This blog post in is response to a few recent calls our web hosting support team has taken.  It usually goes something like this – “Yesterday I could send email but now I can’t.”

After some quick investigating (try logging into your webmail account and sending from there) we realized it was a port 25 block.  Now, one of our support technicians will give you a technical explanation if you ask but I like one of our customer’s explanations better – “Sounds like <insert your internet provider’s name here> is just trying to make it a pain in the butt to use anything other than their services!” Well, not really. You can thank spammers for exploiting port 25.

How do you get around a port 25 block?
Well, if your hosting with us it’s real simple.  Just open up your account settings in your email program and change the SMTP port from 25 to 25. Voila! Another way to get around a port 25 block is to simply use your internet provider’s SMTP account for sending mail.  You can keep the pop3 server the same and still send mail from your @yourdomain.com account. Just make sure when you change your SMTP server to your internet provider you select “my outgoing server requires authentication”. Then enter your email and password you got from your internet provider.

What if I don’t host with LeapGo?
Well it still may be simple. Try changing the port to 26 and see if you get lucky.  If not, try these to get around a port 25 block -

• If you’re on a server running Cpanel and changing to port 26 didn’t work, ask your host to turn on the service exim-26. This just allows your email server to run on port 26.
• If you’re not sure what your web hosting provider is running, simply submit a support ticket letting them know you are the poor helpless victim of a port 25 block. They’ll know what you’re talking about and should be able to advise a specific work around for the post 25 block.

Did changing to your internet providers SMTP server work? Read this.
That’s great! Except when you’re using a laptop. See, as soon as you leave your home or office and connect to the internet from a different location (with a different internet provider) you won’t be able to send email. This is because most internet providers block access to their SMTP servers from any other provider.

What is the most reliable way to send email if I’m off location or experiencing intermittent issues?
Simply take your internet provider out of the equation and log into your webmail account.  Most web hosts have an address you can visit to log into your email accout from the internet, similar to a Yahoo or Gmail account.  Anyone hosted with us can simply visit www.yourdomain.com/webmail and you can login with your email address and password.

My password has been saved forever, I have no idea what it is. What should I do?
I knew you were going to say that   Just submit a ticket and call your web hosting provider and they can reset or tell you your password.

I hope this article helps you in finding a workaround for a port 25 block!