Email Help Please

[Gomez_Adams]

Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS

So it’s all factory install that was redone by a fellow here. The only thing I’ve done is copy the SSL certificate from the domain to the Dovecot and Postfix servers. I installed Roundcube webmail, logged into it with the server name credentials and it loads up fine.

I then tried to send an email to my personal gmail account. I hit send, it goes through the motions, the green panel pops up “SENT” and that’s that.

The email never shows up in the gmail account. Looking at the log, this is posted:

Dec 2 10:34:35 vps postfix/smtp[552328]: 7C96E1600A36: to=redacted@gmail.com, relay=gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[173.194.219.27]:25, delay=1.2, delays=0.05/0.01/0.78/0.33, dsn=5.7.1, status=bounced (host gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[173.194.219.27] said: 550-5.7.1 [97.81.85.21] The IP you’re using to send mail is not authorized to 550-5.7.1 send email directly to our servers. Please use the SMTP relay at your 550-5.7.1 service provider instead. Learn more at 550 5.7.1 https://support.google.com/mail/?p=NotAuthorizedError p4si2069787yba.101 - gsmtp (in reply to end of DATA command))

So if my server IP can’t be used to send mail, am I stuck with using a pay provider online or is there some way around this?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[calport]

@Gomez_Adams

So if my server IP can’t be used to send mail, am I stuck with using a pay provider online or is there some way around this?

Free smarthost / mail relay to work around port 25 block by VPS host

If your VPS host (AWS, OVH, Vultr, Bluehost, Digital Ocean et al) is blocking port 25 and this is causing problems with your Virtualmin installation and testing, I will be happy to offer you free smarthost / mail relay service for testing or low volume email. To get started, you will need to send me the IP address of your Virtualmin box (VPS) and the list of domain names which will be authorized to send email. I will then give you the IP address of my Virtualmin box and the SPF and DKIM records…

Hello

[Gomez_Adams]

That’s not it. In fact, it was you that fixed my server months ago.

I have my own Dell T140 Server in my house. I don’t use an online host for anything other than Email right now.

[calport]

@Gomez_Adams

In fact, it was you that fixed my server months ago.

That’s correct. Hello.

@Gomez_Adams

I don’t use an online host for anything other than Email right now.

If you wish to do so, we could work at configuring your server to send out email via a smarthost / mail relay on one of my servers at no charge, provided your requirement for sending email is not high volume.

[TheRavenKing]

Hi @Gomez_Adams ,
First of all your IP 97.81.85.21 is blacklisted see mxtoolbox.com not sure if google likes that.
many if not all ISP don’t allow use of port 25 to send email so use another port like 587 or 2525
Also do you have set-up SPF, DMARC ?
Regards,

[Gomez_Adams]

Sounds like a whole lot of trouble for not much use. I just shut both the mail servers down and am using my own personal SMTP from Charter for my mail service.

I was hoping for a simple fix but since it’s going to involve re-inventing the wheel I’ll give it a miss.

Thanks!

[Xcdice]

Sounds like your SPF record is wrong or missing.

in your dns make sure there’s a TXT record like this:

Type: TXT
Host/Name: your domain name here
Value: v=spf1 a mx a:your domain name here ip4:your public ip here ~all

you can also use this too to tailor the dns record for your specific need

SPF Record Generator - MxToolBox

[noisemarine]

@Gomez_Adams

I was hoping for a simple fix but since it’s going to involve re-inventing the wheel I’ll give it a miss.

It’s not really reinventing the wheel.

As background, most major email providers and spam detection systems flag residential dynamic IP ranges. Historically, people’s home computers get hijacked and were/are used to send spam. If you host a server at home, you either need to pay for a static, business IP, or use a sensible relay host such as that provided by your ISP to get around that stigma. This is easy to configure in postfix and is both normal and common.

Anyway, glad you found a solution that works for you.