Spark SMTP changeover - sanity check

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Nuwanda

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#152285 22-Sep-2014 16:18

Spark customers will be aware of the 30 Sep. changeover to send.xtra.co.nz for outgoing email.

I've had a pretty frustrating and contradictory conversation with Spark about our settings so I'm asking here for a sanity check:

Our company has a hosting account with Dreamhost and we send and receive email through our DH account using several addresses such as admin@ourdomain.co.nz, sales@ourdomain.co.nz, etc. Everything works perfectly and has done for a very long time using the standard DH email server mail.ourdomain.co.nz for incoming and outgoing email.

(in fact none of our email uses xtra addresses so none is sent via smtp.xtra.co.nz -- Spark/Xtra are simply our telco)

According to Spark's website if we are sending our email with a third party (not via smtp.xtra.co.nz) service/host we are all good to go and will be fine after 30 Sep. Trouble is Spark keeps sending warning emails regarding three of our addresses that use DH as described above and even after calling them they can't seem to confirm if we are set up correctly and will have no problems after 30 Sep. This contradicts their website advice.

Many of you must also use a third party host to send email. Have you been getting warning emails from Spark?

NB: the weird thing is that the three email addresses that Spark says need to be updated are not the only three we use on our DH domain yet they don't mention those in their warning emails. They can't tell me why that is. Any similar experiences?

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67 posts

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#1133894 22-Sep-2014 16:52

I have had customers with a similar problem. What keeps alerting spark to your usage of the sntp.xtra.co.nz is probably a rouge server or computer/device unknown to you that is sending emails thru this server.

Once the 30th comes and goes you will find out what is causing the problem. 😃

iPhone 3gs ported to XT

Nuwanda

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#1133898 22-Sep-2014 16:56

If there is some rogue device that's using smtp.xtra.co.nz then it's not ours. And therefore if it's blocked from sending email it won't matter.

But as I mentioned, the three addresses that Spark are suggesting we update aren't using smtp.xtra.co.nz anyway even if a rogue device is.

Darwall: I have had customers with a similar problem. What keeps alerting spark to your usage of the sntp.xtra.co.nz is probably a rouge server or computer/device unknown to you that is sending emails thru this server.

Once the 30th comes and goes you will find out what is causing the problem. 😃

Darwall

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+1 received by user: 7

#1133919 22-Sep-2014 17:19

What about a forwarding service inbuilt into web mail like client. Being such a historic sending server it could of been set up years ago. Just an example some monitoring software in modems/photocopier etc send emails as potentially your e-mail domain thru smtp.xtra might of been done years ago.

iPhone 3gs ported to XT

datahawk

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#1133928 22-Sep-2014 17:25

We are also a company domain user with a non-Yahoo-Xtra 3rd party email provider.

We also have a Yahoo-Xtra email account as part of the Spark broadband connection that is not used for regular email.

To use the mandatory SSL send.xtra.co.nz server I had to add all our required 'sender' email address (such as admin@ourdomain.co.nz , webmaster@ourdomain.co.nz, user@ourdomain.co.nz) to the Yahoo-Xtra web mail login as approved accounts. (Use a PC browser, log in to Yahoo, go to Settings then Accounts, add required domain addresses)

This solved the problem I had with repeat emails from Spark warning me about the change and allowed those addresses to send email via send.xtra.co.nz

I also had to locate and convert all email sending functions (such as automatic alerts from web server scripts and other programs) from using smtp.xtra.co.nz to the now required SSL connection.

Hope that helps.

mattwnz

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#1133938 22-Sep-2014 17:29

Nuwanda: Spark customers will be aware of the 30 Sep. changeover to send.xtra.co.nz for outgoing email.

I've had a pretty frustrating and contradictory conversation with Spark about our settings so I'm asking here for a sanity check:

Our company has a hosting account with Dreamhost and we send and receive email through our DH account using several addresses such as admin@ourdomain.co.nz, sales@ourdomain.co.nz, etc. Everything works perfectly and has done for a very long time using the standard DH email server mail.ourdomain.co.nz for incoming and outgoing email.

(in fact none of our email uses xtra addresses so none is sent via smtp.xtra.co.nz -- Spark/Xtra are simply our telco)

According to Spark's website if we are sending our email with a third party (not via smtp.xtra.co.nz) service/host we are all good to go and will be fine after 30 Sep. Trouble is Spark keeps sending warning emails regarding three of our addresses that use DH as described above and even after calling them they can't seem to confirm if we are set up correctly and will have no problems after 30 Sep. This contradicts their website advice.

Many of you must also use a third party host to send email. Have you been getting warning emails from Spark?

NB: the weird thing is that the three email addresses that Spark says need to be updated are not the only three we use on our DH domain yet they don't mention those in their warning emails. They can't tell me why that is. Any similar experiences?

I found the email spark / telecom were sending out was very poorly written. Wish I could send them the bill for the time I have spent re explaining it to clients who got that email. Their website does actaully say you can continue to use their smtp server but the email they sent out didn't. You just change the settings to their send.xtra.co.nz address, and change the port and SSL settings, and get the domain address authenticated using the yahoo control panel.

Nuwanda

54 posts

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+1 received by user: 2

#1133944 22-Sep-2014 17:38

Thanks, Datahawk.

But are you saying we are REQUIRED to send via send.xtra.co.nz after 30/9 even if we don't do that now? To confirm our set up: we send email via our hosting account at Dreamhost using our email server there, mail.ourdomain.co.nz.

datahawk: We are also a company domain user with a non-Yahoo-Xtra 3rd party email provider.

We also have a Yahoo-Xtra email account as part of the Spark broadband connection that is not used for regular email.

To use the mandatory SSL send.xtra.co.nz server I had to add all our required 'sender' email address (such as admin@ourdomain.co.nz , webmaster@ourdomain.co.nz, user@ourdomain.co.nz) to the Yahoo-Xtra web mail login as approved accounts. (Use a PC browser, log in to Yahoo, go to Settings then Accounts, add required domain addresses)

This solved the problem I had with repeat emails from Spark warning me about the change and allowed those addresses to send email via send.xtra.co.nz

I also had to locate and convert all email sending functions (such as automatic alerts from web server scripts and other programs) from using smtp.xtra.co.nz to the now required SSL connection.

Hope that helps.

Samsung

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datahawk

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#1133948 22-Sep-2014 17:49

Nuwanda: NB: the weird thing is that the three email addresses that Spark says need to be updated are not the only three we use on our DH domain yet they don't mention those in their warning emails. They can't tell me why that is. Any similar experiences?

Yes, same thing happened with me.

Only some domain addresses were prompting email warnings from Spark. Seemed a bit flakey but the issue went away after loading the sender addresses into the Yahoo account as authorised addresses.

BTW, In our case we can't use our normal email providers smtp server as it is considered a relay via our Spark broadband connection. Consequently, we are forced to use send.xtra.co.nz

Nuwanda

54 posts

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#1133958 22-Sep-2014 17:57

Then your situation may not be the same as ours. We've never had any problem using our Dreamhost mail server to send emails. That's why I ask if we are now required to use send.xtra.co.nz but your answer suggests you had to use smtp.xtra.co.nz and so had no choice but to upgrade to send.xtra.co.nz. Yes?

BTW, In our case we can't use our normal email providers smtp server as it is considered a relay via our Spark broadband connection. Consequently, we are forced to use send.xtra.co.nz

datahawk

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#1133962 22-Sep-2014 18:12

Nuwanda: Thanks, Datahawk.

But are you saying we are REQUIRED to send via send.xtra.co.nz after 30/9 even if we don't do that now? To confirm our set up: we send email via our hosting account at Dreamhost using our email server there, mail.ourdomain.co.nz.

No, not at this stage. I understand your situation where you are currently using your DH provider and not Sparks smtp server but it seems that Spark are detecting your addresses routing through their (soon to be terminated) smtp.xtra.co.nz server from some email sending source ?? - Let us know if you find out why.

However, your fail safe option, if your mail ceases to send at the end of the month, is to simply change your email program SMTP server settings and set it up to use send.xtra.co.nz instead of Dreamhost. Changing the SMTP server won't effect the receipt of inbound mail.

You will need to set up your addresses in your Yahoo email account. As above, if you are a Spark user, you will have a xxxxxx@xtra.co.nz email account somewhere.

This is how our email has worked for years. I have always used Spark's smtp servers to send all mail but our actual email provider is with a different ISP

Nuwanda

54 posts

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+1 received by user: 2

#1133965 22-Sep-2014 18:18

OK, thanks, that makes some kind of sense.

The most I could get out of Spark's tech help this afternoon was that since we use our own email server at Dreamhost then things should work fine after 30/9. But they were disturbingly vague about it despite me insisting on a definitive answer.

They could not explain why only 3 out of 8 addresses were being flagged as problematic and not all 8. Best of my knowledge the only software using the addresses are email apps (Outlook) and they are all configured the same to use our DH server.

datahawk:
Nuwanda: Thanks, Datahawk.

But are you saying we are REQUIRED to send via send.xtra.co.nz after 30/9 even if we don't do that now? To confirm our set up: we send email via our hosting account at Dreamhost using our email server there, mail.ourdomain.co.nz.

No, not at this stage. I understand your situation where you are currently using your DH provider and not Sparks smtp server but it seems that Spark are detecting your addresses routing through their (soon to be terminated) smtp.xtra.co.nz server from some email sending source ?? - Let us know if you find out why.

However, your fail safe option, if your mail ceases to send at the end of the month, is to simply change your email program SMTP server settings and set it up to use send.xtra.co.nz instead of Dreamhost. Changing the SMTP server won't effect the receipt of inbound mail.

You will need to set up your addresses in your Yahoo email account. As above, if you are a Spark user, you will have a xxxxxx@xtra.co.nz email account somewhere.

This is how our email has worked for years. I have always used Spark's smtp servers to send all mail but our actual email provider is with a different ISP

datahawk

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#1133993 22-Sep-2014 18:53

BTW, I just checked your Dreamhost SMTP set up instructions and they do advise that you may need to use your ISP's SMTP servers instead of Dreamhost if your ISP blocks port 25.

Spark is effectively blocking use of port 25 at the end of the month so you may well have to use send.xtra.co.nz very soon.

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Nuwanda

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#1134000 22-Sep-2014 19:01

Thanks for that but we have used port 587 for years for that very reason.

datahawk: BTW, I just checked your Dreamhost SMTP set up instructions and they do advise that you may need to use your ISP's SMTP servers instead of Dreamhost if your ISP blocks port 25.

Spark is effectively blocking use of port 25 at the end of the month so you may well have to use send.xtra.co.nz very soon.

Spyware

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#1134091 22-Sep-2014 20:49

You must have clients that have been configured with smtp.xtra.co.nz, that simple.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

1101

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#1134321 23-Sep-2014 09:49

datahawk: BTW, I just checked your Dreamhost SMTP set up instructions and they do advise that you may need to use your ISP's SMTP servers instead of Dreamhost if your ISP blocks port 25.
Spark is effectively blocking use of port 25 at the end of the month so you may well have to use send.xtra.co.nz very soon.

You can get port 25 unblocked. You will need to apply to have this done. Chances are its allready been done, Telecom have been blocking Port 25 for years
now on non Telecom smtp's.
http://help.spark.co.nz/app/answers/detail/a_id/1218/~/about-port-25

As to the original question, if your ISP is Telecom, they gave you an @xtra.co.nz email adress regardless (same as your DSL login name)
That xtra email adress may be being forwarded to your domain emails, so that you can still receive important admin emails from spark.
That may explain why how got those emails, or could simply be that your domain email is in telecoms system as contact email & they sent you the email automaticly
even though it doesnt apply.

dstove

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#1135335 24-Sep-2014 10:12

Hi all,

I just received my first letter from Spark, explaining that they need me to change my smtp server from smtp.xtra.co.nz. I've already received numerous emails, but when I've replied to them or logged an issue on the website, they have just ignored them!

The problem is, I have an Xtra home ADSL connection, and an Exchange 2010 server hosting 3 domains for my home business. As I have a dynamic IP address, I had to have Spark enable port 25 on my account, and I have to use smtp.xtra.co.nz as a smart host on my SMTP send connector.

When I tried to explain this to them, I got shuffled through about 3 levels of support before finally being told that my configuration wouldn't work, I would have to host all my domains with Xtra/Spark.

For those of you that may have a similar setup - here's what I did:
1) Log in to your username@xtra.co.nz account and add your email addresses under "Settings", "Accounts".
2) Under 'Hub Transport', 'Send Connectors', 'Network' tab, Change your SMTP connector to go to 'Route mail throughthe following smart hosts:' and add/change the Smarthost to send.xtra.co.nz.
3) Change your 'Smart Host authentication' from 'none' to 'Basic Authentication' and tick 'Basic Authentication over TLS'
4) Enter your full xtra username (username@xtra.co.nz) and password.
5) Click OK out of all the boxes, and it should all work.
6) send out a test message and check the headers - the sending server should be something like ' nm9-vm7.access.bullet.mail.gq1.yahoo.com' instead of 'mta01.xtra.co.nz'

Hope this helps someone else and doesn't have them spending hours on the phone to Telesparktra!

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