SMTP server IP is blocked, unable send emails

[badshotbilly]

I have been with virgin media since it first open as Diamond Cable and feel upset that over the last 2 weeks my email s cannot be sent out and get this error 421 mx5.tb.ukmail.iss. I have phoned VM 4 times about this issue and was told to sign up for rescue me technical help. I was told my IP had been blocked and that I need to ring the customer service team who put me on to them in the first place and they will sort it for me. This was not the case and ended up back to the rescue me help team and after been on the phone and on line with them for over six hours i got nowhere and had to hang up with my email smtp.virginmedia.com server still not sending out my emails on outlook express, outlook, Thunderbird and any other software.

It seems nobody who I can contact will sort this problem of just changing my IP which it seems has been given to me with this problem attached to it.

So my question is could or can anyone from Virgin media please help with this issue.

[WelshGasman · Accepted solution]

Best way to check that is the case, would be go to a friends house and see if you can send mail from there?

If still not working, nothing to do with your IP address.?

You could try switching off the router for an hour or so, then back on and then ask for another IP address, and hope it changes, though I seem to have had the same one forever, despite it is meant to be a dynamic address 🙂

[badshotbilly]

Thank you WelshGasman for you reply.

I put my super hub 3 into modem mode and this change my IP and low and behold my email smtp work, but had no WIFI for some of my house hold devices. This proves that my IP has been blocked by virginmedia for no reason. So I have gone online to buy a WIFI router to beable to use the super hub 3 in modem mode until i can get an IP change from VM.

I have tried turning off the Hub 3 overnight, but it still kept the same IP address, not sure how long it will have to be turned off before VM IP will change it ?

This is so bad, as customer help line thinks all people who ring don't understand athing about how things in IT work. Have have been involve it PC and IT for 30 years.

[VMCopperUser]

There is no set time. 

If no resegmentation work is goign on then that IP would be held for at least two weeks (Perhaps it's 7 days, cant remember).. I think the renewal is every 7 days so that's a 14 day lease.

Why arent you using VM's SMTP servers?  Most non MX listed servers these days get blocked.

[ravenstar68]

@VMCopperUser - A DHCP lease is just the maximum time a device is allowed to keep the IP address - Most devices usually start trying to extend the lease at around halfway through the lease, and in the case of Virgin Media's servers the lease is normally extended at around 5  1/2 days into the lease.

The dynamic in DHCP doesn't guarantee a changed IP address, it simply means that the network adapter configures itself on the fly, raher than being set manually by the sysadmin.  VM's IP addresses can and do remain unchanged for years.

What's odd here is the name of the server refusing the connection:

421 mx5.tb.ukmail.iss

While it's incomplete - that's not part of Virgin Media's otbound email chain.  Rather that's a server that receives inbound mail for Virgin Media.

I'm not sure we're getting the full story here - That particular server shouldn't be blocking based on a senders IP address.

Tim

[VMCopperUser]

Yea, I bungled that post up.  Brain and Words both going in multiple directions on same topic :P..

In regards to the IP Block.  The OP's problem sounds like they may be running a mail server at home and it's being blocked, perhaps the outbound email address is not a @vm one (That's where I think I was going in the brain lol).  It could just be that there's far too much volume of bad/spam emails.  The VM team can probably search and remove that IP block.

[WelshGasman]

I would not have thought you would have any wifi, if in modem mode?

I was once told by a VM tech (from India though) that my PC was giving the wrong IP address to the Hub.? 🙂

[John_GS]

Hi WelshGasman

Thanks for posting. Have the emails started working since posting? Let me know if you need further assistance.

Best,

[WelshGasman]

Not my problem John, the O/P's ?

Though I have also lost mine 3 times this week, but as I also lost  it again last week, I know what to try, and so far that has worked.

[ravenstar68]

@John_GS 

It's @badshotbilly that's got the problem.  However we're not getting the full picture here.  I'd want to see the full error message, IP address and all, as the server mentioned is not one of VM's outbound SMTP servers.  It's one of the Mail Exchangers that receives inbound mail for all of the Virgin Media owned domains.

Tim