Summary
We suspect that clients having problems sending or receiving email have very old legacy configuration settings. Please see the “Email server settings” section below for the definitively correct settings.
Situation
Over the weekend we took a deep breath and stepped back to re-analyse this problem, and consult with a number of you. Between…
- a move to a new server in a new data centre,
- and then to another data centre to try to outrun the phantom issues at the first data centre,
- the conclusion that Zambian ISPs were somehow complicit (and then even having that explicitly confirmed [and then retracted] by someone in the IT Security Department at MTN!) because we’d had no complaints from other countries,
- and the fact that the new server was somehow processing just as many messages as it normally does despite so many people apparently being unable to send and/or receive,
.. we were awash in red herrings to an extent I have never seen in 22 years.
We’ve taken a look at the behaviour of two of the most used email programs (Thunderbird and Outlook) and come to some conclusions about what might be happening:
- The fact that most clients carried on connecting with no problems tells us that (a) the server was operating normally, but (b) some clients were using old (in some cases very old) settings that were permitted (but not recommended) on the old server, but no longer permitted on the new server due to the ever-increasing need to raise the bar on server security.
- Some email programs (notably Thunderbird and various incarnations of the Apple Mail app) tend to funnel all outgoing email through a single SMTP (outgoing) account. This can lead to situations where someone might be trying to send an email from you@domain1.com, but trying to log in as other-address@domain2.net. Again, with the ongoing need to tighten email security, this is no longer permissible with just about every mail service provider in the world.
- A lot (probably most, actually) of email programs and apps try to second-guess your selection of a port number, often after you think you’ve saved your email configuration.
- Over the years we’ve seen some email programs and apps treat SSL and TLS in odd and unpredictable ways. The existing settings we’ve always given out still work, but in the interests of getting everyone on the same page we’re starting with a clean slate.
So, if you’re having problems sending, it will likely be worth your while to check your SMTP (outgoing) settings; if you’re having problems receiving, it will likely be worth your time to check your POP or IMAP (incoming) settings. I wanted to have some screenshots ready for this post, but I’d rather get the words up now and post screenshots shortly afterwards, so here are the settings you need to use:
Email server settings
- Email address: you@yourdomain.com
- User name: you@yourdomain.com (same as your email address)
- Password: The correct password on your email account. If you’re not sure what it is, please reset it to a new one through the email control panel (admins only). It can also be reset through the webmail.
- Password type: Plain
- Incoming (POP/IMAP) mail:
- Server: pop.niner.net or imap.niner.net
- Port: 110 (POP) or 143 (IMAP)
- Encryption: STARTTLS
- Outgoing (SMTP) mail:
- Server: smtp.niner.net
- Port: 587
- Encryption: STARTTLS
- Authentication: Turned on
- To send email, you must log in with the same user name (address) as the address you’re sending from.
- Some older mail programs may not offer STARTTLS; if that’s the case for you, try TLS and/or SSL, in that order.
Additional information
I can’t emphasise strongly enough how important it is for you to be precise in setting up this configuration. No setting is “close enough”, and your computer is not smart enough to figure it out; it will just tell you there is an error. Although, having said that, I’d like to emphasise that the niner.net sub-domains with “27” in them — i.e., pop27.niner.net, imap27.niner.net and smtp27.niner.net — do still also work, but they will be phased out; do not use them.
In the case of those email programs that like to railroad you into sending all email through a single SMTP account by default, we suggest that you start with a clean slate there too by deleting all of the saved SMTP accounts (unless you have some on systems that are completely separate from NinerNet) and creating a new one for each of your email accounts. Because your email program may not let you delete the “default” SMTP account, you’ll need to make a new SMTP account the new default, and then delete the old default.
We will post helpful screenshots as soon as possible. In the meantime, please check (and, if necessary, update) your email account settings and ensure that they are correct.
Thank-you.
