Using BT for sending emails from non-BT email address

[gtay0001]

Hi,

Can anybody help. I have a bt email address which is working fine. I have set up a non bt email address which will receive emails but not send.  I have logged into my yahooBT email account to try and verify the non-BT email address but without success. I have tried ringing the BT helpline (which wasn't very helpful) and they say I cannot use the BT server for sending emails from a non-BT account. I wanted to clarify if this is true before I switch to a different ISP.

Any help or information you can provide would be received most gratefully.

[wajbsb]

BT servers can be used for non BT email addresses IF the email address belongs to a domain that you own. If the email address belongs to another ISP (eg hotmail, virgin, zen etc) then BT servers cannot be used because the email address is technically the property of the ISP and BT are not allowed to encroach on that. (The reverse is also true in that you can't use other ISP's servers for sending emails from a BT email address...)

[zxcvbnm]

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@wajbsb wrote:

If the email address belongs to another ISP (eg hotmail, virgin, zen etc) then BT servers cannot be used because the email address is technically the property of the ISP and BT are not allowed to encroach on that. (The reverse is also true in that you can't use other ISP's servers for sending emails from a BT email address...)

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Hmm. I'm not sure about that but perhaps I just missunderstand your meaning. Almost every other isp apart from bt gives an outgoing email server that will send email from any address you want regardless who it is from, hotmail, gmail, btconnect or your own domain, it is all allowed. Basically everything.

Bt is unusual in that they don't allow this. They could but they don't presumably because dealing with spam was too much trouble so they tied everyone down. So many people just use webmail now and business users their own systems that many of their customers have never noticed and the rest just had to lump it.

Now it gets a little complicated and I don't pretend to understand how bt email systems are set up but I do mostly know the following,

Bt business users; I have been on the web chat support and if an email address is from a domain name registered to the same address as the bt broadband account they will add it as allowed to be sent via their servers. I have done this and while it took a bit of talking to explain what I wanted they could and did do this and it worked.

Bt home users get email via yahoo stuff. But it is closing so instructions may be pointless. However googling brings up lots of pages like http://help.yahoo.com/uk/bt/tutorials/mmail/mm_accessother2.html#howto which may well work, I have never tried.

Now bt is leaving yahoo and going to another company called critical path to supply their email. Whether this will affect business users as well as home users I don't know. The home office stuff changed a while ago already. It is possible that the new email company will let you send email using any email address like the rest of the world does! The suggestion is that smtp.btinternet.com will now work when going via critical path.

You could thus try smtp.btinternet.com or in a pinch smtp.bt.lon5.cpcloud.co.uk 

Or it is possible they will lock things down again! In which case you will have the option of buying a third party smtp service, not sending email from other address's or using another isp as you said who give regular email sending service.

I hope that is some help. Good luck.

[gtay0001]

Many thanks for your reply. The only solution I seem to have for this problem is to purchase a separate SMTP service from my web host provider. However they have advised I check with my ISP (BT) to see if they allow or block port 25. If they block it then this alternative is not available to me and I will be forced to switch ISP's. So far I have been unable to confirm whether BT allow port 25. Very frustrating.

[gtay0001]

Thanks for your reply. The email address does belong to a domain name I own. The problem I have encountered is how to verify this with BT. I have tried doing this through my BT Yahoo account without success and their helpline says they can only help with BT email account issues.

[zxcvbnm]

Do you know if you have a business connection or a consumer one? If you have a btconnect login that would suggest you have a business account.

But as you mention using bt yahoo mail that suggests you have a consumer account?

And which outgoing server settings are you using?

[gtay0001]

Hi,
I have a consumer account. I have recently changed my web hosting company and since then I have not been able to send emails via the bt server. Previously I was able to do this and my account settings for the outgoing server were mail.btinternet.com

Do you think the issue may be because I have a consumer account?

[zxcvbnm]

Not sure that who hosts your email address should matter.

I may be mistaken but the business email and consumer email use different systems.

The business side checks a domain is registered in your name. I don't think you can use this as you are not a business account.

The consumer side uses btyahoo mail to veryify the email address. As a consumer you can only use the btyahoo method. This is actually to your advantage as the btyahoo should allow more types of email address even if you don't own the underlying domain.

Strictly speaking these are the business forums so you should really be posting in

http://community.bt.com/t5/Other-BB-Queries/bd-p/OtherBB

I don't know that it makes it any more likely to get a reply in practice but you never know.

So try following the instructions here,

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/38595

how far do you get? Do you successfully get a verification link for your email address? But then the smtp server still won't work? Presumably you have the smtp server working to send your regular bt supplied email address.

You could try posting your results in the other forum. Perhaps they would know how to help. I think it should work. But it would be handy to work out if you are failing to get it verified or with your smtp settings and then you can focus on the right stage.

Otherwise I think some of the mailing list companies offer free smtp accounts on non standard ports for people who only send a few emails a day. I have no experience of them though so don't know if its a good avenue to explore. sendgrid and mandrill I have heard of having free options.

[gtay0001]

Appreciate your reply. I have tried the method linked above but I can't get my email verified. There is obviously something stopping this but I am not sure what or why. I have tried phoning BT without success and I was posting on here as my last chance saloon. I will persevere a little longer before switching to a new ISP.

[gtay0001]

Hi,
I finally have it up and running. The solution....I'm afraid I'm not sure....I tinkered with all the settings in my email programme, ticked boxes, unticked boxes re-entered username/password etc and suddenly it worked. What I can say is that I didn't verify the email address. I did try but never received a verification email in my inbox. Not sure what that is all about, but it appears to have been a red herring for me in this case. Anyway it's working now so will see how we go. Just a quick thanks for taking the time to help.