Plaintext Authentication Not Allowed (when checking email)

Important Changes - From August 2016, your email program must use an encrypted connection to access our email servers. This includes all connections for incoming mail (POP3/IMAP) and outgoing mail (SMTP). You must enable SSL/TLS (implicit encryption) or STARTTLS (explicit encryption) on your email programs. All unencrypted connections ('plaintext authentication') will be rejected.

You are free to choose between SSL/TLS or STARTTLS. When choosing between the two types of encryption, the only advice we can offer is that STARTTLS may be easier for clients who already have their email applications configured and who are switching to encryption for the first time, because they may not need to change the port numbers.

These important changes are to ensure our hosting servers comply with PCI (payment card industry) requirements, which are important for hosting clients with e-commerce websites that process credit cards.

All clients are advised to check the configuration of their e-mail applications (desktop computers, laptops, phones, tablets) and make sure encryption is enabled for incoming and outgoing mail. Unfortunately this new security measure cannot be postponed and it's important all clients implement encrypted connections on their email applications. All clients on Enterprise hosting plans will require encrypted connections from 4 August 2016, and all other hosting clients on our normal shared/reseller hosting plans will require encrypted connections from 18 August 2016. We strongly encourage you to re-configure your email clients much earlier.

This means email connections with plaintext authentication to POP3 (port 110), IMAP (port 143), SMTP (port 25 or 26) will be rejected. All clients should switch to encrypted email connections using SSL/TLS or STARTTLS. If you use SSL/TLS we recommend using port 995 (POP3-SSL), port 993 (IMAP-SSL) and port 465 (SMTP-SSL). If you choose  to use STARTTLS, changing the ports is still recommended (but you may not need to). Outgoing email is normally sent using port 465 but if you use STARTTLS port 587 is also available. Without exception, plaintext authentication will stop working and all clients must use SSL/TLS or STARTTLS.

In your email programs (MS Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, etc) and also any email devices (iPhone, iPad, Android) you must change the settings for the Authentication Connection so that you're using SSL/TLS connection method or STARTTLS. Once this change is made, your POP3 or IMAP mail will work without any issue.

Here's how to modify an existing email application to use SSL/TLS encryption:

Modify an account in Microsoft Outlook

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click the File tab at the top.
3. Click Account Settings.
4. On the Account Settings screen, click Change.
5. On the Change Account screen, click More Setings…
6. On the Internet E-mail Settings screen, click the Advanced tab.
7. If your incoming server is IMAP, make sure the port is 993. If your incoming server is POP3, make sure the port is 995.
8. For both Incoming and Outgoing settings, make sure TLS (or SSL) encryption is enabled. Most versions of Outlook have a checkbox 'This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL)', or a dropdown menu where you can choose TLS (or SSL) encryption, or if you use Outlook for Mac there is a checkbox 'Use SSL to connect (recommended)'. That's it! All done!
   
   1. Older versions of MS Outlook may not have TLS encryption type and SSL is an acceptable alternative (but we recommend upgrading to a newer version).
   2. The first time you receive an email and the first time you send an email, Outlook may warn about the security certificate and you may need to grant an exception. Outlook should remember your choice and not ask again. If the problem persists, you may need to change the incoming/outgoing server to match our mail server hostname; please open a support ticket if you need assistance.

Modify an account in Thunderbird

1. Open Thunderbird.
2. In the left sidebar, click the top level folder for the account you want to modify.
3. In the right panel, click Settings.
4. When the Account Settings window opens, in the left pane click Server Settings under the account you are modifying.
5. If your Server Type is IMAP, make sure the port is 993. If your Server Type is POP3, make sure the port is 995.
6. Change Connection Security to SSL/TLS, if it is not that already.
7. To update the Outgoing Mail Server, click Outgoing Server (SMTP) in the left pane.
8. On the list of SMTP servers, select the server in question and click Edit.
9. Make sure the port is 465.
10. Make sure the Connection security is SSL/TLS.
11. Click OK to close the SMTP Server window.
12. Click OK to close the Account Settings window. All done!
    
    1. The first time you receive an email and the first time you send an email, Thunderbird may warn about the security certificate and you may need to grant an exception. Thunderbird should remember your choice and not ask again. If the problem persists, you may need to change the incoming/outgoing server to match our mail server hostname; please open a support ticket if you need assistance.

Modify an account in Apple Mail

1. Open Apple Mail and in the top menubar click on Mail > Preferences > Accounts.
2. Click once on the appropriate email account from the list and click Account Information
3. In the section Outgoing Mail Server click on 'Edit SMTP Server List' to view the outgoing settings, then click the Advanced tab.
4. Make sure 'Use Secure Socket Layer (SSL)' is checked and the port number is 465 (or 587), then click OK to close the window.
5. Next, click on the appropriate email account from the list and click Advanced to view the incoming settings.
6. Make sure 'Use SSL' is checked and the Server Port is 993 (IMAP) or 995 (POP3). 
7. Save and close the advanced settings by clicking OK, then close the Preferences window by clicking on the X in the upper left hand corner of the window. All done!
   
   1. The first time you receive an email and the first time you send an email, Apple Mail may warn about the security certificate and you may need to grant an exception. Apple Mail should remember your choice and not ask again. If the problem persists, you may need to change the incoming/outgoing server to match our mail server hostname; please open a support ticket if you need assistance.

Modify an account in Apple iPhone or iPad

1. Tap on ‘Settings’ from your main screen
2. Tap ‘Mail, Contacts, Calendar’ button
3. Tap on YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT
4. Tap on Account > SMTP > Primary Server to view the outgoing settings
5. Make sure 'Use SSL' is set to On and the Server Port is 465 (or 587).
6. Make sure Authentication is set to ‘Password’. This will enable SMTP Authentication (required on all our mail servers).
7. Tap back to to the main menu of Mail
8. Tap on Account > Advanced to view the incoming settings
9. Make sure 'Use SSL' is set to On and the Server Port is 993 (IMAP) or 995 (POP3). All done!
   
   1. The first time you receive an email and the first time you send an email, Apple Mail may warn about the security certificate and you may need to grant an exception. Apple Mail should remember your choice and not ask again. If the problem persists, you may need to change the incoming/outgoing server to match our mail server hostname; please open a support ticket if you need assistance.

Modify an account in Android

1. Open E-mail App
2. Tap on More in top right hand corner
3. Tap on Settings tab
4. Select the e-mail account you want to modify. This opens the account settings.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap on Server settings
6. Scroll to the Incoming server settings. Make sure the incoming server has the correct server hostname (found in your hosting welcome email).
7. Make sure the security type is set to SSL and the server port is 993 (IMAP) or 995 (POP3).
8. Scroll to the Outgoing server settings. Make sure the outgoing server has the correct server hostname (same as incoming server).
9. Make sure the security type is set to SSL and the server port 465 (or 587).
10. The option Requires sign-in (Authentication required before sending emails) must be ticked. All done!

Modify an account using Google Mail POP3 Import feature

1. Open your Gmail account.
2. At the top right, click the Gear icon
3. Select Settings
4. Select the Accounts and Import tab.
5. In the "Check mail from other accounts (using POP3)" section, this is your Incoming mail server settings. If you download your emails from our mail server to Gmail, your account will be listed here.
6. In the "Send mail as" section, this is your Outgoing mail server settings. If you connect to our mail server to send emails out from Gmail, your account will be listed here. 
7. Taking into consideration points 5 and 6, the account could be listed under both sections and will require modified under both sections.
   1. Click on the 'edit info' link and this will open a new window.
   2. Make sure the username is your FULL email address and enter the email password.
   3. Make sure the POP3 server has the correct server hostname (found in your hosting welcome email).
   4. Make sure 'Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail' is checked.
   5. Make sure the port number is 995.
   6. Click Save Changes and you have completed the Incoming email settings.
8. If you have followed points A-F for your email accounts, that's it! All done!

Modify an account in Windows Live Mail (Windows 8.1 or older)

1. Open Windows Live Mail.
2. Click Tools > Accounts
3. Select the e-mail account you want to modify and click Properties
4. You do not need to change any settings on the General tab
5. Open the Servers tab
6. Make sure the incoming server has the correct server hostname (found in your hosting welcome email).
7. Make sure the outgoing server has the correct server hostname (same as incoming server).
8. Open the Advanced tab
9. For Outgoing mail, make sure 'This server requires a secure connection (SSL)' is checked and the port is 465.
10. For Incoming mail, make sure 'This server requires a secure connection (SSL)' is checked.
11. If your incoming server is IMAP, make sure the port is 993. If your incoming server is POP3, make sure the port is 995. All done!
    
    1. Windows Live Mail is replaced by the Mail app on Windows 10, and the Mail app is also available for some older versions of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.
    2. The first time you receive an email and the first time you send an email, Windows Live Mail may warn about the security certificate and you may need to grant an exception. Outlook should remember your choice and not ask again. If the problem persists, you may need to change the incoming/outgoing server to match our mail server hostname; please open a support ticket if you need assistance.

Updated by SP on 08/12/2022