Plusnet integration with Hotmail

[#1]

Like many others I have been using Plusnet for broadband and mail for many years but recently every attempt to send an email to a Hotmail account fails. Receiving emails still work.

It appears that this has been a known issue for some time (early 2025) but for me it is only recent (approx 1 month possibly since I was migrated to Greenby?) but is anything going to be done to address the issue or do I have to ditch plusnet mail and go to an alternative email service? If this was the case then I would also ditch Plusnet as my broadband supplier as the customer service over this issue has been non existent and destroyed all credibility that has existed previously.

It seems incredible that a fix can't be provided but if this is the case JUST SAY SO so that the frustrated community can decide how to move forward. For information using the Greenby webmail service works and delivers mails to Hotmail. This is OK in an emergency but not as a full email client as it is slow and not user friendly but surely if this can deliver a Hotmail email successfully it isn't asking for too much for this to be available from a Plusnet account using a different email client (in my case Thuderbird on Windows 11) or is it?

[#2]

Maybe the issue is with Hotmail (or other Microsoft) email services.

Elsewhere I am seeing issues sending email to Microsoft and iCloud users from fully and correctly configured email services.  There’s an ugly under current of folks wanting to blame Plusnet (and other’s) for the bully boys’ sins.

Might the right answer be to ditch Hotmail?

[#3]

It will be impossible to tell people that use Hotmail that they need to change because a service that has worked with them for many years has stopped working and especially as they are not experiencing issues with other emails providers. I'm not trying to blame anyone just understand what has caused the issue and whether anything is going to be done by PN to address it. Then I can make an informed decision but ultimately it will be me or PN that has to change - not my Hotmail contacts.
I realise that PN is not a Global vendor but MS is and therefore the dynamics between the 2 parties might be difficult but in my experience things like this can always get resolved with the right people at the right level communicating with each other and I just hope that somewhere this may/will happen.

[#4]

It’s a moving target - the big boys keep changing the rules.  What worked yesterday does not work today.  I run an email service elsewhere, which has all of the appropriate requirements in place … and suddenly we cannot send to iCloud.  These free email providers are not benign.

Whilst you say you are not seeking to apportion blame, most around here are.

In context, which email brand are you using and what is the EXACT detail of the failure?  Migrated plus.com users’ email is still being sent via Plusnet services, so effectively it’s no change.  You need to offer details of the experience not a narrative surrounding it.  There have been some recent instances of Microsoft arbitrarily black balling numerous email services, for example I know of a church email service running on AWS is totally blackballed by all Microsoft based services.

If AWS cannot tick Microsoft’s multiple draconian requirements … who can?