Cannot send any Plusnet emails

[#1]

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@chriwest wrote:

i am using Thunderbird on my PC.

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Great - so am I!   Assuming you are using the latest version 146, I suggest you ...

• Click on Menu icon (top right) => Settings => Account Settings => Outgoing Server
• This should open Outgoing Server Settings.  Click on Add
• Enter Description: Plusnet New
• Enter Server Name: relay.plus.net
• Enter Port: 587
• Select Connection Security: StartTLS
• Select Autrhentication: Normal Password
• Enter User Name: <your account name>
• Click OK
• Select Plusnet New in the list of servers
• Check values are correct at the bottom
• Click Test Connection to Server
• If Successful, click on Make Default, then try to send email - it will ask for your account password.
• If test fails, post messages here.

It would help if you can say what the settings are in your previous outgoing server settings.

[#2]

I have just looked at these for my account using iMac Mail.  Everything the same and still not working.  However, Greenby say my Port should be 465 - changed that, still not working.  The weird thing is that I have changed my password on my Greenby account, and after changing it on my settings on my iMac this new password works for incoming mail.  But if I try to change the password for my smtp, it will not let me change the password from my old one.  The Verification says it does not recognise my user name or password - whereas if I revert back to my old password, the Verification succeeds???

Is it possible to have a different password for incoming mail/server to my outgoing/smtp?  Have I missed something in Greenby that means I have to change the password in two places?  Why does incoming mail work but outgoing does not?  Confused...

[#3]

@cmon_mary 

In short, in very specific circumstances the answer is yes.

For plus.com mailboxes, the inbound servers are via the migration proxies whilst the outbound server is still direct to Plusnet legacy servers.  This works fine for most users.

The reason for this configuration is that routing outbound via a migration proxy causes significant issues with sending as experienced last August Bank Holiday weekend.

You have stumbled into a bear pit!  For a migrated plus.com user, should they change their mailbox password in the Greenby portal, that will change their password for the inbound servers, but not the outbound server.  Interim mitigation is to leave the outbound server using the old password.  On some clients that will require the “use the same credentials as the inbound servers” to be changed to “use these credentials”.

This has been escalated but the core team are OOO until next week.

When the relay proxy is deployed you will need to change their password outbound server to use your new password.

[#4]

Thank you so much - at least I am not completely off my mind!  It makes such a difference to know there actually is a problem, which I doubt only affects me.  I shall await developments.  

There is an option to "Connect devices" on the Greenby account management site.  Is this of any use?  I have not tried it for my iMac or iPhone as worries it will just multiply folders and issues.

[#5]

@cmon_mary 

There is an option to "Connect devices" on the Greenby account management site.  Is this of any use? 

No. As @Townman  said above, as long as your email client supports it, just use your old password for the outgoing server (smtp) authentication

[#6]

I am (because the Verification process never let me use my new password) and I still cannot send.  Just to be clear, I am using macOS 26.2, and the server settings section asks you to input passwords for both outgoing and incoming email.  The settings I have set up is my new password for incoming and old password for outgoing.  Both of these pass the Verification check at the server, but I still cannot send emails.  Can you expand on what the work around is, or what I am missing?

[#7]

@cmon_mary 

Are you able to try the email diagnostics , particularly the smtp one , as described here https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Diagnosing-email-server-connectivity-issues-the-guide/m-p/200795... ?

[#8]

I have highlighted in previous posts that it passes these curl tests.  No issues with them.

[#9]

@cmon_mary sorry I must have missed that. If the curl smtp test passes, then I am at a loss to understand why an email client connection with the same username & password does not work ?

To be clear, the curl smtp test will be using port 587 with STARTTLS as the security setting

[#10]

Confirmed

[#11]

@cmon_mary 

Thinking about it a bit more...

The curl test only tests connection and authentication to the server, it doesn't actually try and send an email. I wonder if the problem is the 'blacklisted by local policy' so doesnt generate an error until you actually try and send an email ?

Let me see if I can find details of how to extend the curl diagnostic to try sending an email ....

[#12]

@cmon_mary Ok, I've done a bit of testing with one of the migrated test accounts I have access to and it is possible to send an email using the curl tool. Its not quite a simple as the connection test but if you're up for trying, then it might give a definitive answer as to why you cant send email.

First you need to create a text file called email.txt containing the email headers and body as below

From: <sending email address>
To: <destination email>
Subject: Test email

Test email from curl

Then use the following curl command

curl.exe -v smtp://relay.plus.net:587 --mail-from <sending email address> --mail-rcpt <destination email> --upload-file email.txt --user '<username>' --ssl-reqd

Obviously replace <sending email address> with your plusnet email address, <destination email> with a suitable destination address in the email.txt file and curl command and <username>with your Plusnet username as before. The curl command will ask for the password.

If the send is successfull then the output should end with siomething like

< 250 awNpvYssMYuioawNqvnkk8 mail accepted for delivery
102   102    0     0  102   105      0     77  0:00:01  0:00:01 --:--:--    77
* Connection #0 to host relay.plus.net:587 left intact

If it fails, then the <250 line will be the error (I hope!)

NB you only need to create the email.txt file once, subsequent curl commands will reuse the same file

[#13]

Thanks for your help and efforts.  Tried as requested and got following error message in Terminal

-bash: curl.exe: command not found

I have run the curl.exe tests previously and they work (just repeated it and worked again).  You have reached my ability to interpret this one I am afraid - can you help what might need to change?  Also, how does the code instruction find where the email.txt file is found?  I currently have it on my Desktop. 

[#14]

@cmon_mary 

Ah you' re using a Mac. Drop the .exe from the command.

The curl command will look for the file in the current directory

[#15]

Last part of the (rather long) response with anonymisation as required - hope this helps.  I can provide more of the output, but wary of tying up a public user forum.

> EHLO email.txt

< 250-avasout-ptp-004 hello [000.000.000.00redacted], pleased to meet you

< 250-HELP

< 250-AUTH LOGIN PLAIN

< 250-SIZE 104857600

< 250-PIPELINING

< 250-8BITMIME

< 250 OK

> AUTH PLAIN

< 334 

<redacted>

< 235 ... authentication succeeded

> MAIL FROM:<me@me.plus.com> SIZE=120

< 550 <me@me.plus.com> sender rejected (blacklisted by local policy)

* MAIL failed: 550

  0     0    0     0    0     0      0      0 --:--:--  0:00:01 --:--:--     0

> QUIT

< 221 avasout-ptp-004 smtp closing connection

* Closing connection

* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS alert, close notify (256):

{ [2 bytes data]

* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS alert, close notify (256):

} [2 bytes data]

curl: (55) MAIL failed: 550

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