When I use my notebook for email, I get errors trying to send email messages when I am away from my home/office.
What can I do?


When you are at home or at the office, typically you send emails using the outgoing mail server provided by your access provider. (eg when connected to the internet via Charter, use their outgoing email server.) This setup is widely adopted by most providers as a means to help control spam sources.

However, when traveling or roaming, you can find yourself in a position where you are connected to the internet either at a hotel or at a wireless "hotspot". In this situation, you frequently don't know the provider or the name of the outgoing email server. There are two options to send messages in this scenario.

The first is to login to the webmail interface using your web browser. The url or address is http://mail.mi-co.net or you can click on the link on the Mi-Co, Inc. home page http://www.mi-co.net . While using webmail, you can send or receive messages outside of your email client.

If you are using an email client (Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora, etc...), you can change your outgoing email server settings when roaming. There are typically 4 changes that need to be made.

Note: This will not work if your access provider is blocking port 25 traffic
Below is a list of providers that are blocking port 25.
  • AT&T
  • MindSpring
  • BellSouth
  • MSN
  • CableOne
  • NetZero
  • Charter
  • People PC
  • Comcast ATTBI
  • Sprynet
  • Cox
  • Sympatico.ca
  • EarthLink
  • Verio
  • Flashnet
  • Verizon
  • MediaOne
    Click here for more information.

    1. Write down your current settings, so that you can restore them at a later date if needed.
    2. Go to www.google.com and create a free gmail account. Record your username and password for later.
    3. Open your email client (outlook express, outlook, windows mail, etc..) and locate where your smtp server is defined.
    4. Change your outgoing or smtp server to smtp.gmail.com
    5. Check the box "My Outgoing Server Requires Authentication" (the wording is slightly different depending on your email software)
    6. Typically under "more settings" or "advanced settings" there will be a place for you to enter the username and password for the outgoing server. Enter your gmail account information here.
    7. Next find where the Port Numbers are defined for outgoing email. Change the outgoing Port Number per the table below.
      Gmail SMTP Port Settings For Email Clients
      Outlook Express465
      Outlook 2003465
      Outlook 2007587
      Thunderbird 2.0995
    8. Next, you want to configure your software to use a secure connection. In outlook 2003 or outlook express, simply check the box below where you set the port number. In Outlook 2007, select TLS for type of encryption.
    9. Now save your settings and test your connection.

    After testing your ability to send emails, you need to instruct gmail to use your email address as the reply to email.
    Setting a custom From address in Gmail



    Some email software requires you to type in your password on the first send, then remembers your setups for later use.