Globalnet.co.uk not sending mail

[#1]

Hi,

I have a globalnet.co.uk account. I understand plusnet hosts this. I can recieve mail fine but can't send from apple mail. the error message is incorrect password. I have not changed any settings and it is the same on 2 diferent computers. I have tried using plusnet webmail and both send and recieve is fine. This problem happened a few months ago but cleared itself after a few hours. this current fault has ben for over 24 hours.

I would be greatful for any help

Thanks,

Tony

[#2 · Accepted solution]

If this used to work, does not work any more and you are connecting from a third party ISP, it is likely that you’ve acquired and abused IP address.

Try disconnecting the router for two hours and try again.

[#3]

Thanks for the suggertion Townman, all working fine now. For future reference would going through a vpn have worked?

It's the second time this has happened so I'm expecting it to happen again.

[#4]

Hi Tony,

Going through a VPN might work ... or could bring about yet more complications...

• Some VPN providers operate off-shore therefore such connections will be deemed as coming from overseas ... which has elevated security measures and email submission limits
• The use of a VPN will make lots of users appear to be connecting from the same IP address - this could lead to too many log in attempts from the same IP address - if the failed log in threshold is violated ALL log in attempts will be blocked

Connecting from third party environments is a typical vector for abusing SMTP relay services - hence the heightened security measures.  On-network connections (from Plusnet users) already have some level of authentication as a legitimate user via the broadband credentials.

[#5]

Hi Townman,

The fault has come back. it has been faulty for a week or so. I have tried cycling the power on the router (2 hours), refreshing the ip address in the router and a vpn. no change. i tried from a pc in work on a different ISP and it's fine. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tony

[#6]

Hi Tony,

For the avoidance of doubt, can you RECEIVE emails, just not send them?

Unless you get a different IP address allocated, then you'll see no difference IF it is an abused IP address which is causing the issue.  If you have had other problems, you could be encountering the too many failed login attempts inter-lock.  This diagnostic method will indicate very clearly what the issue is...

Test SMTP authentication

Email programs often report username / password error for issues not actually related to those being wrong, but for other connectivity issues. Such can be very frustrating when you are convinced that they are correct. Testing SMTP authentication through a command line interface can deliver a more precise error message. The following describes how to do this using TELNET.

This is not difficult, but you need the following resources which might be unfamiliar...

1. TELNET - this might need installing as an additional option, for Windows see enabling TELNET.
2. A code64 encoder / decoder such as this.

You can use TELNET to communicate direct with the SMTP server as follows...

Open the code64 encoder in a web browser and leave ready for use in the following steps.

Launch a windows command line window (DOS window) - press windows-key+R - type CMD into the run box - click OK

Enter...

telnet relay.plus.net 587

Press enter. Note if you use one of the other brand email services, use the appropriate SMTP server name for that brand. In response to SMTP server I'm here message, say 'HELLO'...

EHLO relay.plus.net

The SMTP server will then report what it can do after which tell the server you wish to authenticate...

AUTH login

The server should return the following, which is a base64 encoded string that requires your username:

334 VXNlcm5hbWU6

Use the code64 encoder to encode your username and paste it into the telnet window and press enter. For example:

bXl1c2VybmFtZQ==

The server should return the following, which is a base64 encoded string that requires your password:

334 UGFzc3dvcmQ6

Paste the base64 encoded password for the username. For example:

bXlwYXNzd29yZA==

The server will then report success or failure, any failure message should clearly indicate the reason for the failure. If the reason for the failure is not clear, please report back the message.

Close the SMTP / TELNET session by entering

quit

The session should look something similar to the below wherein your input is in bold...

220 avasout03 smtp relay.plus.net
EHLO relay.plus.net
250-avasout03 hello [your IP address], pleased to meet you
250-HELP
250-AUTH LOGIN PLAIN
250-SIZE 104857600
250-PIPELINING
250-8BITMIME
250-STARTTLS
250 OK
AUTH LOGIN
334 VXNlcm5hbWU6
bXl1c2VybmFtZQ==
334 UGFzc3dvcmQ6
bXlwYXNzd29yZA==
235 ... authentication succeeded
quit
221 avasout03 smtp closing connection
Connection to host lost.

Here are some examples of failure responses...

535 ...authentication rejected [as username / password is wrong]
535 ...authentication rejected as source IP has a poor reputation
535 Too many SMTP auth failures. Please try again later.