Email no longer sends

[JeremyNicholas]

Hi, I've had a virgin.net email address since the early nineties but today it's stopped sending from Outlook. Has a setting changed that I need to update please?

Jeremy

[用心棒]

Firstly, if the email account is not linked to an active Virgin Media broadband account or more than 90 days have passed since it was terminated then it is at risk of being deleted with notice; similar outcome if it was linked to ceased Virgin.Net dial-up service or was under ADSL account moved to TalkTalk.

It would be helpful to see what, if any, error code is returned by the SMTP server in this situation. From a desktop or laptop device open a Command Shell in Window or otherwise a Terminal. and enter the following where username:password is replaced with your email address and password, i.e. richard.branson@virginmedia.com:Y54kpX5g:

curl -v smtps://smtp.virginmedia.com -u username:password

Do not post the resulting output here but instead review it for possible reported causes, i.e. VM error code; choosing to ignore this advice and posting the output here unredacted or incorrectly redacted may reveal your email address, password and / or public IP Address.

FYI if there is no issue then you should see the following output from the curl command:

⋮
> AUTH PLAIN
< 334 
> [Redacted]
< 235 2.7.0 SMTP350 Authentication successful for user [Redacted]
> HELP
< 214-2.0.0 This is cmsmtp ESMTP service help
214-2.0.0 This is cmsmtp ESMTP service help
< 214-2.0.0 To contact postmaster send email to postmaster@virginmedia.com.
214-2.0.0 To contact postmaster send email to postmaster@virginmedia.com.
< 214-2.0.0 For local information send email to Postmaster at your site.
214-2.0.0 For local information send email to Postmaster at your site.
< 214 2.0.0 end of HELP info
214 2.0.0 end of HELP info
* Connection #0 to host smtp.virginmedia.com left intact

Otherwise unsuccessful will look similar to the following:

⋮
> AUTH PLAIN
< 334 
> [Redacted]
< 525 5.7.13 Authentication Denied (VM320)
* Closing connection 0
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS alert, close notify (256):
curl: (67) Login denied

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[JeremyNicholas]

Thanks for your help but I'm not going to do that. I don't know what what I'm doing with that sort of thing and I don't know what the security implications would be. I don't want to appear ungrateful. 

I was after a more general response like: 'Yes they changed all email settings on Monday and you now need to change your outgoing server to ....'

Virgin don't seem to offer a help desk for email, which seems a bit odd.

[jpeg1 · Accepted solution]

Did you read @用心棒 's first paragraph?

Can you access your email by webmail? 

[JeremyNicholas]

Hi, thanks, yes I can access via webmail, and I can receive messages via Outlook. I just can't send them any more. 

Any ideas what that might be? I've changed nothing on my Outlook set up.

[JeremyNicholas]

Yes, I can still receive emails via webmail and Outlook, I just can't send via Outlook any more. 

[jpeg1]

One solution might be to remove and reinstall the VM account in Outlook.  But I expect a more qualified suggestion may be available if you wait. 

[JeremyNicholas]

Thanks

[Client62]

One could be forgiven for thinking Virgin Media are taking every possible disruptive step to drive people off their email platforms.

Suspect the Virgin Media SMTP server is not working for Outlook.

Outlook should be giving an error message, E.g. perhaps the username / password are being rejected ?

[用心棒]

Try enabling logging in Outlook and then review the resulting log files for a possible cause, i.e. a VM error code when connecting to SMTP server.

FYI: What is the Enable logging (troubleshooting) option? - Microsoft Support