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Problems Sending E-Mail Using Optimum Online, Verizon, Comcast and many other Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
updated Wed, November 18, 2009

If you are having problems sending email or are receiving an error message which states something along the lines of "Cannot send outgoing mail due to Port 25 being blocked", this usually indicates a problem with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and NOT Bower Web Solutions itself.

What Is Port 25 and why is it being blocked?
To help control the amount of spam and viruses that originate from your ISP (like Optimum Online, Verizon, Comcast, EarthLink, etc.) your Internet Service Provider may start to implement outbound Port 25 (SMPT) filtering. Filtering Port 25 is a common spam control measure used by Internet Service Providers and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages when it comes to the war on spam. However, these efforts will not necessarily protect yourself from being flooded with spam. To protect your email account from spam, we suggest you take a look at our Email Defense Service.

How can I send my email if my ISP is blocking Port 25?
You will need to change your OUTGOING mail server (SMTP) from "mail.yourdomain.com" or "yourdomain.com" to a SMTP mail server provided by your ISP.

See the list below of leading Internet Service Providers and
their Corresponding SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) or "Outgoing Mail Server" settings

For example, Optimum Online now require their internet customers use the following SMTP mail server to send out mail on their network:

mail.optonline.net

If you already have your email program (such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc) you do not need to recreate your email account information again. You simply need to edit the existing account and change the SMTP server for the account(s). After you have entered your IPS's SMTP server, you will then need to click on the 'more settings" tab and go to the "Outgoing Server" tab. On this tab, click on the "Log on using" radio button and enter your ISP username and password. (Note: this is not your Bower Web Solutions user id and password).

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Be aware that many Internet Service Providers (ISP) such as Optimum Online, Verizon, Comcast are now cracking down of "spam activity". These ISPs are now limiting how many emails you can send out from your computer's location within a given time period and may suspend your ability to send email if you are sending more than 30 recipients at a time or more than 50 separate emails within an hour.

If you plan to send large numbers of mass emails to your client base, you really need to consider a separate service such as Constant Contact. For less than 75 cents a day, you can take advantage of advanced email tracking features and sleep at night know that your web site or web server will not be "blacklisted" by the major ISPs! Click on the image below to get your FREE Constant Contact account now!

Below is an example of changing an existing Outlook email account configuration using Optimum Online as an ISP:

1. Go to the Tools menu and choose "Accounts..."
2. From the Mail tab, choose your email account and click the "Properties" or "Change" button
3. In the following window, click on the Servers tab
4. Change the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server setting to:
   mail.optonline.net
   Note: If your ISP is NOT Optimum Online, then you will need to set your SMTP to a different server. Please contact your ISP directly for more details.
5. Finally click on the "More Settings" button and enter your ISP username/password in the "Log on Using" section. (see illustration below).
   
   
6. Test account Settings (from the general tab or by clicking OK to return to the main window).
7. If you get the error "None of the authentication methods supported by this client are supported by your server",uncheck my outgoing server requires authentication. As of early 2009, Optimum Online was not requiring that you sign into an account, but merely that you send out using their outgoing mail server.
8. Many ISPs including Verizon and Comcast are also requiring that you use a different outgoing mail port as well. If the above changes have not worked you may need to contact your ISP.

Outgoing mail not working while incoming mail is working is almost always an issue with your Internet Service Provider (and not an issue with Bower Web Solutions).

List of Internet Service Providers and Their Respective SMTP/Outgoing Mail Server Settings [ back to top ]
NOTE: This list is provided as a courtesy to our customers. As different ISPs change their system configurations, we cannot guarantee complete accuracy with the list below. Please contact your ISP or visit the Support sections of their respective web sites for the most accurate and up to date SMTP settings as required by your Internet Service Provider.

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