Email Troubleshooting

Domain Email Troubleshooting Checklist

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Email is one of the most common business tools we use and is often taken for granted. However, if it goes down, you immediately realize how hard it is to function without it.
Luckily, most email issues are easy to fix and actually exist at the mail client on your local computer, not the server.
If you complete the procedures and your email is still not working correctly, it may be time to call support but the more information you can provide, the faster support can help you resolve the issue.

Absolute first things to check.
1) Are you connected to the internet?
2) Is your domain name resolving?  (can you browse to you website)
If the above are true:
Open your Webmail client that is included with your hosting account. If you can login and check mail, it is a indication that the issue lies with your computer’s email program (mail client). This does two things:
1) Gets you immediate access to your mail
2) Helps trouble shoot the issue at hand
Next, know your email settings including:

  • Full email address
  • Password
  • POP3 and SMTP server settings
  • POP3 and SMTP Port numbers
  • Authentication type

All of these setting are in your mail client setup with exception of your password which will be hashed out.
If you cannot login to Webmail, the problem probably lies with your password.

Troubleshooting Checklist:
1) Are you connected to the internet? If not, reconnect and retest. If you are connected, shut down your mail client software and then SHUT DOWN your computer. Do not restart, Shut Down. Restart after a minute or so. Test Again.
Some Anti-Virus programs act as proxy server and can lock up. This also helps clear Outlook caching issues.

Still having issues?

2) Double check all your settings. A single wrong setting can cause email failure. Most support calls are simply wrong settings in the mail client software (your mail program. Outlook, Windows Live, etc).

3) The remainder are typically caused by Microsoft Outlook itself. Seldom do we receive calls from customers that use other mail clients.

Therefore, test your email in another mail client such as Windows Live Mail, Mail,  Thunderbird (free from Firefox), Etc. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. It only takes a few minutes and is essential in the trouble shooting process.
If your email works in another mail client, the mail server is working and it is a local email client issue (Outlook) or a local computer issue. We cannot troubleshoot Outlook issues other than to tell you not to use it. There is some support on the Microsoft site http://support.microsoft.com

Still not working?

4) If you can login with webmail and check email, the server is working properly and there are four possibilities of why you cannot connect with your mail client.
a) Problem with your mail client software (Outlook)
b) If the problem is only with sending email (SMTP) you need to check the following settings:

  • Double check your SMTP Server Setting in your mail client program.
  • Make sure that you have “my server requires authentication” checked and “use same settings as my incoming mail server”
  • Make sure SSL is NOT checked.
  • Try changing your SMTP port setting to 587

c) Port 25 is being blocked by your ISP. ISP’s have started doing this as an attempt to prevent spam. Therefore, we have a workaround. Under Advanced Settings you will find the option to change your SMTP server port number. Try changing it to 587. If you are a SiteBuilder customer, login to your Admin/Email and get the alternate port numbers in the help section.

d) Your IP address is blacklisted in the DNSBL or DNS Blacklist. This could be caused from a variety of reasons. You will need to check your local IP address and determine if there is an issue. You can get your IP address by going to http://www.whatsmyip.org/
Next, go to http://www.dnsbl.info/ and run a scan on it. Also, check it at http://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
If your IP is showing up on one of these lists, please contact us and we will try to help you troubleshoot this issue. Please note that this is not an issue with our server but other conditions that exist.
The possibilities are:

  • Your computer is compromised with malware that is sending out spam
  • Your have been assigned a dynamic IP address that was associated with a spammer
  • Your email account may have been compromised and is being used as a relay.
  • You have been sending out Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE)  This is rarely the case but all it takes is someone to report their newsletter email from your business as spam.

5) Additionally, you may need to check:

  • Routing – do a trace route to from your machine to the SMTP and POP3 server. You will need to open a DOS prompt window or “Command Prompt” typically found in “Accessories”. Once open, type in “tracert smtp.yourdomain.com” Exactly. No quotes and with your correct domain name of course. It will trace the route from your machine to the server and can help troubleshoot routing issue.

If you follow the steps above, you should be back online or at least have the information ready to relay to support personnel for faster resolution.