I think you don't understand what he mean.
Can you post what version of electrum you have? Because there are many fake Electrum wallet spreading through internet and maybe you installed a fake Electrum wallet.
[...]
He said he was using the electrum which came preinstalled in tails.
This means:
1. It is the original electrum, and not a fake or scam version
2. It is outdated. I believe electrum 3.1.3 is shipped with the latest tails (not completely sure about that). Definitely too old to connect to electrum server and not recommended to be used anyway.
@OP
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