Unable to send mail from Windows LiveMail

[Clive]

I've been using Livemail for the past 2 years without any problem.  My main email provider is BTInternet and I have to pay them for the privilege of keeping such an embarrassing e-mail address.  Two weeks ago I discovered I can no longer send mail but can still receive it and reply to it.  But I can't forward mail.  I've looked on the Internet and it says I should change my outgoing SMPT port from 25 to 465 and I've done this.  The error message is:

A time-out occurred while communicating with the server.

Subject '465'
Server: 'mail.btinternet.com'
Windows Live Mail Error ID: 0x800CCC19
Protocol: SMTP
Port: 465
Secure(SSL): No

I'm using the standard Netgear router provided by IDNet and the mail works fine if I use BTYahoo mail or Thunderbird.  Any suggestions would be very welcome!

[Steve]

465 is correct , try SSL on and username (BT email address?) and password for authorisation.

[Clive]

I did try SSL on but it came back with "This server does not accept SSL security" so I've turned it back off again. 

[Clive]

I have to say the port was set on 25 but changing it has made no difference. 

[Glenn]

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/44917/~/bt-email%3A-what-are-the-settings-for-outgoing-and-incoming-mail-servers%3F

[Technical Ben]

If you find a solution let me know too... 

I've got 2 BT internet emails I've kept for incoming only, as everything I try send fails! 
With the exception of using the website email client direct with BT.

I gave up trying with BT a loooong time ago, and moved everything I can over to IDNet.

[Steve]

I did wonder whether the SMTP server was for BT broadband users only but since Clive is paying for the privilege I suspect that's not the case.

[Simon]

Can't IDNet's SMTP server be used from an IDNet connection?

[Clive]

That's an interesting scenario and one that would be readily solved on this forum.  The website you gave me Glenn is the one I've kept referring to and it's completely wrong unfortunately.  But what else would you expect from BT?   

[Simon]

I have several email accounts which are not IDNet, and I use IDNet's SMTP server as the default for all in my mail client.

[Clive]

I suspect I've messed up Livemail too much now to ever get it to work again!     I'm considering abandoning it and moving all my contacts back to BTYahoo.  I can't get anywhere with Thunderbird.  I need to make mailing lists and it won't let me add to them.   

[Technical Ben]

That's an interesting scenario and one that would be readily solved on this forum.  The website you gave me Glenn is the one I've kept referring to and it's completely wrong unfortunately.  But what else would you expect from BT?   

Yep. I found at least 3 sites within BT all claiming to be "customer setup details", some automated help forms, some depreciated help pages (but still up showing old info) etc etc.

[Clive]

I'd intended to abandon my BT address and use GMail instead.  But Mrs Clive gave me so much grief about 'losing' her contacts that I gave in for a quiet life.  I resent having to pay £1.50 a month to bolster the profits of such an undeserving company. 

[nowster]

Get yourself a real .me.uk, .co.uk or .org.uk domain for about £7.20 per two years (30p/month equivalent). It's then totally yours, and you can take it from one ISP or registrar to another. Many registrars will run a small number of mailboxes on the back of that for free. (Example price from Gandi.net.)

Avoid using an ISP's own email domain... as you can see, they can hold you hostage.

And if they decide to discontinue that domain or they go bust, you have no comeback at all.

[Clive]

Very good advice!   

[nowster]

Very good advice!   

From 1994 to 2009 I ran an ISP... and got stuck when the new owners completely banjaxed the email servers. Thankfully, I'd gradually moved over the previous years from using the ISP domain for email, to my own domain... but getting control of that domain transferred away from that ISP still took a couple of days (due to them being in admin chaos at the time).

[Simon]

From 1994 to 2009 I ran an ISP...

If that was dial up, I might have used you! 

[Clive]

My first ISP was Delphi and my e-mail address was clivexxxx@delphi.com  Not sure what became of them!

[Simon]

I started off with a Bush Internet set top box, so my first email address was simonxxxxx@bushinternet.com. Then I moved to Eurobell, then a number of others, including Plusnet, AlphaPhe, Pipex (where I moved to broadband), then IDNet. 

[Clive]

Remind me of the AlphaPhe saga as I've forgotten the sorry story.  After Delphi I had AOL (stop laughing!) Phones4U (they never charged me for the 6 months I used them before they went bust), BT Internet, Plusnet and IDNet.  I still have the last two.   

[Simon]

Remind me of the AlphaPhe saga as I've forgotten the sorry story.

So have I!     I think they were just another dial up ISP that was great at first, then got over-subscribed and became useless.

[Clive]

Wasn't it a hot topic on ISPReview for a seemingly endless length of time? 

[Simon]

Quite possibly.  But I can't recall the details now. 

[Clive]

You are not much good at bearing grudges!   

[Simon]

 

[nowster]

If that was dial up, I might have used you! 

We did indeed do dialup. In fact we were started on the premise of running a Bulltetin Board System (BBS) on an 0800 number.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zetnet

[Simon]

I think you were a little before my time.

[Clive]

One of the subscribers to my astronomical mailing lists is on zetnet so can I assume the address is dead?  I started off using bulletin boards and Starbase 1 was my favourite.  I was charged at national rates! 

[Clive]

I know one of my subscribers was secretary of the Shetland Astronomical Society so putting two and two together and making five it's possible he was the guy on zetnet?

[nowster]

I think many of the email addresses (and old user websites) still work, but for at least a month following July 2009 it was chaos. Pity they'd never asked me. I had (encrypted) offsite backups which I would willingly have given them had they asked. They're destroyed now. I've had two different (non ISP) jobs since then.

[Clive]

In that case I won't delete him - but I must go through my bounces all the same.  Trouble is that sometimes an email will bounce saying 'address does not exist' when I know full well it does. 

[nowster]

In that case I won't delete him - but I must go through my bounces all the same.  Trouble is that sometimes an email will bounce saying 'address does not exist' when I know full well it does. 

That'll be a poor quality back-end database on the mail server, probably with incorrect (or no) locking.

[Lona]

Memories of dial-up, I remember being kicked off Ispreview for slagging off  Alan Castle the ceo of Firenet.
He had so many different logon names it was laughable. I found him out but paid the price.

[Simon]

I remember that - weren't you under a different alias then, Lona? 

[Technical Ben]

One of the subscribers to my astronomical mailing lists is on zetnet so can I assume the address is dead?  I started off using bulletin boards and Starbase 1 was my favourite.  I was charged at national rates! 

I read that as "on my very large mailing list"... I guess that's not what you meant.   

[Lona]

I remember that - weren't you under a different alias then, Lona? 

No Simon, I was always lona but had to rejoin under another name which I can't even remember what I called myself.

[Clive]

I read that as "on my very large mailing list"... I guess that's not what you meant.   

Good point Ben!   

No Simon, I was always lona but had to rejoin under another name which I can't even remember what I called myself.

How about Nitrogen?   

[Simon]

That's it!   

[Clive]

I should be worried about myself!   

[Simon]

[Lona]

How about Nitrogen?   
[/quote]

That's it Clive, you've a better memory than me.  Kitty was a pal of Alan Castle so I had no chance.  I remember somebody called Ronan who wrote brilliant posts but I never found out who he or she was.  Alan Castle thought it was me but I could not have been so articulate.

[Clive]

It used to be a vibrant forum with huge political discussions.  Hard to believe the youngsters who run it were only 14 at the time we were using it!  I liked Kitty but she seemed to go a bit weird in the end. 

[Simon]

14?  I had no idea!  I can't believe Kitty was as young as that.

[Clive]

Not Kitty, she was a bit older than 14.  But the two guys behind it were just 14 when it started.  I think one was called Mark J.  I'll bet none of us would have joined if we had realised at the time.   

[Simon]

I'm intrigued as to how you found out, as I would never have guessed.

[Clive]

There was an article about the website in the Sunday Times extolling the virtues of young entrepreneurs in technology.     To be fair, it was very professionally run but you can understand why it sometimes got out of hand with the more beligerant posters.

[Simon]

Mentioning no names...   

[Clive]

I would never mention Elmer Fudd.  No - never!   

[Simon]

[JohnH]

I would never mention Elmer Fudd.  No - never!   

Didn't he turn from being the most ardent fan of Fast24 to being their biggest critic?

[Simon]

The memories are flooding back...!

[Clive]

That's the guy!  His name was Nick and he set up his own forum called EzPC back in 1992.  Sadly Nick was not a people person and he quarreled with everyone on ISPR and EzPC.  It was actually quite a good forum but Nick's chosen host, Cyberwings, disappeared without trace and the forum was down for 3 months.  By the time it came back online many members had lost interest and it never recovered its momentum. 

[Lona]

Those were the days my friends

[Clive]

We enjoyed every moment of it!   

[Simon]

We were all a lot younger then! 

[Lona]

We were all a lot younger then! 

and had a lot more hair.

[Simon]

Leave Clive alone! 

[Clive]

Not in my case Lona!  Remember I was always promising to buy a wig?   For Simon of course!   

[Simon]

But, at least compared to some, I'm still a spring chicken. 

[Clive]

Yes, just a kid.    

[JohnH]

Sadly Nick was not a people person and he quarreled with everyone on ISPR and EzPC. 

I miss those punch-ups on the ISPR Fast24 forum every night. 
I'm wondering if Nick has come back as Lona here. 

[Clive]

Keep running John!   

[Lona]

I miss those punch-ups on the ISPR Fast24 forum every night. 
I'm wondering if Nick has come back as Lona here. 

He loved me, John. I wonder what became of Bat69

[Clive]

I've no idea Lona.  He phoned me quite a few times when we were setting up Pals with Adept but just disappeared after we got it up and running and I've had no contact since.  Of course Adept went on to do exactly the same!  I must have joined ISPR in 2001 and my membership number was 376.   

[Simon]

Your membership number on Pals is 1! 

[Clive]

   Back in the 60's I was a big fan of American singer Gary US Bonds and joined his British fan club.  My membership number was #2.   

[Simon]

Well, you were #2 on pals, but then, Adept mysteriously disappeared.   

[Clive]

Yes, it's always been my fate to be number two.   

[Lona]

Your membership number on Pals is 1! 

You cannot be serious

[Lona]

I've no idea Lona.  He phoned me quite a few times when we were setting up Pals with Adept but just disappeared after we got it up and running and I've had no contact since.  Of course Adept went on to do exactly the same!  I must have joined ISPR in 2001 and my membership number was 376.   

Remember we had an outing for Pals.  David came with is new girlfriend who just spoiled the party she had a face that would have turned milk. I think I must have joined ISpr before you, Clive but don't know my membership number.

[Clive]

You are not supposed to mention the outing Lona.     I wasn't there although I know lots who were.  I can't remember the name of David's girlfriend but I'm sure it will come to me. 

[Clive]

HaHa!  Got it!  She was Nicola. 

[Clive]

HaHa!  Got it!  She was Nicola.    You were definitely on ISPr before me. 

[Simon]

And I believe Nicola became David's wife. 

[Clive]

We all lived through it!  But she put an end to his foruming which was a shame.  He was a really nice guy.   

[Lona]

And I believe Nicola became David's wife. 

My heart goes out to him. What a weird fish she was.

[Clive]

Bat was besotted with her so I hope it's worked out for him.  It was a second attempt if I understood correctly.

[Lona]

Bat was besotted with her so I hope it's worked out for him.  It was a second attempt if I understood correctly.

Well as the saying goes, love is blind,  Mr lona can testify to that.

[Clive]

Most of us can testify to that Lona!   

[Lona]

Most of us can testify to that Lona!   

Ah, but what would you do without me, stirring things up?

[Clive]

Life would be much more boring, that's for sure!