If you can receive email but you cannot send it, your incoming settings and your mailbox password are fine. The problem is almost always the outgoing (SMTP) server setting, or SMTP authentication being switched off.
This article explains the settings your email software needs, the quickest way to isolate the cause, and what to include if you need to open a ticket.
What "can receive but cannot send" usually means
- Receiving works, so your incoming server, port and password are correct.
- Sending fails when the outgoing server is set to something other than our mail server, or when outgoing authentication is not enabled.
- Another provider's outgoing server only works while you are connected through that provider. You do not need it to send mail through us.
- Your mailbox password and your cPanel password are separate. Changing one does not change the other, so a password change is a common trigger.
The settings that make sending work
These are the server settings for every mail program. We do not configure your own device for you; if you are not sure how to enter them, your IT support can apply them.
- Outgoing server: mail.[yourdomain] (for example, mail.hosting-australia.com)
- Outgoing port and security: 465 with SSL/TLS, or 25 or 26 for a standard connection
- SMTP authentication: on
- Username: your full email address
- Password: your mailbox password
See Mail Server Settings for the incoming and outgoing ports, and SSL Settings for Email if you use secure settings.
Existing step by step guides for common programs are linked at the bottom of this article.
A quick way to find the cause
Sending a test message from webmail separates a mailbox problem from a device problem, because webmail uses our server directly.
- Open Webmail Access and log in with your email address and mailbox password.
- Send a short message to an address you can check.
- If it sends from webmail, the mailbox is working and the issue is in the settings on your device.
- If it also fails from webmail, the account itself needs attention. Open a ticket.
Other reasons email stops sending
- The account can be temporarily blocked for sending too much mail that bounces. See Domain has exceeded the maximum defers and failures per hour.
- Mail can be rejected by the recipient's provider rather than by us. See Why are my emails going to spam or being blocked? and Why is Outlook or Hotmail blocking my emails?.
- The mailbox may be full. See Email Quotas.
- The service may be suspended. See Why was my website or email suspended?.
If you still cannot send
Open a ticket and include:
- the exact error message you see
- the email address you are sending from
- the outgoing server, port and authentication setting currently in use
- whether sending works from webmail
- when it started, and whether it affects one recipient or everyone
We will check the sending logs for your mailbox and confirm whether the block is on our side.
