SMTP Servers for Selected ISPs

Note: This list was last updated July, 2002. Try what it suggests and if that doesn't work ask your ISP. And please send us a note at document@uic.edu and let us know what you find out. That will help keep the list up-to-date.

Don't forget that you now also have the choice of using the ACCC's authenticated SMTP server, mail.uic.edu. It has the advantage that it can be used on campus or off. It has the disadvantage that it's somewhat complicated to set up. See Using the mail.uic.edu Authenticated SMTP Server.

Note added 1-14-2004: Workaround for SBC Yahoo DSL so you can use Eudora with your uic.edu From: address.

If your ISP is not listed above, you will have to contact them directly. Ask specifically, What is the name of your SMTP server that I should use?.

When this article was first written, March 2000, AOL didn't provide SMTP service, so people using AOL dialins had to either use the AOL email program or WebMail when they dialed in via AOL.

As of AOL version 6.0, AOL seems to have solved this problem in a particularly ingenious way. It doesn't matter what SMTP server you have your email program set to use; while you're dialed in using AOL, all SMTP requests are answered by AOL's own SMTP server.

So people using AOL 6.0 and higer are no longer "out of luck", they're actually pretty lucky. They can set Eudora (or whatever other email program they use) up to use one of the UIC SMTP servers, such as smtpserv.cc.uic.edu, which will work while they're on campus or using an ACCC dialin line, and not change anything when they're dialing in using AOL.

We don't know whether this works in earlier versions of AOL.

Another answer, and one that you might find to be a lot easier, is to use WebMail when you're "off-campus". WebMail runs on an on-campus machine, so it will always work, not matter how you're connected to the Internet.

But note that WebMail is not compatible with using Eudora or another personal computer email program with POP; to reliably use WebMail, you must convert your email program to connect with IMAP. See Eudora Email for Macs and Windows for more information.