Outgoing SMTP Server

[karmitage]

Hi everyone, i am a basic user of the free edition of SmarterMail.. as there are only 4 of us requiring it. I have used Exchange for 10 years prior to this. I am now experiencing something that is just baffling me and thoguht you SmarterMail guru's might be able to help.

First of all... when I am internal on the network that the mail server is on, I can check send&receive email just fine. When I am away, I can check email send&recieve via Webmail just fine. When I am on my phone I have it set up as a pop/smtp account with both the incoming and outgoing servers being "mail.company.com". The outgoing (on my phone at least) says "outgoing server requires authentication" and use the same username and password for sending email, and it also all works fine.

I've recently wanted to add that same account to an external office, and set it up as a pop/smtp account so i can check my email remotely using Outlook....... and I get the error that outlook cannot connect to the outgoing smtp email server (mail.company.com)... im a bit lost as to how it works on my phone yet when i specify the same settings withing outlook it does not.

I beleive i am missing some settings or not fully understanding this product...... I do know that internally from outlook I use my ISP as the outgoing mail server (more-so because I have a dynamic IP and it prevents me getting listed on spamhaus.org), but on my phone that isnt an option and I use mail.company.com and it works fine to send email..... I also know it is not an issue with outlook at this location as I've tried it at several locations... always with the same error..... also i have tried it with both settings... outgoing mail server requires authentication and doesnt....

Anyone have any ideas? I'd even consider paying a guru to remote in a figure it out...... im a bit confused..... (or a lot!)

thanks.

[rlai000]

Your external office ISP probably blocks SMTP port (25). Try using SMTP-submit port (587); this port should be available in SM by default (except your firewall or other has blocked it)

One small note. You better use IMAP/SMTP and the SMTP server better point to your ISP provided SMTP server than your own.

-Raylund

[karmitage]

Where do i change that port.. Outgoing SMTP? Is that per domain or set at the server admin level? Also, does it have to be that particular port or can I set it to be anything not currently in use?

I am also not exactly sure I understand your "note"... you are saying it is better to use the ISP's outgoing as I do when in the "main office"? If so, that is not an option in this particular case or that is what I would do..... but thank you .. I'll see if I can figure out where to change that port and give it a whirl....

[karmitage]

Well I looked around and see a few different options.... one is regarding enabling alternate smtp port for 8889 which is already enabled by default.... but i suspect you mean in another location where I had to enable the use of port 587 with a simlpe checkmark.... in either case I've tried both (accounted for on the router) using Outlook from this location...... with the same result..... baffled.

[wbdzynr]

I think the suggestion was to use the alternate port in Outlook at the remote location. If that ISP is blocking port 25, then you won't be able to get through.

Todd

[ramiss]

8889 is an alternate web port and not what you want to use. The alternate SMTP port can be configured per domain and can be anything you want (as long as it isn't already being used on your server).

Set the port in the domain settings and make sure it is open in your firewall etc..Then use that port in Outlook, or any other client, instead of outgoing port 25.

[karmitage]

Awesome thank you....... Since I am one of the first people to complain when I get "useless" answers.... I think it's only fair to also state when someone gives a great answer. So thank you, your answer was clear.... gave good direction as to what and where to look for these setting changes. That being said, the solution didn't work and I recieve the same error, but at least I know I have checked/tried what you describe because it was clear and concise. Thank you.... I may just live with it for now and look in to cloud-based Exchange options as there are such a low number of users I support on that particular domain that it's just not worth buying anything. The issue is fairly small and really only affects one user who has an alternative (the webmail)..... If you have any other things you can think of that I might have missed in regards to the issue... I'd still be happy to try them out. It isn't a firewall issue... and I tried configuring/enabling SM with the port 587 and used that within Outlook... (same error).... *shrug* I must be missing something, somewhere else.

Thanks again...I wish everyone answered questions as well as you......... :)

[ST-KSugihara]

If you were interested in troubleshooting it more, or for anyone with similar problems, here is my 2 cents...

I think the initial diagnosis was spot on, it sounds like the ISP is blocking the SMTP port.

How you can verify some of your settings is to go to the affected PC and open a command prompt and type: telnet mail.domain.com 25 You should get an error.

You can try this with your alternative ports aswell: telnet mail.domain.com 587. And so on and so forth.

Or an easier route would be to contact the ISP and ask them what port would be acceptable for an alternative SMTP port, and set the alternative SMTP port to that.

Also, it may be worth noting that by default, 8889 is set to be the alternative SMTP port. I think I read a reply to this thread that said that was an alternative webmail port, but that is not entirely true. Though you can setup a binding in IIS to have 8889 be an alternative webmail port.

[karmitage]

Okay... I agree 100% that my ISP blocks 25.... proven that witha couple telnet tests.... So I am attempting to use the default alternate specified at 587, and I've enabled that from the SM admin.... (simple checkmark). I've made the appropriate router entries, as well as firewall entires (and even disabled the firewall to test).

Externally I cannot telnet to 25... because we've established my ISP blocks it..... externally I also cannot telnet to 587 which is inconclusive as it could still be ISP or somethign I've done wrong. So I tried the same tests internally... I CAN telnet to 25 internally, which makes sense as i'm eliminating the ISP...... however internally I still cannot telnet to 587 eliminating ISP/Router, and the firewall was off. So really I must be missing something within SM or have something configured incorrectly...... does that help or spark any other ideas?

[ST-KSugihara]

Thats interesting. So you are in the menu in the screenshot, and you have the enable checkbox checked? Can post a screenshot of your settings page, and give me your mail server address so that I can try to telnet to it?

Here is my screenshot:

http://mail.smartertools.com/public/downloadfile.aspx?f=LRUhGZ%2bGE8ZGpGAP5j1PKEFNIoVR sJ4nu2OHzI2AunfukYmBnZReQ8CWHuolNLoj3yQBCbUk5E6Pfc kNsK%2fFYQ%3d%3d