BF Internet - Established 1996

How to set up your POP3 email account

November 27th, 2008, by Thomas Milligan

These guides will show you the steps needed to set up your BF Internet e-mail account using some of the most popular e-mail client software.

Before you start:

• Please ensure you know your email username (this is usually the full email address) and password.
• Italicised text is used throughout these guides to demonstrate example settings. This should not be copied directly

The Guides

• Microsoft Outlook 2010
• Microsoft Outlook Express
• Microsoft Outlook XP / Outlook 2003
• Windows Mail
• Mac Mail OSX
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Apple iPhone or iPod Touch
• Google Android or Nexus Phone (includes Hotmail)

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Q: How do I know what version of Outlook I have?

A: Go to the “Help” menu and click on “About” – it will then pop up a box telling you what version it is.

Q: I’m getting an error message sending/receiving which includes the terms “Spamhaus” or the error code “451”

A: In order to reduce the amount of spam email passing through our mail server, and to improve the quality of the email service as a whole for our customers, we are now using the Spamhaus internet blacklisting service. In most cases, this will operate silently without an issue; if however, you are encountering problems with Spamhaus, the following workarounds should bypass the blacklisting service and resolve the issue:

In Outlook Express/2000 is to go Tools -> Accounts, then go to the properties of the account, click on the “Advanced” tab and where it says “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” and has a box with 25 in it change that to be 2525

In Outlook XP/2003 go to Tools -> E-mail accounts, then click “View or change an existing account”, select the account from the list and click “Change” then click the “More Settings” button, click on the “Advanced” tab and where it says “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” and has a box with 25 in it change that to be 2525

NOTE: Mobile users will find the alternative port 2525 may be blocked by your device or network provider. Ports 465 and 587 can be used as alternatives in this case.

Q: When I try to send a mail I get an error saying “553 – That domain is not in my list of allowed RCPTHOSTS” (or similar), what is wrong?

A: This is because you haven’t turned on outgoing authentication. If you are using Outlook XP/2003 go to Tools -> E-mail accounts, then click “View or change an existing account”, select the account from the list and click “Change” then click the “More Settings” button, click on the “Outgoing Server” tab and tick the “My Outgoing Server (SMTP) requires authentication” checkbox. Then click OK.

If you are using Outlook Express/2000 go to Tools -> Accounts and then click on the account in the list and click “Properties”. In the box that is displayed click on the “Servers” tab at the top, you should then be able to see a check box at the bottom labelled “My server requires authentication” – tick this box and then click “OK”. You will be returned to the main accounts screen and you can now click “Close” to finish.

Q: I’m on AOL, why I can’t send e-mail?

A: Due to AOL’s e-mail policies “normal” mail server access is blocked – the work around to this in Outlook Express/2000 is to go Tools -> Accounts, then go to the properties of the account, click on the “Advanced” tab and where it says “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” and has a box with 25 in it change that to be 2525

In Outlook XP/2003 go to Tools -> E-mail accounts, then click “View or change an existing account”, select the account from the list and click “Change” then click the “More Settings” button, click on the “Advanced” tab and where it says “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” and has a box with 25 in it change that to be 2525

Please note: as this is an AOL issue and is largely out of our control, we cannot provide support on this issue.

Q: I’m on BT Internet (aka BT Connect or BT Openworld) or another provider, why can’t I send e-mail?

A: For security BT does not allow sending e-mail through the normal method (much like AOL above), other providers also seem to be making this same restriction – the work around to this in Outlook Express/2000 is to go Tools -> Accounts, then go to the properties of the account, click on the “Advanced” tab and where it says “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” and has a box with 25 in it change that to be 2525

In Outlook XP/2003 go to Tools -> E-mail accounts, then click “View or change an existing account”, select the account from the list and click “Change” then click the “More Settings” button, click on the “Advanced” tab and where it says “Outgoing Mail (SMTP)” and has a box with 25 in it change that to be 2525

NOTE: If you find that 2525 doesn’t help, then please try 465 or 587 in place of 2525, as these might be allowed by your supplier instead.

Please note: since this is usually down to security from the providers side, we cannot provide support on this issue.

Q: People are receiving multiple copies of my email, how can I stop it?

A: If you are using Outlook Express (version 6) there is a bug in the software. When there are too many messages in the “sent” mailbox, Outlook will start sending multiple copies of your emails to recipients.

To fix this, simply move or delete the messages from the sent folder, leaving it as empty as possible.

If after reading these FAQs, you are still experiencing difficulties please give us a call.

Need help?

Click here to visit the BF Internet remote desktop support page.

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