topic Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails in Email

Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 22:29:24 GMT

Hi, I'm being migrated to Greenby and now cannot send emails either on Free-online or on Greenby. I don't think my ISP likes their use of port 25 for outgoing mail, but now I can't even send by webmail. I get told I'm 'unidentified sender'. Any advice, please?

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Townman — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 08:30:05 GMT

First off (not that I think it will make a difference) port 25 has never been the correct port for email client message submission. That should be done on port 587.

Port 25 is for MTA to MTA message relay.

Migration: being as in you’ve been scheduled or been as you’ve received a welcome to Greenby email?

What sending email address are you using? That of a real mailbox or an alias?

Are you on the Plusnet network?

@plusnettony

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

plusnettony — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 08:33:56 GMT

Is this just in a mail client or webmail too?

Do you have outbound auth set if you're not on the PN network ?

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Busychip — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 13:26:23 GMT

I am reading this with interest as I too have recently been notified that I am about to be migrated to Greenby shortly and have my Outlook email account settings set to:

Incoming (POP3) = Port 110 Encryption tick box (SSL) = blank

Outgoing (SMTP) = Port 25 Encryption tick box (SSL) = blank

I am a legacy Freenetname user (if that is relevant) who was migrated via Brightview->Madasafish->Plusnet over the years and, as far as I can recall, have always used these settings.

If it is relevant, I use a myname@freenetname.co.uk style email address, and another which uses my Freenetname supplied domain name myname@myowndomain.co.uk style address. I have never used myname@myaccount.plus.com directly and have never used webmail.

To limit possible causes of any potential email issues, I have been deliberately trying to avoid making system changes of any kind until the move to Greenby has been completed and proved to be working OK, but should I be changing any of these particular port settings prior to the migration?

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Townman — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 19:56:02 GMT

That brand is not yet in the migration programme.

What brings you to tag onto this Free Online thread which IS in the migration programme?

If you have a specific issue, the mods can be requested to spilt your post off into its own thread.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Busychip — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 20:26:22 GMT

It's the fact that I've already received an email from Plusnet advising me that my email service is to be migrated to Greenby on the 24th November, and I noticed that your earlier response here mentioned that Port 25 was not the one that should be used for outgoing messages - which is what mine has always been set to.

I was reading it that the Port 25 setting comment applied to email sending generally, rather than to a specific email brand (e.g. Free Online) and as I am highly dependent on my email service, I am concerned if this port setting could cause a problem when the migration occurs.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Townman — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 20:49:43 GMT

In principle it should not be a problem. It is though always better to adhere to the recognised standards.

In an ideal world no one should be using port 25 (or 465) for email message submission.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 23:29:45 GMT

Am still having problems – now unable to receive or send emails whether using Apple Mail or Outlook. I give up. Will just have to use it as webmail.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Townman — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 23:52:41 GMT

@Townman wrote:

What sending email address are you using? That of a real mailbox or an alias?

Are you on the Plusnet network?

EDIT

@Silverwhistle

You did not respond to key questions. The sender details are of concern as indicated the error message you reported in the first post.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:34:08 GMT

I'm using the sending email address the same as the incoming, which is my main email address: [user]@[domain].free-online.co.uk

Am on free-online.

I've always used a POP account, so am puzzled they told me to use imap.free-online.net as incoming address.

Outgoing is relay.free-online.net

Apols for not responding earlier. I can only post when I'm not at work, and also am getting v stressed about this: am autistic and getting on in years.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Townman — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:13:05 GMT

It matters not, they point to the same server in Greenby land.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:21:17 GMT

Thanks, because that was puzzling me.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:32:38 GMT

I've tried some alternative port numbers from their support page, but they're not saving, and also I'm still being told username and password aren't verified. Whole thing has me stumped. Am waiting for another response to my ticket with them.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

FridayFeeling — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 17:49:46 GMT

My parents are sill having problems with their migrated "free-online" email account. The whole migration really hasn't gone very smoothly.

NOTE: They have never received the "Welcome to Greenby" email (as email failed completely) so we're kinda flying blind here.

After quite a lot of effort a plusnet support agent was able to get their greenby account working and them logged into it. From there they are now able to see incoming emails on webmail (via greenby.com not webmail.greenby.com).

However, they say they are unable to send emails through webmail - it bounces back saying unable to send.

I've been on the phone to my parents a lot talking it through, and this seems to be that Gmail are refusing the emails sent to gmail.com addresses: "550-5.7.26 Your email has been blocked because the sender is unauthenticated."

If mail sent from the Greenby webmail interface is failing authentication I assume this is a server-side problem (again I believe this is via greenby.com not webmail.greenby.com). It's clearly not to do with how a local mail client is collecting the mail.

Anyone else seeing this? Any of the mods or plusnet staff able to give Greenby a poke?

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Townman — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 20:26:45 GMT

You need to offer clearer descriptions of the issue.

Can email not be sent at all or is it just a matter that Gmail is not accepting delivery?

There is a massive difference between not being able to send (as per the title) and the belligerence of Gmail refusing to accept delivery if successfully sent email.

Sending via webmail will be authenticated. Sending via your own email client might not have authentication set on the outbound server.

More details are required from Gmail’s belligerent refusal to accept delivery. The NDR details should indicate their excuse for rejecting delivery.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:47:35 GMT

I'm now at least able to receive emails via Outlook again: the problem there was with a character I was using in the password, which I've changed. Still not able to send emails, though, which does now look as if it's just the Port 25 issue.

Error Code -3253

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Silverwhistle — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:57:33 GMT

Sorted! Found an outgoing port that works!

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

Mustrum — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 01:01:22 GMT

So do you want to share the settings that me help others?

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

FridayFeeling — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 02:25:39 GMT

@Townman Apologies for not being clear.

It is possible I should've started a new thread. On second reading I guess this is a slightly different scenario to the OP where they were using a third party app to connect.

For context, my parents are 3 hours away from me and I do not have remote access or screen sharing capabilities with them. I am trying to gather what info I can from them over the phone and photos of what's on their monitor.

While I understand where you are coming from on the difference between not being able to send emails and gmail not accepting, the end result to them as lay people in their 80s is that they are unable to send to emails me at my gmail address, and their test emails to their own gmail accounts also fail.

Let's start over....

They have never received the "Welcome to Greenby" email so any useful information that it may have contained is out of our reach.

Greenby WEBMAIL is being used. i.e. they are not using POP3 or SMTP to connect with Greenby servers using a third party application.

From what they have described to me, they log into the greenby.com portal (not webmail.greenby.com)

From there they navigate to webmail. (I think I set this up years ago to accept their single email address as an alias and "postmaster". I think I disabled catch-all.)

In webmail they compose an email to [somebody]@gmail.com and send.

Within a few seconds they receive an "undelivered message" email from the gmail servers refusing the email because it is unauthenticated. I have attached photos of the (redacted) message that comes back.

Since the original post above I have tested a non-gmail address with them. I can confirm that they can successfully send to non-gmail addresses using the Greenby webmail portal.

If the mods feel this post is better moved to its own thread, please do so.

Re: Free-online migration: unable to send emails

jab1 — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 07:52:06 GMT

@FridayFeeling No doubt @Townman (or @MisterW ?) will correct me if I am wrong, but if your parents authenticate their email connection, this problem should be resolved.