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SMTP Mail Relay FAQ

Question

• What is SMTP?
• What is SMTP 550 error?
• How do I fix SMTP 550 error?
• How do I get started?
• How much does the service cost?
• How long before mail relay goes live?
• Why is email stuck in my Outbox?
• Can I use my old email address?

Answer

SMTP is an Internet protocol for email transmission and reception. SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transport Protocol.

Most Internet Service Providers restrict access to their outgoing mail servers to prevent SPAM. If you are not on their network and try to send mail through their server (by using their email address) you may get this error. For example, if you have a Tiscali email address (me@tiscali.co.uk) and connect using BT, the Tiscali mail server will block your outgoing mail. Returning a '550 Relay Denied' error message (or similar).

By using Aardvark's mail relay. Aardvark IT is one of the few companies to allow customers access to a relay.

Call 0871 4333682 to enable mail relay. You will be advised on the new entry which is required for 'outgoing mail' server settings in your email client (such as Outlook Express). Please note, a strict no SPAM policy is applied to use of the mail relay.

Free to all Aardvark IT subscribers (ADSL, unmetered and Pay-As-You-Go).

After your mail relay request has been made, changes to servers take roughly 40 minutes to propagate through the system.

If you are getting a '550 Relay Denied' error message (or similar) the provider of your email address may be blocking outgoing mail because you are connecting using somebody else's network. See 'What is SMTP 550 error?' above.

Yes. With Aardvark's mail relay service you can use your old email addresses.