How to Install MySendMail and Configure It as Your Outgoing SMTP Server

Updated

MySendMail is a universal outgoing email server: you authenticate with a login and password, and it lets you send mail from any internet connection without changing your SMTP settings each time you move between home, work, a hotel, or another country. To "install" it, you don't install software on a server — you create a MySendMail account, then enter its SMTP credentials into whatever email client or device you send from. This guide covers the setup steps, what to verify, and the failures people hit most often.

What MySendMail actually solves

Your Internet Service Provider assigns you an SMTP server that only works while you're connected through that provider. That restriction is a deliberate anti-spam measure. The practical result: when you're on a different network, your outgoing mail stops working.

MySendMail replaces that provider-bound server with one you can reach from every connection, using the same login and password. The site describes it as a time-saving solution for sending email from a laptop, PDA, desktop, or smartphone from anywhere in the world.

Before you start

Gather these first, because you'll need them in one sitting:

  • A MySendMail account. The site's sign-up path is labeled "Sign up Free." Create the account or sign in before touching any device settings — the SMTP login credentials come from that account.
  • Your SMTP login and password. These are the credentials MySendMail issues for outgoing mail. They are not necessarily the same as your everyday email password, so confirm which one the account gives you.
  • The SMTP hostname and port for MySendMail's outgoing server, plus the encryption option it expects. Use the values MySendMail provides in your account rather than guessing — server names and ports change, and a wrong port is the single most common reason setup fails.
  • Access to your email client's account settings (the outgoing/SMTP server section, usually separate from the incoming mail section).

Step-by-step: configure MySendMail as your outgoing server

The exact menu names differ between Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Gmail's "Send mail as," and phone mail apps, but the fields are the same everywhere.

  1. Open your email client's account settings and find the outgoing mail server (SMTP) section for the account you send from.
  2. Enter the MySendMail SMTP hostname in the server/host field.
  3. Enter the port MySendMail specifies. Ports are paired with encryption: the common convention is port 465 for SSL and port 587 for TLS/STARTTLS, but use whatever MySendMail documents for its server.
  4. Turn on authentication ("My server requires authentication" or equivalent) and enter your MySendMail login and password.
  5. Select the encryption option that matches your port (SSL/TLS or STARTTLS).
  6. Save the settings and, if your client offers it, use the built-in "test account settings" button.

Expected result: the client accepts the credentials and reports that it can connect to the outgoing server. If it can't, the error message usually names the cause — see the troubleshooting section below.

If you send "as" another address

If you want mail to appear to come from a different address than your MySendMail login, add it as an alias or "send mail as" identity in your client and route its outgoing mail through the same MySendMail SMTP server. Some providers require you to verify the alias address before it will send.

Verify it works from a different network

The whole point of MySendMail is portability, so a test on your home Wi-Fi proves very little. To confirm the setup:

  1. Send a test message to an address you can check.
  2. Disconnect from your usual network — switch to mobile data, a hotspot, or a different Wi-Fi network.
  3. Send another test message from that connection.
  4. Confirm both messages arrive and that the second one shows no relay or authentication error.

If the second message sends cleanly, your universal SMTP setup is working as intended.

Common install failures and what to check

Symptom Likely cause What to check
"Authentication failed" or rejected login Wrong username/password, or authentication left off Re-enter the MySendMail credentials exactly; confirm "requires authentication" is enabled
Connection times out Wrong port or wrong encryption pairing Match the port to the encryption option MySendMail specifies
Sends at home, fails elsewhere Client is still using the ISP's SMTP server Confirm the outgoing server is set to MySendMail, not your provider's
Mail sends but lands in spam Sender address not verified, or alias mismatch Verify the sending address/alias in your client or account
Blocked outgoing mail on a corporate or hotel network Network blocks outbound SMTP ports Try the alternate port MySendMail supports, or use a network that permits SMTP

Deciding whether this fits your situation

MySendMail is a reasonable choice if you regularly send from more than one location and your provider's SMTP server keeps failing you. It's less necessary if you only ever send from a single network, since your ISP's server already works there.

Two things to confirm on your own before committing, because the site's public page doesn't state them: the current pricing for the account you need, and the exact SMTP hostname, port, and encryption values for your account. Get both from MySendMail directly when you sign up, then run the cross-network test above — that test, not the setup screen, is what tells you the install actually succeeded.