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Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

FIXED
dizzyfish
Hooked
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎20-11-2017

Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Last Wednesday, my email client (MS Outlook) stopped receiving emails from my Plusnet email account. I noticed a few posts on here about the issue... now I am receiving emails, but I am unable to send emails.

It looks like the outgoing Plusnet server relay.plus.net is rejecting the username/password details.... this has always worked, and nothing has changed on my side - so I am assuming its a problem with the Plusnet email server. Outlook continually throws up the username/password dialog when selecting send/receive.

 

I would be grateful if someone could sort this as soon as possible.

 

Many thanks - Ian

13 REPLIES 13
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,920
Thanks: 9,537
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Hi,

A warm welcome to the forums.  Many email clients report username / password error for many problems, having nothing to do with the server, username or password.  Here are a few to consider...

  • Have you changed your internet service provider (moved away from Plusnet)?  On users paying a subscription to Plusnet may use the relay server for sending emails
  • Is the device connected over wifi? It could be an intermittent wifi issue.
  • Have you noticed difficulty reaching other services at the same time?  You could have an unstable internet connection.
  • There have been some problems reported with IMAP and SMTP server responsiveness but I believe those issues were rectified last week

Broadband is not going to work well if the "phone" line is not working properly.

Please perform a quiet line test - dial 17070 select option 2 using a corded phone plugged into the test socket behind the face plate of the master socket. It should be silent. A noisy phone line (or no dial tone) will have a marked adverse impact on the performance of broadband.

If the line is noisy or there is no dial tone, then a PHONE LINE fault needs to be raised with your phone provider. If this is PlusNet, you can report a fault on line using the button below.


 If you see the problem again, then is a 'DOS' window run the following command to see how far the connection gets...

tracert relay.plus.net
and
tracert imap.plus.net

This topic might have some relevance too ... https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Repeated-requests-to-sign-on-to-POP3-email-accounts-Outlook/m-p/...

Bob's question is very salient - are you by any chance using  a TG582n router?

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

dizzyfish
Hooked
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎20-11-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

In answer to your questions...

 

  • Have you changed your internet service provider (moved away from Plusnet)?  Only users paying a subscription to Plusnet may use the relay server for sending emails IJH - I still pay my monthly subscription to Plusnet, but I don't use the plusnet broadband service (I use a Virgin fibre connection) - I only continue to pay the Plusnet subscription to continue with the email.... the irony... I'm paying all that money every month, and now even my email doesn't work - as you can imagine, I am not very happy.
  • Is the device connected over wifi? It could be an intermittent wifi issue. IJH - No, the PC in question is connected directly to the modem/router via ethernet cable- no wi-fi. And the (Virgin) router does not use a telephone line
  • Have you noticed difficulty reaching other services at the same time?  You could have an unstable internet connection. IJH - My internet connection is good, I have no problems downloading or uploading data - no issues with any other services - JUST SENDING PLUSNET EMAILS
  • There have been some problems reported with IMAP and SMTP server responsiveness but I believe those issues were rectified last week IJH - Nothing has changed on the PC - my email has always worked historically (for years), and only stopped working last week.

 

I have attached the output from the trace commands.

 

Also, to make you aware, I do not use my main mailbox (Dizzyfish)... I use a mailbox created from my account (Dizzyfish+Ian)... I would be grateful if you could check my account to see if its been locked out.

 

Many thanks - Ian

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Post released from Spam Filter.

Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,920
Thanks: 9,537
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Have you recently moved away from PlusNET?

It is not unheard of the switch to email only not applying correctly. @Gandalf can you take a look please.

Can you successfully send from the Webmail interface? I know that’s not how you want to work, but it would test the status of your account.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

dizzyfish
Hooked
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎20-11-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

I still pay my normal broadband subscription to plusnet (as far as I am aware).... but I have not used the Plusnet broadband service for a while (I use my Virgin connection instead) - I just continue to subscribe to Plusnet so I can get my emails.

 

 

I have checked my webmail interface, and I can send email messages

 

I have also tried sending emails from my iPhone using the Plusnet email account - that has also stopped working (gives the same error message when trying to connect to the relay server).

jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

There's an email only account for people like you - way cheaper than keeping the broadband!

jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Do you have any security set on the authentication? Plusnet's relay only accepts plain text and I wouldn't be surprised if Outlook had "helpfully" turned SSL on.

Edit: The iphone definitely turns on security.

jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Gandalf
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 26,563
Thanks: 10,265
Fixes: 1,599
Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

@dizzyfish

 

From what I can see your account is a free email only account.

 

If you're wanting to send mail via a client you'll need to pay £1.06 per month.

Let me know if this is something you'd want and I'll be happy to arrange it.

 

EDIT: We sent an email to you a while ago as per this ticket explaining the situation.

I hope this helps clarify things. Smiley

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
dizzyfish
Hooked
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎20-11-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Thanks Anoush - That would explain things! I followed the link in your reply - unfortunately I never saw the message, as it was sent to an old email address which no longer exists, and I don't use my main Plusnet mailbox (just the sub mail boxes I have created as part of my Plusnet account).

 

It sounds like Plusnet have realised I havent been using the broadband and so they have downgraded my account. I cannot tell from the message what (if anything) I am now paying. But the planned refund mentioned in the link is good.

 

 

I would like to continue using my Plusnet email account, so the £1.06 a month sounds good. But I have a couple of questions which I am hoping you can help me with...

 

1) If I pay the £1.06 a month, will this allow me to send and receive emails from all of the mailboxes I have created under my Dizzyfish account? 

2) Are there any restrictions on the use of the email accounts - or can I just use them from my email clients exactly as before?

 

Many thanks - Ian

Gandalf
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 26,563
Thanks: 10,265
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Hi Ian.

We put your mail on a free account so yeah you haven't been paying us anything.

I'd have expected the refund to have arrived by now.

 

1) If I pay the £1.06 a month, will this allow me to send and receive emails from all of the mailboxes I have created under my Dizzyfish account? 

Yep.

 

2) Are there any restrictions on the use of the email accounts

Nope.

 

- or can I just use them from my email clients exactly as before?

Yep.

 

If you're wanting to go ahead, just let us know by replying to this ticket and we'll pick it up as soon as we can.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
Gandalf
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 26,563
Thanks: 10,265
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Fix

Thanks for replying to the ticket.

I've updated the ticket now and I've put the change through.

Let us know how it goes. Smiley

 

Also, mind spending a few moments updating your contact e-mail address here?

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
EmmaC
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: ‎03-12-2017

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Hi Ian,

I'm having the same problem, but for different reasons! I had a webmail only account with Plusnet and dutifully paid the £1.06/m, but was promised this facility for free when I recently rejoined Plusnet for broadband and phone (so I could keep the same email address).

How was your problem fixed? Did you need to change Outlook settings? Being able to receive but not send emails from Outlook is frustrating, to say the least (as you found out yourself).

Any advice much appreciated.

Emma

spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Hi Emma,

For convenience can I refer to your old account as "oldaccount" and your new account as "newaccount"?

The email sending problem you are now having is because changing "oldaccount" to a free email account means it is no longer allowed to send emails. However assuming your new broadband account "newaccount" is live this one *is* allowed to send emails. So you authenticate sending using "newaccount" credentials.

To restore the ability to send emails you need to make two small change to the Outlook settings for each affected email address.

In the sending settings you will currently have "requires authentication" set. Retain that setting. You will also have "oldaccount" and "oldaccountpassword" set in the authentication username and password fields. Change these settings to "newaccount" and "newaccountpassword" and save the changes.

That's it, you should now be ready to go. Thumbs_Up

 

David
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
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Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Unable to send emails - relay.plus.net refusing connection

Hi @EmmaC

 

@spraxyt has answered the question better than I could! if you follow his advise, using the newaccount details to authenticate on for sending email this should work fine.

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.