Can't Send E-Mail Using Optonline or Other ISPs

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation_speed="faster" css_animation_delay="0"]This post used to be the most visited post on this website and we still get calls and emails from people desperately seeking help with their Optimum Online email. In fact, we've even had Optimum technicians recommend that folks reach out to us.

So if you found this page here's what we recommend now.

Get a different email service. You don't want to be dependent on email for your internet service provider, because if you switch internet service providers you probably won't be able to keep your email. According to this article if you are no longer using Optimum for services you cannot keep your Optimum email address.

We of course recommend our own email services on a domain that you own. Thought not free, even our enterprise level premium email is far less expensive then Optimum's cheapest offerings. Contact us if you'd like to learn more.

If you're willing to not have support and don't mind a little spying to target advertising,  gmail is an excellent and otherwise free product. It's not difficult to set up an account. Since it's a Google product, just Google Gmail.

Once you have an email account set up that you control let all our contacts know to about your new email. You may be able to set up forwarding from the old email to the new one so you don't have to check both.

If you cannot send email through Optimum Online (Optonline) or another Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and you are receiving an error message which states something such as "Cannot send outgoing mail due to Port 25 being blocked", this usually indicates a problem with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and NOT your web host or 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 or 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.

How can I send my e-mail if my ISP is blocking Port 25?

• Send via Port 587: Many ISP's (including the two biggest in Northern New Jersey and the New York City Metro area, Verizon and Optonline) allow you to send e-mail using your outgoing account through Port 587. Sending through Port 587 is especially convenient for laptop users who use multiple ISPs. Bower Web Solutions recommends that all of it's clients use port 587.

• If you cannot use port 587 and you don't want to change to Bower Web Solutions hosting: Change outgoing mail server to your ISP's: You can change your OUTGOING mail server (SMTP) from "mail.yourdomain.com" or "yourdomain.com" to a SMTP mail server provided by your ISP.

• For more information on why Port 25 may be blocked, try visiting the Verizon website.

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 e-mail program (such as Microsoft Outlook, Mac Mail, etc) you do not need to recreate your e-mail 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 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 user name and password AS PROVIDED BY YOUR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER or ISP. (Note: this is NOT your Bower Web Solutions user ID and password).

1. 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 e-mails you can send out from your computer's location within a given time period and may suspend your ability to send e-mail if you are sending more than 30 recipients at a time or more than 50 separate e-mails within an hour.

If you plan to send large numbers of mass e-mails 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 e-mail tracking features and sleep at night know that your web site or web server will not be "blacklisted" by the major ISPs!

SETTING THE OUTGOING SERVER TO YOUR ISP's in OUTLOOK OR LIVE MAIL:

1. Go to the Tools menu and choose "Accounts..."

2. From the Mail tab, choose your e-mail 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.

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, OptOnline was not requiring that you sign into an account, but merely that you send out using their outgoing mail server.

List of Internet Service Providers and Their Respective SMTP or Outgoing Mail Server Settings

Problems Sending E-Mail Using Optimum Online or SMTP Settings for Optonline and other ISPs

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