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The total allowed message size at EarthLink, including the message text and all attached files, is 10MB. This limit applies to both incoming and outgoing messages, and applies whether you use Web Mail or other email software.
A 10MB limit is used by most major email providers, so even if we allowed larger limits, many of your recipients wouldn't be able to receive the file. Email isn't really a suitable medium for moving around very large files, and was never intended for that use. If you need to give someone a large file, use one of the many free services that let you upload any size file and then email a link to your recipient to retrieve it. Or post the files on your own web site if you have one.
For techies: we also make an allowance for the MIME encoding bloat so that you can actually send or receive a 10MB file. Some services advertise a 10MB limit, but enforce it after MIME encoding, so that you can actually only send about 6.5 MB in attached files on those services. We allow a full 10MB plus a little margin. (MIME just refers to a set of encoding standards used to turn all email content into ASCII text for transport, and the email program on the other end knows how to un-encode it. ASCII basically refers to the set of characters you see on an English keyboard, plus a few others. That's why if you "View Message Source" for an email message with attachments, you see a big block of printable text for your attached files. That's encoded binary data.)
Discussion
Posted by: Gary T. | March 1, 2007 8:47 PM | (1)
RE: >>If you need to give someone a large file, use our free Web Life service at weblife.earthlink.net where you can upload any size file, and then send a link to your recipient to retrieve it.>>
This is something I need. But it appears that the download software is for Windows. Does it work for Mac?
You don't need any software to use the file sharing. Just click on the Weblife Disk after you log in, and upload your files. Then click on Sharing.
Email Guy
Posted by: jondaba | March 2, 2007 10:01 AM | (2)
Listen - if you don't give me more storage space, then I will have to switch to fee g-mail. The choice is yours. Still love you.
Posted by: george wolfe | April 22, 2007 11:21 PM | (3)
I have received a large email that I cant' open. I talked to earthlink and they said to use webmail.They gave a link and I tried it ,but couldn't get it to open I was told that I would view all mail and could eliminate the mail
Appreciate any help you can give..
Email Guy
Posted by: Steve Wilent | May 8, 2007 10:34 AM | (4)
Why are messages with attached files of 4 to 6 MB sometimes placed in the Undeliverable Messages folder? This happens on a weekly basis. I normally use Outlook Express, but use Web Mail to download the large files placed in Undeliverable Messages.
Only a small portion of me allotted total e-mail space, 100MB, is used -- plenty of space available.
Thanks....
SW
It happens if your connection to the server is lost during two consecutive attempts to retrieve the same message. So you get two tries first. If your connection isn't stable enough to retrieve the message (which usually happens on large messages over dialup) then it is moved to that "undeliverable" folder to allow you to retrieve all your other messages. Otherwise you would be stuck and not be able to get any of your other email that might be backed up behind that large message. Causes of this trouble could be line noise on a dialup phone line, or a modem that isn't set right or needs replacing, among other things. Weak connections tend to break down when they are put under a load, like retrieving large files, but the connection may do fine under light loads like just browsing web pages.
You might be able to fix the trouble by increasing the timeout setting in your email software that you are using. In Outlook Express this setting is under Tools / Accounts / Properties / Advanced. Try moving it up to 2 or 3 minutes.
I mentioned two things that can cause a message to be moved to the "undeliverable" folder. The other way is that the message is somehow corrupted and causes your email software to abort the retrieval, and again you get two tries first.
Email Guy
Posted by: Steve Wilent | May 9, 2007 12:37 PM | (5)
Thanks, Email Guy, for the fast reply. I've increased the timeout setting to 3 min. -- was 1 min.
SW
Email Guy
Posted by: Joe Marquez | July 19, 2007 10:33 PM | (6)
I saw the comment that most emails are about 10Mb so that if I could send a large file my recipient wouldn't be able to retrieve a message that I'd sent. I'm not certain about the file limits but the overall storage limits for most of the free emails is either UNLIMITED or 2 Gig or 1 Gig. I know that earthlink is 'considering' distinguishing between people that pay a LOT (a relative term I understand but in related to FREE! it's a LOT!) and their free customers. Make it happen! It's pretty bad that you're making US (the paying customers) suffer through conditions (advertising, slow server response and limited file sizes) that should be considered okay for people receiving a free service. We're subsidizing YOUR business model. It's not killing me, but it's rude, inconsiderate and just not necessary. Please consider making your (paying) customers feel less 'unappreciated'.
Thanks
Posted by: Dan Dew | September 5, 2007 9:17 AM | (7)
I have a lot of customers who use Earthlink as their mail service. Whenever I try to send them pdf files, they say that they get the email, but no attachments.
Why are the attachments not coming through and how do I correct the problem for the future?
Posted by: Kerry Schaper | September 14, 2007 6:32 PM | (8)
Is there a way to attach more than 3 attachments to a single email message if the total doesn't exceed 10 mb?
Email Guy
Posted by: Nancy Sparklin | October 10, 2007 9:12 AM | (9)
Hi,
Quick question about files retained on the Earthlink server due to the size (huge) trying to deliver through dreaded dial-up. I understand the whole concept, however, I'm missing one important part. That is how can I prevent this huge file, which I don't want anyway, from attempting to download each time I dial up without waiting the 14 days for deletion? Is there a way I can manually delete it from your server? It's gotta be simple, but I've blown right by it, evidently.
Thanks for your help!
Email Guy
Posted by: D. | October 26, 2007 10:00 PM | (10)
I don't need to send large e-mail attachments, but I do need to be able to receive pdf files in the 10-35 MB range from a client I work for. What would be the easiest way of doing this, given that I have an Earthlink account (and my client doesn't)? Thanks for any help.
Email Guy
Posted by: John Gendron | November 15, 2007 6:09 PM | (11)
I belong to a club of about 170 people (no robots allowed). I am trying to find ways to email to them all at once. Sending one email to 170 didn't work. I am down to sending 7 separate emails of about 25 recipients each. There has got to be a better way!
[Q] What is the recipient limit for a single email?
[Q] Is there a per hour limit? per day? etc.....
This information has been incredibly hard to find, please help.
john
Email Guy
Posted by: Forrest | January 13, 2008 5:15 PM | (12)
"When sending from Web Mail, currently there is not a way. However, we will be changing that soon to allow more attachments and make it easier to add them.
Email Guy"
Please attempt to define "soon"
Forrest
Posted by: Darryl Davis | January 29, 2008 5:35 PM | (13)
You recommend using Web Life in lieu of e-mail for sending a large file to someone. However, I followed the link and it says Web Life has been discontinued. Does Earthlink now offer another alternative?
Email Guy
Posted by: Mitchell Lombard | March 18, 2008 7:25 AM | (14)
When I send pictures to people with an Earthlink account, they complain that the picture is too small to do anyting with. I am not resizing my pictures, and everyone else receives the pictures just fine in the original 2038 x 1536 resolution (about 600KB) , but those with Earthlink say that the picture is only 160 x 120 when they get it. What could be causing this?
Email Guy
Posted by: Wally | April 27, 2008 1:02 AM | (15)
Earthlink: "The total allowed message size at EarthLink, including the message text and all attached files, is 10MB. This limit applies to both incoming and outgoing messages, and applies whether you use Web Mail or other email software. A 10MB limit is used by most major email providers..."
RoadRunner: Maximum attachment size is now 20 MB....
"...both Verizon and Gmail offer the same 20 MB per attachment maximum....."
Optonline: "The maximum size of any inbound or outbound e-mail is 20 MB per message. This includes the total size of the message itself and any attachments to that message."
Earthlink is falling WAY behind the times. Please wake up.
Hotmail - 10MB
Netzero - 5MB
AOL - 16MB
The difference between EarthLink and the ones you mention, is that our customer base is mostly dialup (2/3). So are the examples above. Two of the ones you mention are exclusively broadband, and Gmail is mostly used by broadband users.
A single 20MB email message takes a dialup user over an hour to send or retrieve, and that's if their connection doesn't timeout while trying. Since those users have no control over what someone else might send them, and it potentially impairs their access to their mailbox, we have to have a reasonable limit.
We are currently looking at allowing a modest increase, and evaluating the consequences.
Email Guy
Posted by: Ben M | May 13, 2008 3:01 PM | (16)
My boss and I both use Entourage 2004 and have Mindspring.com email addresses. When a client send us the same email with a large attachments (1 MB or larger) they arrive in my Entourage inbox but my boss receives an "undeliverable email" message from Earthlink and he has to access Web Mail to view the file. Both our incoming mail clients are set to pop.mindspring.com . I'm on a DSL line and he's on a satellite service. The satellite provider says the timeout issue is related to the mail server and not the ISP. And Entourage will not allow you to extend the time of the incoming server timeout. Any other thoughts on what may be causing the issue?
Connection is the key word here. I also note that you both are in identical circumstances except for the connection provider. The problem is the stability of the connection. Our server only allows two connection drops before it moves the message for you (that would be the only ISP-specific factor). If we didn't do that, some dialup users would get caught in endless loops when they have a weak or flaky connection. Our user base is over 2/3 dialup is why we have this feature.
Some versions of Entourage do allow changing the timeout setting. Or he may need to use another program that allows it, like Outlook for example.
This problem is common on a dialup connection. Dialup users often have to increase the timeouts in their email software.
Email Guy
Posted by: Peter Brooks | May 13, 2008 7:25 PM | (17)
In response to post #16, I wonder whether the MTU isn't a factor here?
For example, although the MTU for my wi-fi router is supposed to be set to the default value of 1500, by trial and error I found that 1390 was the more appropriate setting since my ISP connection (cable modem) couldn't handle 1500, with the result that many web pages (and access to email) kept appearing to time out. This was despite "advice" to avoid setting the MTU lower than 1400 (which still produced the error message discussed below).
It took me weeks to home in on the MTU size as the culprit...
Perhaps if the user who has a satellite connection adjusted their MTU setting downwards, they might resolve the issue.
A lot depends on exactly how the connection is made - whether via a router or modem - but the first step would be to determine whether MTU is the problem. You can do that without changing it.
For a PC running Windows, try this:
Choose Start > Run, type:
cmd
into the box and click OK. A (usually black) window will open.
In the window, you should see something like:
C:\Documents and Settings\...>
(called "the prompt") with an underline cursor (usually) blinking on and off. If there's no blinking "_", then click somewhere in the window to make sure it's "active" (selected, current, whatever).
At the prompt, type this:
ping -f -l 1472 mail.earthlink.net
and press Enter. (The 1472 is a test value for MTU.) Make sure you include the spaces and the minus signs before the f and the l (lower case L).
If the result is something like this:
Pinging mail.earthlink.net [209.86.93.205] with 1472 bytes of data:
Reply from 209.86.93.210: bytes=56 (sent 1472) time=93ms TTL=238
Reply from 209.86.93.210: bytes=56 (sent 1472) time=103ms TTL=238
Reply from 209.86.93.210: bytes=56 (sent 1472) time=87ms TTL=238
Reply from 209.86.93.210: bytes=56 (sent 1472) time=88ms TTL=238
Ping statistics for 209.86.93.205:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 87ms, Maximum = 103ms, Average = 92ms
then your problem is something else.
If however you get something like this:
Pinging mail.earthlink.net [209.86.93.205] with 1472 bytes of data:
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Ping statistics for 209.86.93.205:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss)
then your MTU is almost certainly set too high.
Try re-running the ping command with lower values for the MTU (try dropping around 10 units each time - so 1472, 1462, etc) until you no longer get the "Packet needs to be..." message.
Depending on your setup, this is a good guide to the value that should be used for MTU on your system.
(To close the window, at the prompt type EXIT and press Enter).
Now your problem is knowing how to set the MTU and for what device - difficult to know what to suggest, but you could go back to your satellite provider or ISP and ask them for help, or if you're intrepid, try searching Google for information - "how to set mtu in windows" could be a good starting point.
HTH,
Peter
I'm not recommending that any user attempt to adjust TCP settings unless they know what they are doing.
Email Guy
Posted by: Ben M. | May 14, 2008 10:23 AM | (18)
As a follow-up to my post #16. My boss also uses his iPhone to read and view email. If his laptop is shut down and not downloading messages, would two connection drops on the iPhone, which may be more likely given his rural location, cause the email to be sent to the undeliverable message folder on Web Mail?
Email Guy
Posted by: Peter Brooks | May 14, 2008 12:26 PM | (19)
Just a quick follow-up to my earlier suggestion about MTU.
Thanks for the useful link - it led to tools that also recommended a higher MTU setting for my system (two separate and independent installations of XP Pro+SP2 with different serial numbers), claiming it wasn't optimized, but in this case reproducible results obtained through good old-fashioned trial and error and manual configuration won out over supposed optimization by a certain manufacturer's O/S :)
Other variables (over time) were SBC's quirky DSL and RoadRunner/Time-Warner cable modem, and two different Netgear wi-fi routers.
It just goes to show how immature a technology this still is - and why this blog is so necessary and so valuable a resource.
Posted by: jill Myers | May 28, 2009 8:04 PM | (20)
Has the maximum size of an email changed yet? I see that it was 10MB 2007/2008 but wondered if it had increased? I have DSL
About 2/3 of EarthLink subscribers are on dialup and 10MB takes over 30 minutes to send a message that large. Outbound isn't really the problem as users can self-select to not send big messages over dialup, but on incoming you can't control what other people send to you. Retrieving a message takes the same time as sending one. We could go larger, but there isn't any way for us to apply different limits for when you are on a broadband connection. We're giving the issue some more thought to try to accomodate the need for larger message sizes. But know that many other email services still won't accept over 10MB if you sent it, and even though there isn't an industry standard, there is some effort to be compatible.
Also see this FAQ.
Email Guy
Posted by: John Freiman | October 8, 2009 4:47 PM | (21)
I have read many comments regarding the 10 MB limit, but have not seen this particular problem.
I received an e-mail my computer says is 7 MB, but when I tried to forward it I got a message to the effect that it could not be sent because it exceeded the 10 MB limit. How could this be?
Email Guy