Microsoft Exchange Email Hangs on Verizon Wifi Using Apple Mail on Mac Desktop

David DiPetro 0 Reputation points
2026-09-11T01:02:22.6533333+00:00

I have a personal Microsoft Exchange email account. Apple Mail on two different Macs will not retrieve mail when the Macs are connected to my Verizon Fios Wi-Fi. The same Apple Mail account works normally when either Mac is connected to my iPhone hotspot. Outlook webmail works normally over the Fios Wi-Fi, and another email account in Apple Mail works normally over Fios. Apple Mail’s Connection Doctor says the Exchange account is connected.

Is anything specific to the account or Exchange service that could cause Apple Mail’s connection to hang depending on the network.

Outlook | MacOS | New Outlook for Mac | For home
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  1. Vikki-T 10,185 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-11T08:24:20.75+00:00

    Hi David DiPetro,

    Thank you for providing these detailed test results. Since the same Exchange account works in Apple Mail through your iPhone hotspot, and Outlook on the web works over Verizon Fios, your mailbox and sign-in credentials appear to be functioning.

    First, please quit and reopen Apple Mail, then test the account again. If the issue continues, please try the following:

    • Restart the Verizon router and both Macs.
    • Make sure macOS is fully updated.
    • Temporarily disable any VPN, security filtering, DNS filtering, or network monitoring software.
    • In Apple Mail, select Window > Activity while attempting to retrieve mail and check whether a specific error appears.
    • Remove and re-add the account using Mail > Add Account > Microsoft Exchange, rather than configuring it as “Other Mail Account.” Before removing it, make sure that any locally stored messages are backed up.

    Microsoft’s setup guidance is available here: Set up email in Mac OS X Mail

    If Apple Mail still works through the iPhone hotspot but not through Fios after these checks, the next step would be to contact Apple Support and Verizon Support with the Activity or Connection Doctor details. This would help determine whether the Fios router, DNS, IPv6, or another network-level setting is interfering with Apple Mail’s Exchange connection.

    Could you also confirm whether this is an Outlook.com/Hotmail account or a Microsoft 365 work or school account, and which macOS versions are installed on the two Macs? Thank you so much for your understanding.   

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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