Shared VPS Dedicated WP Professional Plus
WP Enthusiast and WP Professional hosting accounts can use this tutorial if the Email Add On has been enabled.
If you are having trouble connecting to your SMTP server, see the possible problems and their solutions listed below.
The email’s information is incorrect.
What is it?
If you are using a third-party email client, you may remember entering all the email’s information during setup. If this information is wrong, this could result in a failed connection.
Is it happening to me?
Double check your mailbox information in the third-party client and compare to your email details. For help finding your email details, see our article, Setting up an Email Reader.
How to fix
If you find that incorrect information is being used, correct the information and then retry your connection. If the connection is still down, see the other possible causes below.
The connection is going through the wrong port.
What is it?
This is in the same vein as the incorrect email information. When entering the mailbox information into a third-party email client, you would have had to choose a port to use. SMTP connections use the 25 or 587.
Is it happening to me?
Check your email’s information in the third-party email client. If the port number differs from 25 or 587, this could be causing problems.
How to fix
To fix this, all you have to do is switch the port to 25 or 587.
Your Firewall is blocking the connection.
What is it?
Firewalls sometimes mistake SMTP connections as malicious. If you have a firewall, it may be cutting the connection short because it sees the SMTP connection as a threat.
Is it happening to me?
If you’ve installed a firewall on your hosting account, turn it off and retry your SMTP connection. If the connection now works, the firewall is likely causing the connection issues.
How to fix
Firewalls usually have an “exception” or “accepted” connection list. Find this list for your firewall and add your SMTP connection to the list. This will tell the firewall to recognize the connection and let it pass.
It’s an email client-specific problem.
What is it?
Sometimes it's not something you did or even your mailbox. Instead, sometimes there is something that doesn’t quite sit right with the email client.
Is it happening to me?
If none of the above problems applied to you and you’re using a third-party email client, you may want to research possible problems and solutions for your specific client.