E-mail client with Sky bb...

[#1]

Hi, can anyone recommend settings for using Outlook 2013 with plusnet's email and sky fibre bb? I have tried all the ones suggested by plusnet but although I can receive email ok it will not send any mail at all.

Cheers

[#2]

To send mail using the PlusNet servers from a non-plusnet connection, you will need to use authenticated smtp. Unless you have a PlusNet broadband account or a JustMail account then you will not be able to use authentication at all I'm afraid. If that's the case then your only option would be to try sending using the sky smtp server instead, but that MIGHT not accept a non sky email address.

[#3]

 Hi and thanks for your reply, I think I have tried this however if I use the sky smtp server would I need to use my sky login credentials? I think I tried that too but had no success. Why do plusnet make this so difficult? I have email accounts with three other providers and do not have any issues what so ever and it is plusnet that are suggesting I use a client because their webmail is rubbish, too slow and isn't working half the time. Thus my only option is to use an app such as outlook. It is almost like plusnet are deliberately preventing this...

[#4]

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@cuke wrote:

Why do plusnet make this so difficult? 

You'd be hard pushed to find another ISP that offers authenticated outbound mail at zero cost. many of the free providers have entirely different business models to an ISP and will benefit from your advertising impressions, data collection or something else.

We're continuing to work on the performance of our Webmail platform, however I can't offer comment on what, if any, Sky login credentials you'd need to use (or even if it's allowed) because I'm not familiar with Sky's mail platform. Sorry.

[#5]

This http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Email/Outgoing-mail-server/td-p/2375581 might help with the sky SMTP settings

[#6]

Well Bob, I use various other free webmail services and none of them have ever had the issues yours has had over this year. I found out that even though the plusnet webmail was telling me it had failed to send a message it had, in fact, sent them, thus some forty messages were received by a individual company I was attempting to send correspondence too making me look like an idiot. If your email service worked in the manner it should we would not be having this conversation, but it doesn't does it.

[#7]

I have never had any problems sending or receiving e-mail from my Plusnet accounts using Thunderbird or Windows Mail, even using Mobile Networks to access. The App on my Widows Phone works fine as do e-mail clients on other.Mobile Devices.

[#8]

@custos,

I completely concur with you, however you and I are PlusNET subscribers who (one way or another) pay for the service.  @cuke Has not clarified if this is a retained for free (legacy?) email account ir one retained for a fee.

The access rules for non-subscription accounts are (understandably) more restricted, especially to the out bound server, as that is often the approach taken by spam generators - they exploit a poorly secured SMTP server - flood the world with spam causing the SMTP server to be black listed and consequentially useless to subscribing users.

So the crux here is does @cuke have a right to authenticated access to PlusNet's SMTP server?  If they do, there is a problem to be fixed.  If not then there are alligators in the alternative swamp - @plusenet.com emails being sent by a sky.com server WITHOUT an authorising SPF DNS record (which PlusNET do not support) is a candidate for being suspected as spam.

The best advice one can offer @cuke is if you do not have your own domain name (I recommend anyone considering flitting between ISPs to get one and use it in place of @ISP.com) then move all of your email to your new sky service and change your existing PlusNET email addresses to redirection addresses.

[#9]

I could do that Townman, or plusnet, who I was a customer with for 15 years and my daughter still is on my recommendation, could just fix something that is quite clearly not up to scratch.

My other free webmail accounts all work fine with Outlook, or any mail client, wherever I am, whether at work using their BB, or at home. As it was plusnet who told me I would be better off using a client to access my mail, because of the terrible state their webmail is in, I would expect it to work.

This thread and my posts are all what a plusnet representative have suggested I do on their facebook site. I have always been clear about what ISP I am using so lets not get into an argument about what I am entitled too or not.

[#10]

Sorry, what is not up to scratch?  Do you have a current subscription or are you paying for retention of your old PlusNET email addresses?  If the answer is yes, then there is a problem which quite rightly needs to be resolved.

If not then not providing unauthenticated access to PlusNet's SMTP servers for an off network client seems VERY UPTO SCRATCH protection for PlusNet's paying customers.

I very much suspect that as a paying customer with any ISP you'd be quite annoyed if by allowing free open access to their email relay services, your paid for service stopped working because spammers making free use of the email relay servers got the ISP black listed.

It just so happens I'm having to deal with this exact same problem with another email provider I use - their relay is black listed due to spam abuse resulting in May ISP / mail hosts not accepting their outbound emails. I've had to find an alternative SMTP service and configure SOF recirds to suit.

Frankly PlusNET not allowing non-subscribers to use the relay is a really good idea.

As I said at the top - if you are paying for the retention of your email addresses, that is a different matter - you still have not been clear about that.

[#11]

I will ignore your opinion because it counts for diddly squat, you aren't a member of the plusnet staff, as far as I can tell, so you have no bearing or anything constructive to add to this debate. Basically you are just trolling it seems...

Tried to login tonight, guess what, server timed out again and when I did eventually get into my emails it was failing to send or to save drafts again.

Now going back to me original question, can somebody actually give me advice to make this work with a email client and other bb connections, because it doesn't work with any...

[#12]

If it's going to work using the Plusnet relays when on a Sky BB connection you need

SMTP host: relay.plus.net
Port: 587
SSL/TLS: no
login required with normal password transmitted insecurely
username: and
password: the same as work for incoming mail

As others have mentioned unless you have a paid email service with Plusnet authentication using username and password won't work; if Plusnet staff have advised otherwise, querying this with them would be appropriate.

[#13]

Thanks for your reply but it was plusnet themselves who requested I use a mail client such as Outlook and it isn't just Sky BB I use because I need to access my emails at work, which uses easynet. Also plusnet do give setting for any customer using there email accounts through other connections, but they do not seem to work. However I can do that for every other free email account that I have. Now the second day of trying to send one email reply through the webmail, FAILED TO SEND MESSAGE!!! 20 plus times...

Perhaps plusnet can advise me where I can complaint, perhaps directly to their MD?

[#14]

I finally this morning managed to send the one email I have spent the last three days to send. It took me three attempts but it has gone now.

I guess plusnet representative's do not feel like replying to me about the substandard email system they have in place. It's a shame but I will be no longer recommending their products to anyone, seems like they've gone downhill since I have been with them.

[#15]

@cuke,

There is zero need for your rudeness and abusive comments towards people who are trying to assist you - you should be ashamed of your behaviour.

Its a simple question which you appear to be unwilling to answer.  Are you paying for the retention of your email service?  If the answer is "No." then unless you have received some special arrangement, off net work access to PlusNet's SMTP servers is not permitted.  This is not opinion, it is fact, a fact I understand you might not like.

There is no necessity for you to send @PlusNET.account emails via the PlusNET SMPT, it is quite possible for you to use another SMPT server to which you have legitimate access.  Given that PlusNET does not support SPF there is not even the risk that the receiving email post room will reject the email because it was sent by the 'wrong' SMTP server.

So back to the simple unanswered question: "Having chosen to move away from PlusNET, are you paying to retain the use of PlusNet's email services?".

@Anoush - are you able to determine the status of this user's (retained?) email service please?  Are his expectations of using PlusNET's SMTP servers whilst connected to Sky fibre ever likely to be fulfilled?.