Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

[#1]

If you go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Mail > (Select your Plusnet account) > Tap on the account > SMTP > tap on relay.plus.net, you'll be able to change the Server Port to 587 from 25.

You'll need to do this for every device you have setup with your Plusnet email address. The process of this for a Windows PC can vary depending on what mail client you're using?

[#2]

Advice much appreciated. Thank you.

My mail client on PC is Outlook I you can help with that.

I've just checked my iPhone - and things there are a bit confusing.

The primary SMTP server is listed as smtp.gmail.com, but is switched off.

In the list of Other SMTP Servers, relay.plus.net appears four times. (No idea why, exdcept that my personal data was iported form a previous iPhone) On three occasions. relay.plus.net is switched on and once off.

Of the three listings that are switched on, the first has port 587, the second has port 25 and the third has port 587.

If I tap on the one with port 25 and switch it off, it doesn't work. When I return to the list of servers, it's still switched on.

Help!

[#3]

Does this guide help you navigate around Outlook to find the option to change the port number?

With regards to your iOS devices, I'd ignore the Other SMTP servers and focus on the Primary Server. When you tap into that, can you change the details to the following:

Server: Toggle this to on (indicated by a green button)

Host name: relay.plus.net

Username: This is your username+mailbox, unless you're using the default mailbox where it'd just be the username

Password: This is your mailbox password

Use SSL: Make sure that's switched off

Authentication: Password

Server Port: 587

[#4]

I've followed exactly your advice, but still no go.

I reconfigured the Primary SMTP Server from smtp.gmail.com to relay.plus.net as oyu suggest, with  my username+mailbox (exactly as used for the Incoming POP3 server which works fine). The password is my makilboix password. SSL is off. Authentication is password. Server port is 587.

In the list of SMTP servers, the Primary server now appears as relay.plus.net, whereas it was smtp.gmail.com before.

However, if I try to send an email from my PlusNet account, I get an error message as follows:

"Cannot Send Mail.

The username or password for "Peter on Gmail" is incorrect.It gives me the option to tap Setting, which takes me to the PlusNet SMTP sever details which are correctly configured in every respect.

Note that the error message (but nothing else) seems to think the primary server is still the Gmail one.

Weird, eh? Or am I missing something obvious?

PS: I don't think I need to reconfigure my Outlook account because my PC is only ever used on my home wifi, which always works fine. But getting the outgoing server on my Apple devices to work is pretty crucial.

[#5]

If I have understood you correctly, the password for the SMTP server is not your email password but your PN logon password, i.e. the PW you use to log onto your PN account on the web. This works for me on IPad and android.

[#6]

Sorry to hear you're still having issues.

Are you able to delete the other SMTP servers?

Failing that, can you send me screenshots showing the settings/details you're using (obviously without your password)?

[#7]

 The only server on the list that has an option to delete is the Gmail one.

None of the relay.plus.net server listings can be deleted - and neither can one  called mail.btinternet.com which is old and no longer used.

I've run out of time today to do the screenshots, but I will send them as soon as I can.

Should I put them in a public album on this forum - or send them some other way?

And thanks again for taking the time to help.

Much appreciated.

[#8]

Hello @PeterB1,

Thank you for confirming the steps you have taken. Please get back to us when you have the screen shots, which we would recommending sending via PM as it will contain your personal information.

Once you have PM one of us, get back to us here letting us know the person you have sent it to and we will ensure this is picked up.

Moderator's note by Adie (Dvorak) corrected tag to correct user.

[#9]

Thank you.

I have now send a PN message to Gandalf with the three screenshots requested.

However, in the two hours since my last post, sending emails form my iPhone via home wifi using the Mail app and SMTP relay.plus.net has suddenly started working perfectly. No idea why.

(Could it be that the system took its time to verify my new Primary Server setting, which I changed from smtp.gmail.com to relay.plus.net?)

Anyway, to get back to the really important question for the future when relay.plus.net will be mandatory:

Now my settings on SMTP relay.plus.net are configured to Port 587, does this mean I should be able to use public wifi networks (in places like hotels and other hotspots etc) for sending emails form my phone without the outgoing messages being blocked by relay.plus.net?

Once again - many thanks for your help and your patience!

[#10]

All I can say is that both my IPad and Android phone are configured as you have done and I have no problems in sending from wifi anywhere.

[#11]

@PeterB1,

Email accounts on iDevices are rather smart!!

If you have email accounts (addresses) A, B, C and D, configured on the iDevice each has their own smtp server configured, viz smptA, smptB, smptC and smptD when you set up the account.  Somewhere in the back ground, for each account, the system sets the other account's smtp servers up as alternative smtp servers.

On each account, for the SMTP server, you can use either the primary account name and password (but that means disclosing the details to all mailbox users [family members etc]) or you can use the mailbox's ID and password.

Consider the configuration of the following on an iDevice...

1. god@god.plus.com
2. father@god.plus.com
3. son@god.plus.com
4. holy.spirit@god.plus.com

Each would have its own primary SMTP server and the other 3 available as alternatives**.

All could access the SMTP server using the user account god plus the account's password, or they can use their own email ID and password in the form of accountname+mailboxID ...

2. god+father
3. god+son
4. god+holy.spirit

 ** As the implementation of SPF becomes more widespread the limited benefit of being able to use another account's SMTP server will vanish all together.

[#12]

Thanks, Townman.

Fascinating stuff.

I'm the only one in the family who has a PlusNet email account, so I have no need to set up multiple accounts (though as it happens my own PN account does have the username in the format accountname+makilboxID anyway.

A curiosity: when I tap SMTP server in my PN email account it correctly shows relay.plus.net on Port 587 as the Primary Server.

In the list of alternative servers, it also shows smtp.gmail.com which is configured for my Gmail account which I also access through the Mail app. (This can be deleted, but I don't ant to do that as I suspect it might disable sending emails on the Gmail account.)

In addition, though, relay.plus.net is listed  three times on the alternative servers list, once configured for Port 25 and twice for Port 587.  (There is no option to delete any of these.)

Also listed is mail.btinternet.com, which is related to a Talk21 account I stopped using ages ago. I deleted the Talk 21 account itself today, but the smtp server remains listed in the alternative list and there's a message saying it cannot be deleted as it is the primary server on my  (now defunct!) Talk 21 account.

A bit weird, eh?

Anyway, this brings me back to the most important question for me for the future when the use of relay.plus.net will become essential because of SPF. Now that my primary SMTP server is listed as relay.plus.net on Port 587 (rather than Port 25) will this mean that I'll be able to use public wifi in places like hotels, restaurants and rented apartments without outing messages being blocked by relay.plus.net? Or might there be some public wifi networks that relay.plus.net still doesn't like, even on Port 587?

[#13]

Hi Peter,

Using port 587 should fix a lot of issues.

Your post moved me to check my iPhone email settings ... I have discovered that I have a lot more alternative SMTP servers than I have email accounts, all referring to relay.plus.net but using different email account credentials. All fine and dandy I thought ... then I discovered references to SMTP servers associated with accounts I have removed from my phone.

It rather suggests that the iPhone remembers SMTP stuff belonging to email accounts you’ve told it to forget!!! The email configuration on iDevices does have a number of odd foibles ... even when convinced that you have username and password correct the device might report a password failure ... only solution is to remove the email account from the phone and start again!

Those which are orphaned can be removed from the alternate list ... you just need to check them one by one.

[#14]

PS: I have just found that the iPhone can have multiple identical orphaned smtp servers listed ... darned confusing.

[#15]

Overnight, since I last posted, my "orphan"  has disappeared from the list of alternative smtp servers on my iPhone

Presumably a delayed reaction to the fact that I deleted the out-of-date Talk 21 account form the phone yesterday?

On the alternative servers list, I'm now left with three versions of relay.plus.net (one on Port 25 + two on Port 587). These can't be deleted, apparently because they are related to the primary server