[ddingbat]

Perhaps (probably!) there is something I have not grasped!

I am retrieving mail from my ISP account...... and then sending replies

The inbound mail server has to be my ISP one, and that is constant whatever network I am on.

• If I am connected via my mobile phone provider, I need the outbound mail server to the theirs (Orange in my case).
• If I am connected via mu home WLAN, I need the outbound server to be my ISP's 
• If I am in some alien WLAN (say in a hotel/cafe etc) I typically use the GMAIL outbound mail server

How can I set this up without creating multiple mail boxes with the same inbound, but different outbound servers OR - having to change the setting depending on where I am and what I am doing?

Thanks for any help

(and yes, my  N97 is proving frustrating in lots of ways!)

[grschinon]

You're working under the false assumption that you need to change your outbound mail server.

You can use gmail's server for everything. It uses SMTP AUTH and therefore doesn't care where you're connecting from as long as you supply the correct credentials.

There is no way to change the SMTP server details automatically depening on how your phone is connected. You can do so manually, though:

Menu > Messaging

Options > Settings

Email > Mailboxes > {your mailbox} > Connection settings > Outgoing e-mail

[ddingbat]

Thanks for that suggestion, I realise I could set things up that way, but I try to avoid gmail as much as I can, keeping it only for "last resort" situations. It seems a pity that the email application was not designed a little more elegantly so that it chose outbound server based on the connection. Ho hum - as I am finding out, much of the N97 is not very elegantly desinged!

[grschinon]

OK. What about your ISP? Do they support (but not necessarily require) SMTP AUTH? You could use them all the time if so.

FWIW I've never seen a phone that changed its mail configuration automatically according to the access point used for internet connectivity.

Message Edited by grschinon on 14-Sep-2009 01:31 PM

[ddingbat]

Sadly, my ISP does not support this - I've had this conversation with them several times. Frustrating!

[jtwoodfield]

This is a perenial problem but basically it would seem that there are two problems which need to be dealt with:

(1) The default SMTP port - which the ISP in use will monitor and then reject if it is not its own server

(2) Authentication - which seems to revolve around the outgoing server used being the same as the incoming one.

If you deal with these then you should be able to use any ISP to which you are connected. I have done it with both BT Internet and Hotmail/Live Mail/MSN Mail.

I give an example of the setting for the latter. Note how the two issues above are dealt with:-

Find below the Hotmail POP3 and SMTP Settings information, to configure your preferred e-mail client:

• POP server: pop3.live.com (Port 995)
• POP SSL required? Yes
• User name: Your Windows Live ID, for example yourname@hotmail.com
• Password: The password you usually use to sign in to Hotmail or Windows Live
• SMTP server: smtp.live.com (Port 25) {Note: If port 25 has been blocked in your network or by your ISP, you can set SMTP port to 587 with TLS or SSL Encryption depending on the client in use}
• Authentication required? Yes (this matches your POP username and password)
• TLS/SSL required? Yes

As mentioned above, make sure to check the box that indicates that your outgoing server requires authentication as in most e-mail clients, this is not checked by default. Also, Hotmail POP3 service requires that you use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) with the POP and SMTP connection and use SMTP authentication. This is to ensure that your e-mail address and password are not subject to tampering.

One need not configure anything on their Hotmail accounts to migrate them to free POP service. They only need to configure their mail client for Hotmail POP3 and SMTP settings."

These settings certainly will work in Outlook and I will try them on the N97. In return, if anyone knows how to go to the MANUAL email mailbox set up on an N97 (as used to be the case with the N95 and N96) then please let me know. It is infuriating to have to download the settings program and then delete it as it hogs the limited C: drive.