Email relay

We emailed you recently regarding you potentially using Vodafone.ie relay system. We are now starting to switch off the server that is used to send outgoing emails to their destination. This server was introduced when Vodafone email addresses were offered to customers (addresses like myname@vodafone.ie). We retired the Vodafone email service in 2014 and are now completing the removal of the outgoing email server.

If you use one of the popular email services like Gmail or iCloud then you most likely are not impacted.

However, if you are a Vodafone customer, who uses an older email address (like eircom.net), and you use an email application like Microsoft Outlook on your PC, laptop, tablet or phone then you are most likely impacted. You will not be able to send email messages until you make the changes described in the guide below.

To check if you are impacted, check what your outgoing mail server is set to. If it is mail.vodafone.ie, you will have to change it.

If you use an Exchange server to send emails, you will not be impacted.

In order to ensure no disruption to your email service, please take a look at our guide which will show you what steps you need to take.

This guide is designed to help you change the settings in your email application that control the way in which your email is sent (your outgoing email) so that you can continue to send email as before.

It is important to note that if you cannot follow these instructions, or if you cannot send emails after following the instructions, you can still send email through the webmail version of your email, e.g. if your email is eircom.net or eir.ie, simply go to the eir.ie website, sign in to your webmail and continue to send emails.

An inbound mail relay receives emails addressed to your domain and redirects them to your main mail server. It filters any emails containing spam or viruses. 

An outbound mail relay receives emails addressed to external addresses from your main mail server and sends them to the appropriate mail servers. It also filters any emails containing spam or viruses. 

As Vodafone no longer supply the vodafone.ie email service, the relay service will no longer be available from November 12th 2018. 

If you have not changed your settings to an external mail relay provider by November 12th 2018 you will not be able to send or receive emails. 

Most users will have a new email provider. Your new provider will offer a mail relay service. If not, there are many services available for you to choose from, at your discretion 

Users will be notified either by email or text message about the vodafone.ie email relay closure in the week commencing November 12 2018. 

No, you will not be able to retrieve any lost emails if you do not have an active relay system in place 

This will vary based on the provider. Here are some examples: 

Gmail 

How to change:  https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/free-smtp-server/

Yahoo 

How to change:  https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN4724.html?guccounter=1

Apple Mail 

How to change: https://support.apple.com/en-ie/guide/mail/outgoing-server-settings-cpmlprefsmtpserver/mac

How to check:  https://support.apple.com/en-ie/guide/mail/verify-an-accounts-outgoing-mail-server-mlhlp1106/mac

Outlook 

How to change: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-or-update-email-account-settings-in-outlook-for-windows-560a9065-3c3a-4ec5-a24f-cdb9a8d622a2

How to check: https://www.sanebox.com/help/294-outlook-2013-how-do-i-find-my-server-settings

Outlook Express

How to Change: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2419526/setting-up-mail-servers-in-outlook-express