Remove the restriction of SMTP port from Linode server

Introduction

If you’re reading this article then I assume that your Website or Server is hosted on Linode (or any other) and you’re facing issues with the restriction of SMTP ports. No need to worry, in this article we are going to solve this error but first, let’s learn some basics about Linode, SMTP ports, why Linode restricted SMTP ports on their server, and how to remove the restriction from your server.

My website is hosted on Linode’s server and while setting up my server I saw this flashing message “SMTP ports may be restricted on this Linode” but at that time I ignored that message because I don’t want to host a mail server on my Linode.

I’m still using free Gmail SMTP for my website, then after setting up everything I send a test email, and of course, it failed because incoming and outbound email ports are blocked by Linode.

After that, I tested my Gmail on another email testing site, and there it worked, now I remembered that flashing message, then I removed the restriction of SMTP ports for my server and after a few hours, everything was working fine.

Now let’s get into this article.

What is Linode?

After a brief introduction let’s talk about “What is Linode“. Every website on the internet needs a server same as every house needs land. There are many types of servers like Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Dedicated Servers, Cloud hosting, Storage, Email server, and Shared Hosting, So the requirement is a server with DNS management and Linode provides it for a monthly or yearly fee.

There are many web server providers in the market but personally, I feel that Linode is one of the best web hosting providers in the market, for my own website I use Linode’s cheapest VPS and Cloudflare for DNS management of my domain. Linode doesn’t only offer good quality web server hosting, but they also have an additional storage volume for future service needs.

I have many years of experience with hosting provider companies and I ensure you that Linode has one of the best Customer support teams with an active community of developers.

After learning about Linode we will talk about ‘What is SMTP Ports’ and why it is the backbone of any website which has membership signups, after that, we are going to find out why Linode restricted SMTP ports on their server and how to remove the restriction from your Linode’s server.

Let’s get deep into this article and find out what are these SMTP Ports.

What are SMTP Ports?

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is for sending and receiving emails, Yes just like your Gmail or Outlook and other emailing services. SMTP is for receiving and sending emails and ports are for providing this feature to SMTP, think like that Ships are SMTP, and SMTP Ports are the same as Seaports, there are many types of SMTP ports, 2525, 587, 465, and 25.

There are many Email service providers in the market where you can buy your own personalized email for your website like “[email protected]” and for integrating this email on your server you have to use SMTP Ports on your server as we know there are mainly 4 types of ports.

Keep in mind that there are some old and some modern ports, 587 and 2525 are considered modern ports for SMTP.

I personally use Google’s Gmail Email service for my website free of cost (Thanks to Google), but it’s not necessary to use any email service provider for free or paid, you can create your own email server on Linode’s server in much more cheaper price than purchasing any from the market, but the problem is SMTP ports are blocked on Linode’s server so it’s not possible to host own email service.

No worries, now we are going to learn why Linode restricted email service on their servers and how to remove the restrictions from your server.

So now, let’s get deeper into this.

Why Linode restricted  SMTP Ports?

After learning about SMTP and Email servers, we are going to talk about why Linode restricted this very important feature for us. The answer is very simple, the reason is spamming.

Did you ever notice the spam folder of your email? Probably yes, so you and me, or even everyone know that spamming is a huge issue in email services and there are many misuses of it, in simple words spamming is the reason why Linode restricted SMTP Ports on their servers.

Linode is one of the first Web server providers in the market that restricted email ports on their servers, so we can say that Linode is very much active in the community and what issues their customers are facing.

Now let’s talk about my personal experience on Linode regarding emails. I wasted my whole day fixing emails but then I saw Linode’s message that SMTP Ports are restricted and then after a few hours I successfully removed the restriction, and now after everything we are going to talk about how I removed the restriction and what are the steps that are included in it, But first get ready your server and confirm that do you even need to use personalized email services for your website or not.

After everything, let’s find out how to remove the SMTP restriction.

How to remove the restriction from your server?

Now we are on the main topic of removing the restriction of SMTP Ports from your Linode’s Server. We all know how frustrating it will be if you worked so long setting up your email and then suddenly you see this flashing message on your Linode’s dashboard.

The steps for removing the restriction of SMTP ports from your Linode’s server include:

1. Navigate to Linode’s Dashboard: The first step is to navigate to your Linode’s dashboard and create your server if you already have your server then you’re ready to follow the next step.

2. Navigate to the Support portal: After navigating to the dashboard, now click on your server and click on that flashing message to open the support portal.

3. Create a Ticket for SMTP Restriction Removal on your Server: After navigating to Linode customer support, now opening a new ticket is our 3rd step to remove the restriction. Okay so after that, fill out the form with the Title, Regarding, and Description.

• Title – SMTP Restriction Removal on (Your Server Name)
• What is this regarding – Linodes
• Description – This will be your own words on why you want Email services on your Linode server and what is your motive to do with it, just keep it simple and straightforward.

4. Reply from Linode Expert: So after opening a ticket, you will get a reply from the Linode expert in a few hours, regarding your SMTP restriction removal ticket. You have to reply to that with all the information they asked for.

Details you have to reply with include:

• Your name
• Your Business or Company name
• Description of your email use case and how you will avoid spamming
• Your Domain
• Your public information (Twitter, Github, or Facebook)

5. Confirmation of Lifting SMTP Restriction for your Linode Server: After submitting a reply with all the details, you will receive another reply from the Linode expert, regarding confirmation of lifting SMTP restrictions from your Linode server.

Conclusion

So here we are in conclusion after the introduction and learning about, What is  Linode, What are SMTP ports, Why Linode restricted SMTP ports, and after that finally, How to remove the restriction from your server.

Now let’s talk about the summary of this article, as I already told you in the introduction I wasted my whole day fixing emails, and after that, I decided to write an article about it because I know that I’m not the only one who faced this issue. Linode is a very cost-effective and easy-to-use web server provider but recently the restricted SMTP ports and we all know that it’s very important to counter spamming.

Email services are not necessary for all of us, it’s for websites that provide the feature of signups and newsletters, so if your site doesn’t have a newsletter or memberships plan then I personally recommend you don’t use it. Because hosting an email server is a very heavy task for your server if you don’t have a powerful one.

Lifting SMTP restriction from your server also enables you to integrate free Gmail SMTP services on your server but there are also paid email services.

QNA