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How can I avoid re-configuring my outgoing server when travelling?

277 Views 3 Replies Latest reply: Nov 1, 2012 10:24 AM by varjak paw RSS
robertfromst. peter\'s Calculating status...
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Nov 1, 2012 9:29 AM

I have always "reconfigured" my 'outgoing server' -- the smtp setting under MAIL preferences -- when travelling outside my ISP's service area. (For 12 years with Eudora, and now 4 years with MAIL).  But often at hotels, or in airports, it's not possible to get the info, that is, the smtp designator for the ISP serving the hotel or airport. When unable to get that info, I have to revert to using my home ISP's "webmail" which is clunky, limited, slow, inflexible, and doesn't integrate well with my Apple MAIL later. I hate using it.


When I AM able to get the local smtp designator info when on the road, it nearly always does the trick and I am able to do all my email work as I would back at my home office.


However, recently, I stayed with a friend on the west coast, (let's call him Brian) who is something of a Mac expert, but he was unable to confidently give me the smtp designators for his local ISP-- apparently because he never has to change his smtp configuration when on the road!  Like me, he uses two servers, that is, he is connected at his home via the phone company's DSL service using a high speed modem, but he likes to retain the email address he had originally got from an earlier ISP he used, back when he was on dial-up. So he pays that ISP a monthly $5.00 to allow him to continue to use the email address he has had since being their customer way back when.  So we called both of Brian's ISP's and got their smtp designators. However, neither of these, when plugged into my MAIL preferences, would allow me to "send" using Apple MAIL and I was again obliged to use my clunky webmail.


Now, it seems to me he is being "relayed" (is that the right term?) by the phone company sending outgoing mail over to the older ISP, and the older ISP relays his mail over to the phone company's server to give him his incoming mail. When I am visiting him, this may be to confusing for the smtp configuration in my MAIL.


I would think not, though, because I have a similar setup: I connect to a cable company modem from my home on the east coast, but my address is the one I got from our local phone company before high-speed became available to us via the cable TV service. When we switched from the phone company's dial-up to the cable company's high- speed, we kept the original email address --which was specific to the phone company-- and we pay $5.00 per month for the privilege. Seems very similar to Brian's setup.


However, at Brian's, changing the smtp designator doesn't work to allow me to send emails from Apple's MAIL program.


Brian tells me he doesn't have to do this smtp change when he travels, with his Apple MAIL.  He doesn't know why I do it, nor why I should have to.  I suspect, that unknown to him,  his ISP has some kind of setup whereby his smtp designation is a sort of "universal" outgoing server designation, and his outgoing emails are accepted no matter which ISP he is using when away from home. And I think my MAIL configuration must be incompatible with that. This is just my suspicion.


So my questions are:


1. why doesn't Brian have to re-configure his smtp outgoing server when he travels? and...


2. how can I get that kind of universal "email send-ability" when I travel, and not have to be challenged with having to re-do my outgoing server when travelling, using Apple's MAIL?


Any insights will be most gratefully received!!!!


PS I'm using Snow Leopard on MacBook 10.6.8; I think Brian is using Leopard on a 15-in Powerbook.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.6)
  • varjak paw Level 10 Level 10 (165,600 points)

    Many email providers allow you to send from outside their network if you set up authentication to their servers in your outgoing mail server setup. You may wish to confirm this with your email provider, but you can just try this:


    1) Go to the Accounts preference in Mail

    2) Select your email account

    3) On the Account Information tab, locate the "Outgoing Mail Server" section and pull the menu down to "Edit SMTP Server list"

    4) Select the appropriate outgoing server and go to the Advanced tab

    5) In the Authentication pulldown, select "Password" and enter in your email account ID and password

    6) Click all the applicable "OK" buttons to close it all up and save the information.


    That may work with your email provider, or they may have additional settings needed such as "Use Security Sockets Layer (SSL)". Your provider should be able to tell you what specific settings you need if the basic user name and password don't work.



  • varjak paw Level 10 Level 10 (165,600 points)

    That's the intent, yes, but your email provider has to allow that. Some do, some don't. And yours may require different settings. I use Comcast and putting in my email account name and password and setting it to use SSL allows me to send mail from anywhere, but your provider may differ.


    I wonder why anyone should have to redo the outgoing server at all, if one simply adds this info their Preferences as you have indicated?


    They shouldn't if the email provider allows access outside of their network when such authentication is provided, but again, not all do.



    iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Core i7 Radeon 4850 8GB


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