Outgoing email set up problems on new android phone

[#1]

I had a problem setting up my SMTP outgoing mail.  The complication was that a) I am a transferee from Madasafish, and prior to that from Globalnet, and b) Way back in the past, they gave me a personal domain name which is very nice to have.  The Madasafish support team drew a blank.  Then I asked one of the helpful people in my local Vodaphone shop, who suggested that I use the MyMail app instead of the standard email app.  This just worked and has never let me down.  You supply it with your email address (in my case, using the personal domain name) and the password you use for logging on.  It's like using web-mail, but more mobile friendly and with a few extra bells and whistles.

[#2]

Quote from: Bob

Interesting that this works with TLS enabled because it's not currently possible to connect to relay.plus.net from a standalone client using TLS. The fact that Gmail fails if you try using port 587 makes me think that it's somehow making use of STARTTLS which is enabled at the SMTP transport layer.

Not wanting to hijack this thread but you've got me thinking now Bob. Does the fact you're not sure why it works mean that it's not supported by PN and therefore might stop working at some point?

[#3]

If it's working for the reasons I think it is, then it shouldn't unexpectedly break. It would be a step backwards for us to disable STARTTLS.

[#4]

Thanks Bob.
I was just tempted for a moment to renew my "paid for" service before it expires but I think I'll stick with the PN relay for now and monitor.

[#5]

I had the connection to the outgoing server (relay) working here in Moscow for a while. However it's stopped connecting now again.
The Google mail connection works every time. Worked in Beijing where plus net never worked and here in Moscow, worked every time.
This is both on the native American app and Google mail app.
There is clearly something faulty with the plus net servers.
Regards

[#6]

Quote from: Melbeck

There is clearly something faulty with the plus net servers.

I don't think that's a reasonable conclusion.  It's perfectly feasible for whoever is providing your local internet connection to block access to Plusnet servers (or any part of the internet).  Google mail works differently, like Plusnet webmail essentially.     

[#7]

No Gmail works in exactly the same way PN. The only difference is that gmail uses a secure link, SSL and port 465, and PN doesn't.
Regards

[#8]

It's quite feasible for a local ISP to block port 25/587 and not others. It's a spam prevention measure, and spammers are not particularly inclined to send emails using SSL. It's also possible that your connections are being blocked at the IP layer by Plusnet, but ascertaining that would require further investigation. Moscow rings alarm bells for me, because Russian IP's are a notorious source of spam/malicious activity.
I concur that what your observing isn't really indicative of a fault with our servers.

[#9]

So analysing your answer: the reason Google mail is not blocked is because they use a secure connection (SSL). Your connection is blocked because you choose to use an insecure connection which can not only be blocked "on the way" but also by your own servers.
As a customer have I played any role in designing your system? No. Let's not indulge in pedantry here, when I say your servers are faulty it's your system which is at fault and is failing to deliver my legitimate expectations.
How can a "free" service like Google provide a secure reliable connection when one I pay for does not? How is that fit for purpose or indeed meeting customer expectations. Let's not kid ourselves here, you are part of BT and it comes over as quite shabby that they can't provide a Google level of service.

[#10]

Quote from: Melbeck

So analysing your answer: the reason Google mail is not blocked is because they use a secure connection (SSL). Your connection is blocked because you choose to use an insecure connection which can not only be blocked "on the way" but also by your own servers.

ISP's don't block plain email traffic because it isn't using secure ports. They block it because it uses ports commonly abused by spammers. Bear in mind though, that I'm making assumptions here; there's no way I can tell you exactly what's happening without further diagnostic information.
If our own servers are blocking things at the IP layer, then in theory it would make no difference whether you were using SSL or not, the connection would be blocked regardless.

Quote from: Melbeck

As a customer have I played any role in designing your system? No. Let's not indulge in pedantry here, when I say your servers are faulty it's your system which is at fault and is failing to deliver my legitimate expectations.

If your problem is caused by your local ISP blocking commonly used email ports then the issue has very little to do with us, or our mail servers.
If the problem is being caused by us blocking access from your IP address, then it's likely to be an intentional decision.
Neither of the above two scenarios indicate a /fault/ with our servers. One is nothing to do with us and the other is by design.

Quote from: Melbeck

How can a "free" service like Google provide a secure reliable connection when one I pay for does not? How is that fit for purpose or indeed meeting customer expectations. Let's not kid ourselves here, you are part of BT and it comes over as quite shabby that they can't provide a Google level of service.

You misunderstand the economics. Google make millions from the information you provide them and the advertising revenue their services generate. In comparison, our email service generates negligible revenue compared to the operating costs associated with offering the service.
If you want to try and determine exactly what's causing the problem, then I'm happy to provide some pointers if you're able to offer some more details about how you have things set-up, i.e. what email application you're using, whether it affects all emails you try to send, what error message is returned etc.