XF 1.5 Forum emails bouncing back from Hotmail/Outlook.com (Nimbus)

[Ingenious]

All of a sudden after many years of trouble free use, all of my members with Hotmail/MSN/Outlook email addresses are bouncing back forum notification emails. It looks like Hotmail is either saying some part of my mail service is on a block list or has been determined to be "spammy". Nimbus say they have checked my server IP and it's not blacklisted anywhere (though I just realised I don't use the built in sendmail, I use a proper email account set up at Nimbus, wonder if they checked that, I'll ask).

said: 550 SC-001
    (COL004-MC5F3) Unfortunately, messages from xxx.xx.xxx.xx weren't sent.
    Please contact your Internet service provider since part of their network
    is on our block list. You can also refer your provider to
    http://mail.live.com/mail/troubleshooting.aspx#errors. (in reply to MAIL
    FROM command)

First question really is to ask if anyone else here has suddenly had an issue with Hotmail, or is it just me?

Second question is to ask for suggestions on alternative email services I might use to send out forum emails, is there anything that's more Hotmail friendly?

Anything else worth trying?

I know this happens a lot, but it's so sudden after no problems, so wondering if anyone else is affected?

 

[Paul B]

We have had many reports of servers being blacklisted by hotmail.

You will need to contact them and attempt to get your server IP address removed from the list.

 

[AndyB]

Here's a link to the Microsoft Postmaster help page:

Policies, Practices, and Guidelines

Be sure to contact them using this link:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=614866

 

[Ingenious]

Thanks guys.

 

[musictomy]

I tried googaling > Outbound IP(s) or range(s): what would they Be? so I can send the report off.

I'm getting bounce backs from anything ending .hotmail

 

[Paul B]

You're not alone.

My server is also now on their blacklist.

 

[musictomy]

Well outlook is looking good so far I had this back very quickly:

We have completed reviewing the IP(s) you submitted. The following table contains the results of our investigation.


More information needed
94.195.104.122
Our investigation has determined these IP(s) are on one of Spamhaus' block lists.

To resolve this issue you will need to contact Spamhaus. Please visit the Spamhaus Block list Removal Center to report this issue: http://www.spamhaus.org/lookup/

Once removed from the Spamhaus block list, related Outlook.com blocks will lift automatically. This change may take 24 - 48 hours to replicate completely throughout our system.

So I will go ahead and will let you all know final outcome

 

[MarkMark]

Might want to try Mandrill or some other transactional email provider.

 

[musictomy]

I going to give mandrake a trial, what e-mail address would I have to put in the To/From? at xenforo settings options

 

[Ingenious]

Might want to try Mandrill or some other transactional email provider.

I don't really understand what this is. Why would it be less likely to be blacklisted?

 

[musictomy]

I just realised that IP on my reply post
#7 is my static ip

So I am at the same stage as reported still having .hotmail bouncing it's also bizzare that it's only from .hotmail

Can anyone help on why and what I should send to the other users link here is what a typical e-mail is like, obviously I have altered some things

The original message was received at Fri, 18 Sep 2015 20:09:11 +0100
from localhost [127.0.0.1]

   ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<user@hotmail.co.uk>
    (reason: 550 SC-001 (COL004-MC6F1) Unfortunately, messages from (MY SERVER IP) weren't sent. Please contact yo...ock list. You can also refer your provider to http://mail.live.com/mail/troubleshooting.aspx#errors.)

   ----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to mx4.hotmail.com.:
>>> MAIL From:<myemail@gmail.com> SIZE=6457
<<< 550 SC-001 (COL004-MC6F1) Unfortunately, messages from (MY SERVER IP) weren't sent. Please contact your Internet service provider since part of their network is on our block list. You can also refer your provider to http://mail.live.com/mail/troubleshooting.aspx#errors.
554 5.0.0 Service unavailable

Final-Recipient: RFC822; user@hotmail.co.uk
Action: failed
Status: 5.0.0
Diagnostic-Code: SMTP; 550 SC-001 (COL004-MC6F1) Unfortunately, messages from (MY SERVER IP)  weren't sent. Please contact your Internet service provider since part of their network is on our block list. You can also refer your provider to http://mail.live.com/mail/troubleshooting.aspx#errors.
Last-Attempt-Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2015 20:09:12 +0100

 

[MarkMark]

I don't really understand what this is. Why would it be less likely to be blacklisted?

It is a transactional email service. Basically, rather than sending emails from your server to your users, you send them to Mandrill which in turn sends it to your users. The benefit is that the email comes from Mandrill's servers, and they do not tend to be blacklisted by email providers. You also have the benefit that they provide really great analytics, allowing you to better understand how people are engaging with your emails (eg. are they opening them, clicking on links etc).

There are lots of other services, but I prefer Mandrill because I like their UI, and the first 12,000 emails are free, with no need to provide credit card or payment details upfront.

It's very easy to set-up.

 

[MarkMark]

I going to give mandrake a trial, what e-mail address would I have to put in the To/From? at xenforo settings options

Just whatever you want your users to see. It doesn't make any difference to the actual sending process, as the sender detail is essentially spoofed (unless you provide domain verification).

 

[musictomy]

I like their UI, and the first 12,000 emails are free, with no need to provide credit card or payment details upfront.

I just signed up and for me it's 2,000.

Like to know where the 12,000 is!

Mark Mark. Thanks for your reply.

Back to the report, after sending a more fitting report I had this reply back from AndyB's advice link:

Conditionally mitigated
(My Server IP)
Our investigation has determined that the above IP(s) qualify for conditional mitigation. These IP(s) have been unblocked, but may be subject to low daily email limits until they have established a good reputation.

Please note that mitigating this issue does not guarantee that your email will be delivered to a user’s inbox.

Ongoing complaints from users will result in removal of the mitigation.

Mitigation may take 24 - 48 hours to replicate completely throughout our system.

If you feel your issue is not yet resolved, please reply to this email and one of our support team members will contact you for further investigation.

I gather this will finally resolve?

 

[Mouth]

Mandrill because I like their UI, and the first 12,000 emails are free

Not any more, for new sign-ups. Expect that qty to drop for existing accounts soon too, IMHO.

 

[MarkMark]

I just signed up and for me it's 2,000.

Like to know where the 12,000 is!

Mark Mark. Thanks for your reply.

How odd, it's 12k for me. Maybe they give you more once you've proved you're not a spammer.

 

[MarkMark]

Not any more, for new sign-ups. Expect that qty to drop for existing accounts soon too, IMHO.

Wow, wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Ingenious]

I gather this will finally resolve?

Keep us informed please if that fixes it.

 

[Kevin]

You're not alone.

My server is also now on their blacklist.

Is there a Hotmail specific site to check for their blacklisted servers or are you looking at your bounced email headers? Sure enough, this weekend I've gotten several messages from Hotmail users not getting emails.

 

[teletubbi]

Is there a Hotmail specific site to check for their blacklisted servers

I did not find any.

Be sure to contact them using this link:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=614866

But this helped. Got answer after one day.
My IP is not blocked anymore. (at the moment )