Sending Email from Mexico

In a bid to clamp down on email spam, Telmex and other major internet companies running WiFi spots in Mexico have shut down access to Port 25—the port most commonly used for sending email when you are using an email client like Outlook, Windows Mail, Thunderbird or Entourage.

This means that when you attempt to use your email over a public WiFi connection in Mexico, you might find that you can receive messages (which arrive on Port 110), but any messages waiting to be sent from your outbox just stay there.

If you access your email via Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, et al, using a web browser (instead of a mail program), you won’t be affected by this issue.
A lot of Internet companies across the world have ‘shut down’ Port 25 access, as most “spam” (virus) programs that secretly install themselves onto people’s computers use this port to send junk mail.

If you live in Mexico, and use Telmex’s internet service at home, you can apply to have the block on Port 25 removed by visting the company’s support pages online and completing a request form.  However, if you are just visiting Mexico and using WiFi hotspots which have Port 25 blocked, there is no work-around to this issue.

If you find you cannot send email from your email program, you have two options:

If your email account is accessible via a web-page in addition to being accessible through an email program, you may use the web-browser access to send email.  This is however inconvenient if all of your email is usually managed via your email program, with messages stored locally on your computer.

The second option is to ask the company that provides your email hosting service to open an alternative Port on the mail server so that you can send email through that, instead.  For example, instead of Port 25, it could be Port 125 (or whatever).  Then, you simply go into the advanced settings of your email program, and replace “25″ with whatever alternative number your email service provider gives you.

If you use Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, et al, and use a mail program to access your email account using these service providers, then the change of port option will not be viable, as these service providers will not open a new port for you. You’ll have to use a web browser to send your email instead.

If you travel to Mexico on business, you may want to ask your company’s IT manager about providing an alternative Port number for your use of the company email.

You can learn more about Internet, email, telephones and communications generally on the Mexperience guide to Communications in Mexico, part of our Travel Essentials section.