SMTP Server Setup and Troubleshooting
If you have a POP account setup through Dogbark for your hosting account you’ll be able to send mail through our outgoing mail server. This will allow you to send mail through your email client at almost any location and will prevent you from needing to use a limited interface like webmail when you are traveling with your laptop.
Here is the SMTP server information you’ll need to get setup. Remember you MUST have a valid POP account setup with us to use this…
Server Information
- Server Name: smtp01.dogbark.com
- Authentication: OFF
- SSL - OFF
- Port (either 25 or 10025)
A few things you need to know, and these are very important so please keep reading. We authenticate users by verifying that you have CHECKED your POP account within 10 minutes. If you have done so you’ll be in the clear on this end to send mail, if you have not, you’ll get an error message saying “relay-access denied.” So if you are getting a relay access denied error that might be a good place to start troubleshooting. Most email clients that we are familiar with will allow you to check your mail automatically every “x” amount of time. So set that for 10 minutes or less and you’ll save yourself some trouble there.
If you have accidentally turned SSL turned ON, or have authentication set to PASSWORD you WILL NOT be able to send through our servers correctly. Please be 100% sure you have those two things turned OFF. Other providers require that, but Dogbark does not, so if you have simply renamed your outgoing mail server and saved it, chances are good those two things will need to be turned OFF.
Finally, though we are providing your outgoing mail server, your Internet Service Provider is still providing your connection to our servers. Sometimes your ISP will block port 25, 10025, or both at the same time to “prevent spammers from using their system.” So far we’ve not really seen any pattern of how, when, or which port will be blocked, but if you get a “cannot connect to server” or “server timed out” error message, chances are good that your port is being blocked.
If you think your port is being blocked, you may want to try switching ports. With Dogbark you can use either 25 or 10025 to send mail. So if you are blocked on 25, try swapping that to 10025 or vice versa. Even in the worst case scenario that switching them doesn’t work, most ISP’s will open up either or both of those ports simply by you giving them a phone call. If you are on a hotspot network and neither port is allowing you to send, generally you’ll have to go back to webmail, but I travel all over the country and have yet to hook up someplace that had both ports blocked. Most times they’ll forget about port 10025 and you can usually sneak messages out all day long that way.
We certainly hope this helps you troubleshoot through sending mail with Dogbark. As always you can call us at 877.864.7929 or email us at info@dogbark.com if you have any questions. Thanks so much and good luck.