SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is a commonly used protocol for sending email. It uses port 25 by default, but some internet service providers (ISPs) may block this port as a security measure or to reduce spam. If you are having trouble sending email, it's possible that your ISP is blocking port 25. Here's how you can check if this is the case using a Windows computer:
First, we have to install Telnet:
Open the Start menu and search for "Turn Windows features on or off".
In the Windows Features dialog, scroll down and find the "Telnet Client" option. Check the box next to it to enable telnet on your computer.
Click the "OK" button to install telnet. This may take a few minutes.
Once the installation is complete, open the Command Prompt. You can do this by searching for "Command Prompt" in the start menu or by pressing the Windows key + R, typing "cmd" into the run dialog, and pressing Enter.
Type the following command into the Command Prompt and press Enter:
telnet mail.datapacket.net 25
This will attempt to establish a connection to DataPacket's SMTP server on port 25. If the connection is successful, you will see a message similar to "220 mail.datapacket.net ESMTP". If the connection fails, it's possible that your ISP is blocking port 25.
If you see a message similar to "Could not open connection to the host, on port 25: Connect failed", try using a different port for SMTP. Some common alternatives to port 25 include ports 587 and 465. You can test these ports by using the following commands:
telnet mail.datapacket.net 587
telnet mail.datapacket.net 465
If either of these connections is successful, it means that your ISP is likely blocking port 25 but allowing traffic on one of these alternative ports. You can use this information to configure your email client to use a different port for SMTP.
It's worth noting that some ISPs may block all external SMTP traffic, regardless of the port being used. In this case, you may need to use your ISP's own SMTP server.
In summary, to check if your ISP is blocking port 25, you can use the telnet command to attempt to establish a connection to an external SMTP server on port 25. If the connection fails, you can try using alternative ports or consider using your ISP's SMTP server.
