Virgin Media outgoing SMTP mail server error

[DeLorean]

Since mid-afternoon on the 25th June Outlook has been unable to send e-mail through Virgin Media's outgoing SMTP server for all of our virgin.net e-mail accounts.

We receive the error...

Task '*****.*******@virgin.net - Sending' reported error (0x800CCC78) : 'Cannot send the message. Verify the e-mail address in your account properties. The server responded: 530 5.1.0 Authentication Required (VM401)'

I have also been contacted by customers in Basingstoke who are also experiencing the same issue.

P.S. Incoming e-mails via POP3 are working fine.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem and is aware of what's going on?

[Peter-55]

Is there a consensus here on how to overcome this problem (being able to send mail) ?  Can't send via computer or via iPhone and yet always have done until recently.  

[goslow]

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@Peter-55 wrote:

Is there a consensus here on how to overcome this problem (being able to send mail) ?  Can't send via computer or via iPhone and yet always have done until recently.  

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Enabling outgoing SMTP server authentication is the most simple of the changes which have allowed some people to reconnect (but there are plenty of other ways it can be broken too).

[jess99]

My Mum has been having the same error message since mid June and I have tried everything I can think of, with no luck.  This is extremely frustrating.  I have not been able to get help from Virgin Media via the contact us link as it just displays me a QR code??? no contact form.  Hopefully someone here, or a Virgin Media helpdesk person, will be able to help her.  Her email address is a mistral.co.uk one, and her Outlook 2019 outgoing server details (which worked prior to mid June) are, port 465, encryption SSL/TLS, server smtp.virgin.net, 'My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication' is not ticked, 'Use same settings as my incoming mail server' is ticked, 'Remember password' is ticked.

I have tried ticking the 'My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication' box and giving it my Virgin broadband login details but it then says the connection has been interrupted when trying to send.  This same issue happened before in 2021 and I eventually solved it by doing a 'repair' in Outlook, but that didn't work this time.

Please can someone offer some assistance.  I see from this forum and a general google that a lot of VM customers have been affected by this at exactly the same time.  Thank you.

[Morkjc]

I had a similar problem accessing my mail thru Outlook Express (3rd Party) I had to get a app app password and put that into the client it now works

[jess99]

Thank you Morkjc, I will try that tomorrow when Mum is available. Mum is 85 and tends to get up rather late (: