topic Email settings issue - just started today in Email

Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 13:36:24 GMT

Hi,

I have been using Outlook on my laptop and the gmail app on my phone for ages but today I couldn't access either with the message "Couldn't logon to IMAP server".

The original settings were Incoming Server imap.free-online.net port 143 and Outgoing was relay.free-online.net port 587. These appear to have changed to mail.username.co.uk for both. The original incoming encryption was SSL/TLS but the only way I could anything to work after spending hours this morning trying to sort was to set the encryption to none. Now I can access my email on my laptop and phone but can't send as they bounce back and the message is:

554#avascut-peh-003 smtp ESMTP server not available (blacklisted by local policy).

I'm not overly tech savvy. Is anyone able to help with the settings. The ones on the help pages don't work for me. I'm assuming (perhaps naively) that the settings on my gmail phone app should be the same.

Any help appreciated.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

Dan_the_Van — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:40:09 GMT

@NickiQ

there have been some overnight changes to free-online mail servers.

@MisterW @Townman

Oh dear a free-online email issue.

I've been seeing this message "554#avascut-peh-003 smtp ESMTP server not available (blacklisted by local policy)." Not had time to look into it yet.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:47:41 GMT

Thanks for your response. I wish when I spoke to someone at Plusnet earlier they mentioned that. I've got a square backside as I've been trying to resolve it all day. I look forward a response.

Whilst I've been rummaging around the forum I found some info on SPF & DKIM as emails have been bouncing back from my domain email for gmail. I have a SPF set up. I also saw some info on setting up DKIM. I have an old legacy free-online account with the registered domain hosted through PN. Am I right in saying that I can't set up DKIM for that as its not a username.plus.com account?

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

Dan_the_Van — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:50:36 GMT

Hopefully you should be able to use webmail https://webmail.plus.net/

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:54:23 GMT

Thanks - webmail does work. Not that I've used it for many years 😀

I'm getting some emails on my android phone but not sure the settings are 100% correct.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 15:06:22 GMT

@Dan_the_Van

Oh dear a free-online email issue.

The right people have been made aware of the issue.

I've been seeing this message "554#avascut-peh-003 smtp ESMTP server not available (blacklisted by local policy)." Not had time to look into it yet.

Is that permanent or just occasional ?

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

Dan_the_Van — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 15:14:43 GMT

@MisterW

I use a mixture of Outlook 365, Thunderbird, and K-9 mail app, depending on email account.

I always use IMAP, so I am checking each email address for the app it's setup on.

This not what I would call this seamless system change, bearing in mind the mess up last time.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 15:24:43 GMT

It's intermittent. I had this message on my phone when setting up the outgoing server settings.

I get this bounce back from gmail when sending via Outlook - (I've edited the name & ips)

<name@gmail.com>: host gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[xxx.xxx.x.xx] said:

550-5.7.26 Your email has been blocked because the sender is

unauthenticated. 550-5.7.26 Gmail requires all senders to authenticate with

either SPF or DKIM. 550-5.7.26 550-5.7.26 Authentication results:

550-5.7.26 DKIM = did not pass 550-5.7.26 SPF [domain name.co.uk] with ip:

[xx.xx.xxx.xxx.] = did not pass 550-5.7.26 550-5.7.26 For instructions on

setting up authentication, go to 550 5.7.26

When I try to add encryption to my Outlook settings I get the message: We couldn't connect to the incoming IMAP server using the specified encryption method. Please check the incoming IMAP server connection method and try again. The options all default to None.

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126#authentication

5b1f17b1804b1-43ec3427f31si83965415e9.32 - gsmtp (in reply to end of DATA

command)

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

paulmacd — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 15:26:48 GMT

I seem to have the same problem: sending from myemail@metronet.co.uk with Thunderbird I get

"Sending the message failed.

An error occurred while sending email. The mail server responded:

avasout-peh-003 smtp ESMTP server not available (blacklisted by local policy).

Please check the message recipient "myemail@metronet.co.uk" and try again".

(This was sending a test message to myself, but I get similar if I try to send to someone else).

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:15:19 GMT

@Dan_the_Van

This not what I would call this seamless system change, bearing in mind the mess up last time.

Absolutely!

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:20:09 GMT

@NickiQ

I get this bounce back from gmail when sending via Outlook - (I've edited the name & ips)

<name@gmail.com>: host gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[xxx.xxx.x.xx] said:

550-5.7.26 Your email has been blocked because the sender is

unauthenticated. 550-5.7.26 Gmail requires all senders to authenticate with

either SPF or DKIM. 550-5.7.26 550-5.7.26 Authentication results:

550-5.7.26 DKIM = did not pass 550-5.7.26 SPF [domain name.co.uk] with ip:

[xx.xx.xxx.xxx.] = did not pass 550-5.7.26 550-5.7.26 For instructions on

setting up authentication, go to 550 5.7.26

That's a different problem. Are you sending from a domain address hosted by Plusnet ?

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:27:12 GMT

@MisterW sorry did say I wasn't particularly tech savvy. 😀 too many issues today.

Yes our domain is hosted by PN and emails were sent via PN servers

My limited understanding is that the gmail issue is to do with SPF & DKIM. SPF is already set up for our domain. Not sure if we can set up DKIM.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:29:16 GMT

@NickiQ

My limited understanding is that the gmail issue is to do with SPF & DKIM.

You're correct it is.

SPF is already set up for our domain.

How was SPF set up ? I suspect it doesn't now reference the updated mail server.

Not sure if we can set up DKIM

You can't fro a hosted domain.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 16:48:44 GMT

SPF was set up using info from a post from Townman on 23/6/23

mx 999999 please-add-spf-records

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 17:10:41 GMT

@NickiQ

Ah! I guessed that might be the case but I thought that only applied to the Plusnet brand hosted domains i.e using relay.plus.net as the outgoing server ?

AFAIK there's been no changes to that server.

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 17:39:31 GMT

The settings I've used till now are:

Incoming imap.free-online.net and outgoing relay.free-online.net. They seemed to work until today.

When I looked today they were showing as mail.username.co.uk for both for Outlook .... that probably makes more sense to you than me. On my android phone they are still imap and relay as mentioned above.

From what I've been reading there are some server migrations going on so maybe things may sort themselves out. OK if you know what you are doing ... I'm a bit past that stage 😀

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

Dan_the_Van — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 17:44:49 GMT

@MisterW So after I thought everything was working using curl.exe tests I find, (removed my userID and password)

I have used both mailbox@accountname.free-online.co.uk or accountname+mailbox

accountname@accountname.free-online.co.uk or accountname

smtps and smtp also fail in the same way

curl.exe -v smtp://relay.free-online.net:587 554 avasout-ptp-003 smtp ESMTP server not available (blacklisted by local policy) * closing connection #0 curl: (67) Login denied

curl.exe -v imap://imap.free-online.net A003 OK LIST completed * Connection #0 to host imap.free-online.net left intact

imaps also successfully connect

Seeing nothing is really working I am not checking Outlook, Thunderbird or k9-mail app

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 18:15:06 GMT

@NickiQ

When I looked today they were showing as mail.username.co.uk for both for Outlook ..

thats outlook trying to guess the server name. You have to set it manually. Although from other posts it looks like there are other problems

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

MisterW — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 18:17:47 GMT

@Dan_the_Van I don't think changing username will have any effect!

It looks like the problem has morphed into a 'blacklisted by local policy' which will cause a failure even if the credentials are correct

Re: Email settings issue - just started today

NickiQ — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 18:22:59 GMT

I've tried resetting the incoming and outgoing mail servers using the advanced option repair settings but it changes them back to mail.username.co.uk ... seems I'm not getting anywhere unfortunately.