Sending emails from a Mac

[Simonstirling]

I have recently bought myself a Mac. I have set up my normal email account (not BT) which is provided through my employers and am able to receive emails at home. Unfortunately I can't send emails from home which appears to be something to do with my Home Hub. I am certain that all the correct information has been entered as when I use another network the emails are sent without any difficulty. When I try and send I get the message:"Can't send the message using server mail.xxxxxxxx.xxx" My IT administrator can't help either!

I am largely hopeless on computers so any suggestions in easily understandable terms would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[jjgraphics]

Like many ISPs these days, BT block the sending of mail over their network via other ISPs' servers.

You must to send the outgoing mail via BT's mail servers. All that is necessary is to change the outgoing mail server for the address concerned and then register the address via BT. See:

http://btybb.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10903/kw/non-BT%20addresses/related/1

and 

http://btybb.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9960/kw/apple%20mail

Just substitute the BT server name for the outgoing server you currently have set up.

Welcome to the stress-free world of the Mac!

[dinkola]

If using Mac mail program - you might get more info from the 'Connection Doctor', within the window menu while using the mail program.

Your IT administrator should be able give you many things to try to diagnose the program, like checking whether you can resolve the hostname or give you the ip address instead, etc.

[jjgraphics]

Please just see my post above. You don't need to worry about host names or need IT support.

[IanC]

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jjgraphics wrote:

Like many ISPs these days, BT block the sending of mail over their network via other ISPs' servers.

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No they don't.

BT are perfectly happy for it's customers to send mail through any other server. If that proves not to be possible, it's either because the user doesn't have access to that server (unlikely in this case, I think) or that the administrators of that server won't allow sending through it while connecting from BTs network.

[Outcast_Aussie]

It's nothing to do with your Home Hub.. It's to do with you not having mail.binternet.com in the smtp field (and authorised ticked) in your mail client

[IanC]

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Outcast_Aussie wrote:

It's nothing to do with your Home Hub.. It's to do with you not having mail.binternet.com in the smtp field (and authorised ticked) in your mail client

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While that will work, it's not the cause of the OPs problem. 

I don't have mail.btinternet.com configured in my email client, but I can send email just fine. 

[Simonstirling]

Thank you to all who have made suggestions. I am still struggling though! I spent a couple of hours with a BT help adviser last night and he could only suggest that there was a conflict with my server and the home hub and that it could only be resolved by my server administrator. I was surprised as I had had no problems sending emails when I was using my PC before I bought my Mac. I will try the btinternet.com route but that seems a slow and cumbersome method.

Any other suggestions?

[tommybobbins]

Hello Simon,

A good test on a Mac is to check you can physically make a connection to your SMTP server:

Open Finder->Applications->Utilities->Terminal

Type the following at the shell prompt:

telnet mail.xxxxxxxx.xxx 25

(Where the xxx's are presumably your outbound mail server). It should say "Connected to mail.xxxxxxxx.xxx".

If you make a connection to the server, then you can eliminate all problems with your connection. The problem lies in your Mail client setup and you need to verify what all the SMTP settings should be with your Network Admin/Hosting provider.

If you can't make a connection then it is either firewalled at the server end or you have the SMTP servername wrong and you should carefully check that you have the right SMTP server for that domain.

Hope this helps,

[IanC]

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Simonstirling wrote:

Thank you to all who have made suggestions. I am still struggling though! I spent a couple of hours with a BT help adviser last night and he could only suggest that there was a conflict with my server and the home hub and that it could only be resolved by my server administrator.

Mmm...

I was surprised as I had had no problems sending emails when I was using my PC before I bought my Mac.

Using the same SMTP server ? In that case, I suspect you've a setup problem in your email client.

Can you reach the SMTP server directly using telnet ? 

Does your mail software produce proper logs of the SMTP session ?  If it does, they should show exactly what the problem is.

I will try the btinternet.com route but that seems a slow and cumbersome method.

It shouldn't be necessary if you've used it OK before from a BT broadband connection.