You may not be receiving attachments for several reasons. Given below are some solutions to resolve the issue. After trying the first solution, check whether you can receive attachments. If not, continue using the suggested solutions until the problem is fixed.
You may wish to print or save a copy of these instructions as this page may not remain visible as you go through the suggested steps.
Solutions
Check the presence of an attachment
To ensure that the attachment is present in a particular e-mail, open the e-mail and check for the paper-clip icon.
Note: The Anti Virus E-mail Scanning service scans all e-mail attachments and repairs infected files. If a virus is detected in an e-mail attachment, you will be notified by a Virus Protection pop up. The service will begin to repair the e-mail and remove the virus. If the scan is unable to repair an infected file, then the Anti Virus service will not allow you to download the infected file.
Allow pictures and files in spam controls
You may not be receiving attachments as your mail controls may have been set to block e-mails containing pictures and files.
To set your mail controls in AOL® WebMail to receive attachments
1. Sign on to AOL Mail as you normally would using your AOL® screen name and password.
2. Click Settings in the upper-right corner of your WebMail window.
3. In the left pane, click Spam Settings.
4. Next to Spam Filter by Content, clear the Block mail containing pictures or files checkbox.
5. Click Save.
To set your spam controls in the AOL® software in order to receive files
1. Go to AOL® Keyword: Spam Controls. This keyword can only be accessed using the AOL software.
2. Click the Controls for drop-down menu to open it, select the screen name whose mail controls you wish to adjust from the list, and then click it.
Note: For screen names in a General Access category, you can only adjust the mail controls for that particular screen name.
3. Next to Content Filter, click the Edit link.
4. Clear the Block messages containing pictures or files check box.
5. Click Save.
6. Click Save again.
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Check file download status
If your file has not been downloaded fully, it may not open. To check whether your attachment has downloaded completely, do the following:
Note: This solution is only applicable to the AOL software.
1. Click the File menu, and then click Download Manager.
2. Under File Name, verify that the file that you are looking for is listed. If the file is listed, it has been successfully downloaded.
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Check file type
AOL prevents certain types of file attachments from reaching you for your protection. You will still receive the e-mail; however, the potentially harmful attachment will have been removed. There will be no indication to you that the mail originally had an attachment.
The types of files being removed are the ones commonly used to send viruses or spyware and are not the type of files most people send to each other. These include the following file types: scr, com, msi, bat, pif, vbs, cpi, or cmd. You can still receive certain file types if the original sender resends them after compressing the files. To do this, the original sender can use a third-party compression program, such as WinZip® (which can be downloaded free from the Web), or you can attach multiple files to the e-mail, which will cause the AOL software to automatically compress the files.
Request sender to resend the file
If you are still unable to receive the attachment, request the sender of the e-mail to resend the file. You may also confirm with the sender that the attachment size doesn't exceed 16 MB. However, if the attachment is larger than 16 MB or is of a file type not recognized by AOL, please ask the sender to compress the file and resend it. To do this, they can use a third-party compression program, such as WinZip (which can be downloaded free from the Web), or they can attach multiple files to the e-mail, which will cause the AOL software to automatically compress the files.
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