Outgoing E-mail Troubleshooting

THE PROBLEM

As the volume of spam being sent out into the Internet has increased, so have efforts to combat it. Most of us benefit from these spam prevention measures, but there are also occasional incidental problems that can occur resulting from barriers put up to block the transmission of spam.

One of the common problems about which our clients contact us regarding their e-mail service is an inability to send outgoing e-mail. In most cases this is caused by the client’s local Internet Service Provider (ISP) blocking their outgoing e-mail as a spam prevention measure.

SOLUTION: CONTACT YOUR SERVICE PROVIDER

If you are having difficulties with your outgoing mail, there are several things you can do to get around any block imposed by your ISP. The first is to contact your ISP and ask them to help you set up your outgoing e-mail using their outgoing mail server (also called an SMTP server). They should be able to walk you through the set up and fix any problems you have with sending out e-mail. If you use your ISP’s outgoing mail server, please note that it is completely separate from our system, and we are able to offer only limited assistance regarding your outgoing mail since we do not have access to your ISP’s server configuration. Using your ISP’s outgoing mail server is, however, the recommended set-up because it offers the most direct route to the Internet.

ALTERNATE SOLUTION: USE OUR SERVER

If your ISP is unable or unwilling to help you set up your outgoing e-mail through their server, you have another option. We have set up our own outgoing mail (SMTP) server that you can use. By using the following settings you can usually bypass any blocks your local ISP is imposing on your outgoing e-mail.

Use the following settings for your outgoing (SMTP) mail server:

Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: mail.[your_domain].com
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Port: 465
Selected: “Server requires a secure connection (SSL)”

In Outlook Express, the Mail Server setting is on the “Servers” tab of the Account Settings window, and the other two settings are on the “Advanced” tab. Other e-mail software will have similar settings that you should be able to easily find and change.

If you have any trouble getting this set up, please feel free to contact your account manager for assistance.