Email not received (by one person) / Port numbers keep changing / mail server outgoing is this Ok?

[JC4]

I am a normal non techie person (!) Can anyone possibly help me. I am out of my depth.

FIRST ISSUE:  I have a btinternet email for my back up. And I have a domain one which ends .org.uk.    At least once  a year, my IT advisor who is a lovely person sends an urgent note that things are being security updated and within a week I need to change settings on my Outlook Mail .  In October it was to change the  Outgoing Server Port.   from 465 to 587.   And to have StartTLS encryption (although I see BT doesnt recommend this setting.)  This takes a tecchie around 5 mins.  to make the change.   It takes me 2 to 3 hrs. I have a pc plus 3 other platforms (phone etc.)  

Q1  Is this normal (the settings changes so often)? (My husband has a BT email and has never had to change his port things so I am wondering.

SECOND ISSUE:  I have also had occasional emails not received. VERY frustrating.  It is generally just one  person and there is no pattern (like their email all being aol or bt. They vary. Its happened 3 times in 3 years with 3 different people.  Then one gets working again but another one fails.  (My sister currently out of the blue 2 months ago is not getting my emails  from   my domain which ends .org.uk OR from my back up main bt email to her which is an @Me account).   but everyone else seems to be.  And she is getting all her other mail OK.  

Q2 Can anyone advise what to do OR why this is or a way round it all?           ((My settings outgoing are IMAP. Port is now 587. I am now encrypted startTLS and have ticked require authentication (use same settings as incoming server).

In settings the mail server is weird. it is not mail.btinternet.com (Q3 should it be? my main email is my domain @janecharlton.org.uk and the server is mail38.extendcp.co.uk      

Q3 contd. Does that server name seem about right does anyone know or should it have the words bt in it (for my domain and btinternet emails).  I have never quite understood the relationship between my domain and bt but I think bt is the overarching account encompassing the domain.  

Thank you to anyone in advance for any help. It's really got me down that I can't rely on my outgoing emails.

[licquorice]

Port numbers don't keep changing. Both port 465 and 587 are and always have been encrypted SMTP ports, port 25 is also an SMTP port but is not encrypted. Most email providers prefer to use port 587 as it is allegedly more secure but the officially recommended port for the BT servers is 465 with SSL encryption.

For your own domain emails you can either use the BT mail servers (but you would need to authenticate using your btinternet email address) or preferably your hosts email servers (much simpler to do). Unless using the BT servers for your domain email (which you appear not to be doing) there is absolutely no relationship between your domain email and your BT email other than they use a common client (Outlook) to collect the mail.

I have no answer for your mail not arriving as it appears to be problematic whichever servers you use.

[Andy_N]

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@JC4wrote:

I am a normal non techie person (!) Can anyone possibly help me. I am out of my depth.

Hi, welcome to the forums

FIRST ISSUE:  I have a btinternet email for my back up. And I have a domain one which ends .org.uk.    At least once  a year, my IT advisor who is a lovely person sends an urgent note that things are being security updated and within a week I need to change settings on my Outlook Mail .  In October it was to change the  Outgoing Server Port.   from 465 to 587.   And to have StartTLS encryption (although I see BT doesnt recommend this setting.)  This takes a tecchie around 5 mins.  to make the change.   It takes me 2 to 3 hrs. I have a pc plus 3 other platforms (phone etc.)  

What IT advisor? What are they trying to do once a year? There is no need to change any settings, apart from maybe the password if that's a requirement. Otherwise there is nothing to do.

Q1  Is this normal (the settings changes so often)? (My husband has a BT email and has never had to change his port things so I am wondering.

No, see above - but what has a BT recommendation to do with your own domain?

Anyway, the port would usually be 465 and SSL/TLS - but if your domain server requires it, the STARTTLS maybe an option.

SECOND ISSUE:  I have also had occasional emails not received. VERY frustrating.  It is generally just one  person and there is no pattern (like their email all being aol or bt. They vary. Its happened 3 times in 3 years with 3 different people.  Then one gets working again but another one fails.  (My sister currently out of the blue 2 months ago is not getting my emails  from   my domain which ends .org.uk OR from my back up main bt email to her which is an @Me account).   but everyone else seems to be.  And she is getting all her other mail OK.  

Receipt of email isn't guaranteed, but it's possibly an issue regarding of the way you are sending the emails

Q2 Can anyone advise what to do OR why this is or a way round it all?           ((My settings outgoing are IMAP. Port is now 587. I am now encrypted startTLS and have ticked require authentication (use same settings as incoming server).

In settings the mail server is weird. it is not mail.btinternet.com (Q3 should it be? my main email is my domain @janecharlton.org.uk and the server is mail38.extendcp.co.uk      

You should not have any BTinternet server associated with your domain - as that's completely separate from your domain.

Q3 contd. Does that server name seem about right does anyone know or should it have the words bt in it (for my domain and btinternet emails).  I have never quite understood the relationship between my domain and bt but I think bt is the overarching account encompassing the domain.  

Your domain and BTinternet email addresses are completely separate. So make sure you don't have any cross matched information in the accounts within Outlook.

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[JC4]

Thank you so much for that info. 

[JC4]

thank you !