Missing graphics for some recipients in Outlook

[CellucomGroup]

Is anyone else all of a sudden not seeing graphics in CC sent emails?  Last Thursday we had 3 (maybe more) employees all using different OS and outlooks just stop being able to see the graphics of our company emails from CC.  We've googled and looked at security settings and enabled features, etc.  Can't seem to figure out why suddenly some stopped being able to view graphics. 

Anyone else experiencing this?

Has CC changed some settings?

Any advice on what to look for?

help!  I have no idea if any of my 3000+ customers are also experiencing this from our emails.

:)Audrey

[CellucomGroup]

Hello all. We understand this issue has been ongoing for a period of time and we apologize that we have not provided a timely update. As previously mentioned, there was a change made to our SSL certificate configuration back in June that we believe had solved the issue with missing images in Outlook and Mac Mail. After further research, it appears that the issue goes beyond our initial fix. We assure you we have been looking into the reasoning why this keeps happening to our customers and your contacts.

We'd like to gather some specific information to see if we can narrow it down to some specific programs or settings. This brings us to our next step in fully tackling the issue. In order for us to keep track of these items and escalate them to the appropriate team to further research, we need some help from you.

Please email us at communitysupport(at)constantcontact(dot)com with the subject line "Outlook/Mac Mail Image Issue Information" and include as much of the following information as you can (the more the better):

• Your username
• The names of some affected email campaigns, as listed on the Campaigns tab
• Email client/program type and version. Here's how to find the version of your affected email client:
  • 2003, 2007: Help > About Microsoft Outlook
  • 2010: File > Help
  • 2013, 2016, 2019, 365: File > Office Account
  • If using Outlook webmail, please include the browser type and version. Most browsers list their version under Help > About.
  • Mac Mail: Mail > About Mail

• What is the exact behavior of the images? Red X, "Linked image can't be displayed" message, "Right-click here to download pictures" message, etc?
• Rough timeline of events, if known. Did it work previously? If so, when did the problem start? Does it seem to be all campaigns or just specific ones? If you have an email that used to successfully display images, does another test or resend still look good, or is it also affected now
• Screen shot of the issue in the email client
• If possible, save the email as a file and attach it to the email. 
  • In Outlook Desktop, open the email so that it's in a separate window. Next, click File > Save As. > Outlook Message Format - Unicode (*.msg). HTML is also fine.
  • In Mac Mail, open the email and select Choose File > Save As and select Raw Message Source as the format (.eml)

Once we receive the information attached, we will forward it to a team that will gather all of the information and further address the issue.

We understand that this is a lot to ask of you, especially with the issue persisting for a while. We again apologize for the lack of an update on our end.

We are locking this thread for the time being while we gather information. We don't want this action to be perceived as us ignoring the issue but instead allowing us to focus and put our resources towards a solution. We will check in and provide updates as we find out more.

[RFTMarketing]

I've experienced the same. At my company we're using Office 365 products. On the web application for Outlook the images load correctly every time. The image issue only happens on the desktop application.

[BethB442]

We are also having this issue. Any quick fix? We can't tell all our clients to troubleshoot or even ask them what versions of Outlook or whatnot they are using. 

[JasonD234]

This is a serious issue that needs fixing. It's not acceptable for an newsletter service to have problems in which images in the newsletter cannot be seen.  Totally unacceptable. 

[Anusara]

I find it incredible that Constant Contact is offering trainings to increase marketing using its platform when the platform does not work as sold. This issue continues for Mac Mail and Outlook users with no action plan from Constant Contact. Constant Contact continues to market a product that is failing -- and is not even following its own "best marketing and customer retention" education protocols that it espouses. Highly disappointed. I will be asking for a full refund since this issue started many months ago. I encourage everyone to also seek a refund. 

[GaryD675]

I couldn't agree more.  My guess is that they are preparing to sell the company and will let the new owners deal with this issue.  What else could it be??  This started back in March!!  I also recommend everyone goes to the media with this story as well.

[AbbottUSMarketing]

I just encountered the same issue since yesterday. I called them and the timeline they gave me was February 2022. It's impossible to communicate properly without having images showing on an Email. 

[GaryD675]

I'm surprised they gave you any date at all.  This has been going on for almost a year now.  What kind of company let's a widespread problem like this go on for that long without any communication.

[LambforGod]

Is there a fix to this? If not, I must move to another email campaign company. This is too important to continue to let it exist. Please advise.

[SharonB50]

This is an ongoing problem.  Very few or none of the images in our CC emails show up in Mac email addresses.  I have seen this in any email generated from Constant Contact.

Other vendors who use CC and send me emails have the same issue.  It was fine until within the last year.  I have done the  suggestions regarding loading content etc.  I always load images and attachments.  It is unacceptable for us that our recipients with Mac email cannot receive our full email.   I am curious if you are working on this as it is clearly a problem when you read message boards and people are talking about this problem. 

[BrantleyF8]

This issue is related to TLS RC4 security ciphers still in use on Constant Contact servers. If you grab one of the images from your newsletter and drop it in Internet Explorer you will receive the following notice:

This page can’t be displayed

Turn on TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and TLS 1.2 in Advanced settings and try connecting to https://files.constantcontact.com again. If this error persists, it is possible that this site uses an unsupported protocol or cipher suite such as RC4 (link for the details), which is not considered secure. Please contact your site administrator.

This link explains the cipher a bit more: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/rc4-cipher-is-no-longer-supported-in-internet-explorer-11-...

Unfortunately, turning on TLS 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 doesn't make a difference. Constant Contact needs to work on using modern security ciphers to resolve this issue permanently for everyone.

[BrantleyF8]

The strangest part is that the images load without trouble in modern Edge and Chrome browsers which doesn't support the idea that RC4 ciphers are in use, and the issue is that IE11 and Office products are misinterpreting the ciphers and unable to display the content. It is very possible that the main issue is simply that many users are using insecure/antiquated software products that are incapable of decrypting the content being presented to them. 

I am still digging into this to determine if we can find a secure way to get these images to display within older Outlook versions. 

[MarciaB152]

I have been reporting this problem to CC for about a year; It is a significant problem. The only solution thus far is a long workaround for any graphics that I use. Also, using Canva - which CC endorses, the pictures will not show without doing the workaround. This has been a very frustrating situation. CC lays the blame on Outlook.  

[GaryD675]

They just don't care.

[MichelleG79]

It’s not only Outlook. I have the same issue in Apple Mail. I suggest you call their billing department and ask for a refund. When enough people stop paying they will maybe take it seriously. This is ongoing for a year and I’ve spent countless hours on the phone. The Constant Contact team don’t seem very concerned to fix it.

[GaryD675]

Well said.  Yep, me too!  

[MarciaB152]

Thank you MIchelle,

Have you made a switch to another e-mail blast system?  I certainly think we should get a refund or discount, but what else is out there that will not have this issue?

[MichelleG79]

I tried searching to see whether others have the same problem. It’s not immediately obvious but then it’s perhaps not obvious until you really start using CC. I have 10+ years of history with Constant Contact and I don’t really want to switch to another email blast platform. I simply don’t understand why they can’t get to the bottom of the problem. I’ve offered and offered to look at what are the common factors in the photos that don’t display. No one ever responds. The customer service people are apologetic. So now they have reduced my monthly charges to compensate. But it’s not about the money - I would rather pay twice as much and have the issue fixed!

[BrantleyF8]

As much as I hate to share this, our customers are all being forced to switch platforms due to the inability to resolve this issue. We have dealt with some incredibly complex security-related issues as a result of some vendors moving to more secure stances and others lagging behind, and this is the first for which we haven’t been able to engineer a viable solution. The issue seems to be related to certificate mismatches or unverifiable or untrusted certificates in the mix between AWS, CC, and our various systems and browsers. We just can’t figure out how to make the latter trust what is being presented from AWS and CC. We’ve agreed with our customers that we have all burned too many resources to continue seeking a solution that includes CC so another platform for them is our path forward at this point. Good luck everyone! I really hate we weren’t able to find another solution to this one!

[Caitlin_M]

Hello all. We understand this issue has been ongoing for a period of time and we apologize that we have not provided a timely update. As previously mentioned, there was a change made to our SSL certificate configuration back in June that we believe had solved the issue with missing images in Outlook and Mac Mail. After further research, it appears that the issue goes beyond our initial fix. We assure you we have been looking into the reasoning why this keeps happening to our customers and your contacts.

We'd like to gather some specific information to see if we can narrow it down to some specific programs or settings. This brings us to our next step in fully tackling the issue. In order for us to keep track of these items and escalate them to the appropriate team to further research, we need some help from you.

Please email us at communitysupport(at)constantcontact(dot)com with the subject line "Outlook/Mac Mail Image Issue Information" and include as much of the following information as you can (the more the better):

• Your username
• The names of some affected email campaigns, as listed on the Campaigns tab
• Email client/program type and version. Here's how to find the version of your affected email client:
  • 2003, 2007: Help > About Microsoft Outlook
  • 2010: File > Help
  • 2013, 2016, 2019, 365: File > Office Account
  • If using Outlook webmail, please include the browser type and version. Most browsers list their version under Help > About.
  • Mac Mail: Mail > About Mail

• What is the exact behavior of the images? Red X, "Linked image can't be displayed" message, "Right-click here to download pictures" message, etc?
• Rough timeline of events, if known. Did it work previously? If so, when did the problem start? Does it seem to be all campaigns or just specific ones? If you have an email that used to successfully display images, does another test or resend still look good, or is it also affected now
• Screen shot of the issue in the email client
• If possible, save the email as a file and attach it to the email. 
  • In Outlook Desktop, open the email so that it's in a separate window. Next, click File > Save As. > Outlook Message Format - Unicode (*.msg). HTML is also fine.
  • In Mac Mail, open the email and select Choose File > Save As and select Raw Message Source as the format (.eml)

Once we receive the information attached, we will forward it to a team that will gather all of the information and further address the issue.

We understand that this is a lot to ask of you, especially with the issue persisting for a while. We again apologize for the lack of an update on our end.

We are locking this thread for the time being while we gather information. We don't want this action to be perceived as us ignoring the issue but instead allowing us to focus and put our resources towards a solution. We will check in and provide updates as we find out more.