550 Connection Rejected – SMTP error from remote mail server

I am wondering if this has to do with the MX record.. There is only one MX record – Priority – 0 Host Record @ points to gmsy.org TTL 4 hours

Looking on some forums it looks like other people using EIG Hosts like HostGator run into this same thing with “cloudfilter.net”. on this thread they say to make the SPF record txt record to be:

v=spf1 include:websitewelcome.com ~all

To include CloudFilter? Does this have something to do with it?

Hi there @willbode,

When the test email tries to send, since it comes back successful, it’s essentially saying that there were no issues connecting to the SMTP host.

However, according to the error message, it looks like the issue has to do with IP blacklisting:

https://check.spamhaus.org/listed/?searchterm=67.20.76.217

The IP the site is sending from (presumably the HostMonster hosting server) has been blacklisted by at least one blacklist. It may be on others, which would only make the issue more complicated. HostMonster would need to clear this up, and until that happens, emails will be affected. By that, I mean all emails sent from the server, including any they send with applications like Outlook or Thunderbird if using the hosted email address.

What I would suggest in this situation is to have HostMonster check into the blacklisting so that can be sorted out. You can also ask them what the SPF record for that server should be (it may be different depending on the server).

However, it’s also a good idea to set up one of the other transactional mailer services (Brevo, for instance). This way emails from the site can continue to be delivered while the IP blacklisting is handled. Sometimes it can take days, weeks, or longer to get an IP cleared up, so diverting email through another mailer will at least get that up and running.

Also, just to clarify, the MX record is for incoming email. It tells email where to go when it hits the domain. You may only have one MX server listed, but it won’t affect emails the site is sending.

I hope that helps! Have a great day!

Thanks David @dpinson

I was on the phone along time with the Customer Support. They tried giving me the runaround again saying it was the plugin. Once I got them to admit that it is their IP that is being blocked they said it because of Malware on my site and it isn’t their problem, but I could hire a technician to remove the malware. I have heard of malware scams from these hosts so I hung up at this point, as it wasn’t getting anywhere.

I ran a deep scan with Wordfence which came back clean. Before I had asked for a supervisor or to escalate to the next tier and they wouldn’t do it. I see there are many sites on one IP couldn’t it be that one of these other sites got this IP blacklisted? The only other thing I could think of is that failed logins could cause it, Wordfence (or my password) does seem to block a lot of login attempts.

Since they aren’t willing to help me fix the IP do you think I could get The Spamhaus Exploits Block List (XBL) to remove the blacklisting? I am looking into your other solution transactional mailer services (which I know nothing about) because my client had just signed up for 3 more years with them ?? Thanks again for you response, what a mess.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Will Bode.

Hi there @willbode,

That’s an unfortunate situation. You mentioned that the IP is on a shared server. If you don’t have a static IP (one assigned only to you), then the blacklisting could have been caused by anyone on the server. And the failed logins likely wouldn’t have triggered the blacklisting.

You might be able to get the IP removed, but that’s typically something the IP owner (the host) would need to do. If you switch the mailer over to a transactional provider like Brevo, that will offload all email sending to their IP instead and should get you around the problem.

I hope that helps! And good luck! ??

I went back to the link that the bounced Email sent me to on SpamHaus.org and even though it says right there in the text that only an Internet Service Provider can get a blacklisted IP removed, there is a drop-down “show details” then you click a checkbox and click next step and there is a little form you fill out, just name email and what you did to remedy the malware problem, and hit send.

You verify your email after and either someone saw mine submission right away or it is automated because it was immediately removed from the blacklist and now the mail is working again..

I am baffled. I am unsure about if it is a shared or static IP. I did a reverse search for the blacklisted IP and it showed a bunch of other websites so I assume it is on a shared server. I hope this holds up because the host seems unwilling to work towards a solution. Thanks again for your response and help with this David!

Hi @willbode,

You’re welcome, happy to help! And that sounds like it’s a shared IP on the shared server. I’m glad to hear SpamHaus let you remove the blacklisting. Being a shared IP, it’s probably going to end up there again or on additional lists. Switching to a provider like Brevo will likely be the better move in the long run.

I hope that helps! Have a great day!