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How to fix the IMAP error 0x800C006F in Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail

The first thing that you should do in case you get any error is to check all the settings for the email account from the options of the email client.

One reason for getting the error code 0x800C006F in Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail is an incorrect port number for the incoming IMAP server. In the case with this error code, it means that the port number is set to 993, which is the encryption port number for IMAP, but encryption is not enabled from the settings for the email account. The whole error messages in Outlook Express are similar to these:

Your 'Inbox' folder was not polled for its unread count. Account: 'server_name.com', Server: 'server_name.com', Protocol: IMAP, Server Response: '', Port: 993, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800C006F

Header download for the 'Inbox' folder did not complete. Account: 'server_name.com', Server: 'server_name.com', Protocol: IMAP, Server Response: '', Port: 993, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800C006F

In Windows Live Mail the message is similar:

Unable to send or receive messages for the account. 
Your 'Inbox' folder was not polled for its unread count. 

Server Response: Your IMAP command could not be sent to the server, due to non-network errors. 
This could, for example, indicate a lack of memory on your system.
Server: 'server_name.com'
Windows Live Mail Error ID: 0x800C006F
Protocol: IMAP
Port: 993
Secure(SSL): No

If the port number is the reason for the error, the only thing you need to do is either to enable encryption and use the encryption port number 993, or to leave encryption disabled but change the port number to 143.

As with many other errors, check whether the fault is not with your antivirus or firewall software. Many antivirus/firewall applications scan the incoming, as well as the outgoing, email messages. This often causes many different errors. So if the port numbers and all the settings are correct and the above mentioned error still persists, disable or uninstall temporarily your antivirus/firewall applications and test your email account again.

If you need help with configuring Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail, read the respective tutorial or article.

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