White Paper - Outbound Email Server Troubleshooting

Having trouble sending e-mail from a new or recently migrated account? Suppose your ISP (internet service provider) recently changed or you are setting up a new e-mail account (or an existing e-mail account on a new computer). You can receive e-mail without issue and you’ve double checked to make sure that your settings are correct but you cannot send any email from your new account. The problem might be your ISP and not your e-mail account.

Certain ISP’s, such as Bellsouth/AT&T and Comcast, require that you use their outgoing mail server while you are connected to their network. This is particularly true for residential connections. “Why would they do this?” you might ask. The answer is to control spam. By requiring everyone connected to their network to send emails through specific mail servers, they can control the amount of spam that comes from their network and ensure that none of their clients are participating in spamming or illegal activities.

Fortunately, this means that the solution to your sending problems could be related to your ISP’s requirements instead of your computer. You can contact your ISP for information about what settings to use for your outgoing mail server or do a Google search on your ISP for this information. For Bellsouth/AT&T, you can simply replace your outgoing mail server with “mail.bellsouth.net” and de-select the outgoing 'server requires authentication' checkbox.

If you still have problems after speaking with your ISP, feel free to contact your friends at AIS Solutions Group for further assistance.

Questions? Call 678.783.0138 or visit our help desk for more assistance.

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