huffaker says:

    I’ve had this problem for a long time. Also I had to start a new account with them for chat because messenger won’t work with my first one anymore. I get a message “invalid login” but my mail usually works. I’ve been using Web2pop for a while too and downloading my mail with a normal pop3 client, I noticed if there’s a lot of messages, (junk mail) and I use Web2pop to get them, After it goes fine for a while, The yahoo server will block my account ((we are unable to process your request at this time)) for 30 minutes. And I have to wait a while and get the rest of the messages later. It seems like they’re tryin to keep me from using it too much. By the way I use the free version of yahoo mail.

  43. Mahmood says:

    Glen this problem is only with IE ??? when this problem occures i use opera and check my mail.

  44. Marlene says:

    Is anyone have a problem signing in on an account with yahoo. I am gettting a message that it’s deleted, but i didn’t do it. I try the password site and it takes me to the secert message and it lets me enter it then says that is been deactivated. I tried emailing yahoo and have got no where. Even tried to call them but they don’t help you bcause it is a free service. She said someone would contact me but i’ve been waitin for 3 days now. Anyone no what the problem could be I am very frustrated all my email address ect are on there.

  45. glennis kearns says:

    Iam unable to send emails to my friends as they come back as undelivered.
    Idon’t have a problem recieving them .What can be wrong?

  46. jim says:

    I have two Yahoo e-mail accounts. One I can log into and get mail via the web. The other I can’t. Have tried using secure mode that does not work. Will have to try another browser.

    However, some links on Yahoo! work fine on the account I can log into. Some do not. Some I get page can’t be displayed. Wondering if cookies have something to do with it. Deleted them and started over. Still same problem. I use SpyBot S&D. Is that a common app here? Servers down at Yahoo? Can’t imagine it would be going on this long.

    Hmmm. Maybe a conspiracy by the evil MS Empire . . .

  47. jim says:

    tried Mozilla and still can’t log on . . . turned off all cookies . . . can log onto one yahoo! mail account . . . but not the other.

    in the case of my problem it looks like it’s on yahoo!s end . . .

  48. steve says:

    i think it’s IE6 cuz after i updated my windows i had the same problem with “Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later” if i use netscape, it works…. damn microsoft! if anyone figures out how to fix IE lemme know, pects99@yahoo.com

  49. Brian says:

    I dont know what the problem is.I thought I was the only one at first,or that it had something to do with the FACT that I had 453 e-mails in my inbox and it kept telling me to uncheck it.Guess not.

  50. deb says:

    Glad am not alone, I get the same ‘page unavailable message’ and have been for over a week, i’ve tried for 2 hours today, got access for ten minutes then when I tried to go back on half an hour later the message was back! This never used to happen, does anyone have an email address to contact yahoo? there’s no contacts listed on their help pages. I live in Spain but use Yahoo UK. Anything to do with the doomworm virus? as my probs began Feb 1st!

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