iCloud [SOLVED] Sending iCloud Mail Fails With: The server response was: 554 5.7.1 <IP Address snipped>: Client host ejected: Access denied

[Buadhai]

This on a 15" M2 MBA running 14.4.1.

Just recently sending iCloud email fails on this machine (and only this machine) with the following error in the Connection Doctor log:

READ Mar 26 04:50:47.891 [kCFStreamSocketSecurityLevelTLSv1_2] -- host:smtp.mail.me.com -- port:587 -- socket:0x60000803dbc0 -- thread:0x6000071109c0

554 5.7.1 <node-17t8.pool-101-51.dynamic.totinternet.net[101.51.221.nnn]>: Client host rejected: Access denied

I can usually get it to work by selecting a different iCloud SMTP server (why are there two?):

Superficially it appears that Apple's SMTP server doesn't like my IP address, but that can't be the case because every other machine on the LAN can send iCloud mail without error.

In other words, the problem is machine specific.

Any ideas on how to tackle the problem?

 

[Buadhai]

I finally solved this myself. I had opened a ticket with Apple Support way back in January. Since then I'd spoken with three different senior support people; none of whom could solve it. All three of them eventually ghosted me and I never heard from them again.

The first hint was when the exact problem appeared for the first time yesterday on my Intel iMac. Same error message in the Connection Doctor log and same symptom of two iCloud servers in the Outgoing Mail accounts list.

Here's what I did:

• Go to Edit SMTP Server list and delete iCloud. Deleting the one there deleted both of them in the Outgoing Mail accounts list.
• Turn off iCloud Mail
• Reboot the machine
• Turn on iCloud Mail
• Send mail from my iCloud account. It will tell you that there is no Outgoing Mail server, but it will have created one that you can select.

Oddly, the iCloud server is shown in the Outgoing Mail server list, but not in the Edit SMTP server list.

This procedure worked on both the MBA and the old iMac.

Am I the only one who has experienced this?