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Email Troubleshooting

This article discusses troubleshooting steps for email clients. If you are using the cPanel email applications (Horde or Roundcube), please check out this article, Webmail Programs.

Checklists for Email Client Troubleshooting

To get your mail working, make sure to check the following:

  • Your MX records should be properly pointing to your server.
  • The email routing is correctly configured in your control panel.
  • Use the full email address as your username. Example: username@domainname.com
  • Your user name is all lowercase.
  • There are no additional characters or spaces in your username or password.
  • The capitalization is correct for your password.
  • You have created the email address in your control panel.
Still Not Working?
  • Change your incoming and outgoing mail servers from mail.example.com to the IP address listed in your Welcome email. You can also find this IP address in your control panel.

Are You Able To Receive Emails but Unable To Send Them?

If you can receive mail but aren't able to send, your ISP is likely blocking your SMTP port.

Your internet provider may be blocking you from using anyone's outgoing mail servers but their own. Many major ISPs are blocking outgoing emails. The reason they do this is to prevent you from using their internet connection for spamming purposes. You will still be able to send emails, but only by using your ISP's outgoing mail server. Every ISP's outgoing mail address is different, but for the most part, they will be mail.yourispname.com. For example, if you had hosting with AOL.com, their outgoing mail server would look like this: mail.aol.com. If mail.yourisp.com does not work and you are still unable to send emails, you will need to call your internet service provider to find out what their outgoing mail server is.

We also have exim running on port 26 or 587 for this very reason. A possible workaround is to change your outgoing mail to port 26 or 587.

For directions on how to change the SMTP port, please click the headings below to expand the list of instructions and locate your email client for instructions specific to you.
How to Change Your SMTP Port
Thunderbird

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Edit from the menu bar and select Account Settings.
  2. Click Outgoing Server(SMTP).
  3. On the right-hand side, select the server to modify, then click Edit.
  4. Edit the port number, you may try port 25, 26, or 587.
  5. Click Okay.
Microsoft Outlook

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Tools from the menu bar.
  2. Select Accounts or Email Accounts.
  3. View or change existing e-mail accounts should be marked.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Select the desired account and click Change.
  6. Select More Settings.
  7. Edit your outgoing mail port, you may try port 25, 26, or 587.
  8. Ensure that the box that says This connection requires a secure connection (SSL) is not checked.
  9. Click OK.
Microsoft Outlook Express

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Tools from the menu bar.
  2. Select Accounts.
  3. Select the desired account and click Properties.
  4. Click the Advanced tab.
  5. Edit your outgoing mail port, you may try port 25, 26, or 587.
  6. Ensure that the box that says This connection requires a secure connection (SSL) is not checked.
  7. Click OK.
Mac Mail 10.5+

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Mail from the menu bar and select Preferences.
  2. Select the account to modify under Accounts.
  3. Beneath Outgoing server (SMTP) click on the drop-down bar and select "Edit SMTP server list...".
  4. Click on your desired Outgoing server and then click Advanced.
  5. Select Option for customer port, you may enter 25, 26, or 587.
  6. Click OK.
Eudora for Windows
Note: Eudora has hidden the Port change option in version 6.0 and up. To enable changing ports:
  1. Navigate to the directory Eurdora was installed on your computer.
  2. Look in the Eudora directory for a directory named "extrastuff".
  3. In this directory is a file named "esoteric.epi". Copy this file into the main Eudora directory.

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Tools from the menu bar and select Options.
  2. Click Ports.
  3. Edit your outgoing mail port, you may try port 25, 26, or 587.
  4. Click OK.
Eudora for Mac
Note: Eudora has hidden the Port change option in version 6.0 and up. To enable changing ports:
  1. Navigate to the Eurdora Application Folder.
  2. Look in this folder for a folder named "Extras".
  3. In this folder is a file named "Esoteric Settings". Copy this file into the "Eudora Stuff" folder.

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Special from the menu bar and select Settings.
  2. Click Ports and Protocols.
  3. Edit your outgoing mail port, you may try port 25, 26, or 587.
  4. Click OK.
Entourage

To edit your SMTP port:

  1. Click Tools on the menu bar and select Accounts.
  2. Click Mail and go to Properties.
  3. Click Advanced Sending Options.
  4. Make sure the box that says "This POP service requires a secure connection" is unchecked
  5. Check the box that says "Override default SMTP port:" and enter in 25, 26, or 587.
  6. Click OK.

Are You Able To Send Emails but Unable To Receive Them?

Either your domain is out of disk space, or your e-mail address itself is over quota. You will need to increase the amount of disk space quota to receive mail again.

Does It Say "Please Enter Your Username and Password for the Following Server" and Are You Sure You're Using the Correct Information?

Most of our servers have a 30 checks per hour limit. If you hit this limit in any hour you'll be locked out for the rest of the hour. In Outlook or Thunderbird, you will need to click Tools > Options > General and disable where it says "check for new messages every xx minutes". If you do not want to disable it, just set it to check less often. Keep in mind, the more computers you have checked the mail, the quicker you will hit this limit.

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