Please stop recommending vultr, they won't unblock port 25 anymore.

[258204]

Just had an exchange with vultr customer support. I explained I was hosting a mail server for my personal use and they said they couldn't unblock port 25 for me, and linked me to their TOS.

[LukeSmithxyz]

Show us screencaps. What else have you used Vultr for? Is there anything irregular about your account?

If they won't unblock 25 for you, you'd be the first failure among thousands.

[258204]

I set up vultr specifically for your guide on setting up a website, mailserver, and git server. That is all (though I haven't finished setting up the git server).

Edit: lol, I missed one and doxed myself. Now you can bask in the html on my domain.

[258204]

Update :

[258204]

I am the first among thousands. :(

[ghost]

Maybe we could get an updated tutorial. Epik and Vultr were good, while they lasted -- but they are no longer going to work.

On Wed, Oct 6, 2021 at 5:27 AM 258204 @.***> wrote:

I am the first among thousands. :(

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[LukeSmithxyz]

Looks like you're talking to a robot. What was in your initial ticket that made it think you were using it for commercial mail?

There is nothing in the terms of service that say they don't do email anymore. It still says they will open up 25 and others.

[258204]

This was the title of the support ticket. The body was the first message in the thread.

[258204]

Looks like you're talking to a robot. What was in your initial ticket that made it think you were using it for commercial mail?

There is nothing in the terms of service that say they don't do email anymore. It still says they will open up 25 and others.

Waiting 4-24 hours for a response makes the bot feel more realistic.

[258204]

The way I diverged from the notes, is that the first VPS I spun up was giving me errors that IVP6 wasn't properly configured, so I deleted it and started a new one.

[lyubomyrk]

I don't understand. Why can't you just use ufw?

By default ufw blocked every port (even ssh!) and I had to use the vulrt terminal window to open up everything I needed.

[LukeSmithxyz]

I might start a new dummy account with Vultr and see if they open the mail ports. They might be getting more stringent about this, but still people follow my tutorials with Vultr still daily with success. (I know because I get a number of "I just set up my email server!" emails) . It seems most likely that this is a fluke.

Have you tried starting a new account and seeing what they do then?

Due to LandChad.net, I will be expanding the VPS providers I maintain. I will say that this script, although I made it for Vultr VPSs that I'm used to, should work on most other providers since Debian installs are all going to be pretty similar.

[258204]

I guess I just got flagged for some reason. Still demonstrates that vultr doesn't really have a "customer/technical support" system.

[258204]

I don't understand. Why can't you just use ufw?

By default ufw blocked every port (even ssh!) and I had to use the vulrt terminal window to open up everything I needed.

I used ufw to enable port 25 and the rest I needed. Vultr restricted 25 on their end.

[lyubomyrk]

I don't understand. Why can't you just use ufw? By default ufw blocked every port (even ssh!) and I had to use the vulrt terminal window to open up everything I needed.

I used ufw to enable port 25 and the rest I needed. Vultr restricted 25 on their end.

ah forgive my ignorance then please

[258204]

Update, they deleted my account, removed the sign up credit from my account, charged the server time from my deposit before returning it.

ie. Instead of giving me a refund, they withdrew the promotional credit. I had to issue a charge-back.

[sjh64]

Encountering the same issue here. I'm sure my account was not flagged. I had explicitly mentioned my awareness of the Anti-spam Policy and other relevant policies. They are now saying that you must be eligible for the port being unblocked, this being tied to the age of the server.

[LukeSmithxyz]

Okay. I see. I'll have to make a list of other recommendations instead. Is there any indication on how long this wait period is for new accounts?

[sjh64]

Okay. I see. I'll have to make a list of other recommendations instead. Is there any indication on how long this wait period is for new accounts?

No indication. However, it seems that if you emphasise that continued use of Vultr's services is contingent on the port being unblocked in a timely manner, a customer service representative may intervene and grant the request - see attached. Others' mileage may vary.

[258204]

Okay. I see. I'll have to make a list of other recommendations instead. Is there any indication on how long this wait period is for new accounts?

No indication. However, it seems that if you emphasise that continued use of Vultr's services is contingent on the port being unblocked in a timely manner, a customer service representative may intervene and grant the request - see attached. Others' mileage may vary.

Regardless of whether they may be capricious about blocking the port, a >24 hour turnaround for an issue like this is absurd for a cloud service provider.

[258204]

I might start a new dummy account with Vultr and see if they open the mail ports. They might be getting more stringent about this, but still people follow my tutorials with Vultr still daily with success. (I know because I get a number of "I just set up my email server!" emails) . It seems most likely that this is a fluke.

Have you tried starting a new account and seeing what they do then?

Due to LandChad.net, I will be expanding the VPS providers I maintain. I will say that this script, although I made it for Vultr VPSs that I'm used to, should work on most other providers since Debian installs are all going to be pretty similar.

I highly recommend ssdnodes, they are adamant about not blocking ports, and their pricing model is ideal for hosting a small website long term, though they don't have a free trial. The script works on their Debian image.

[javiDev8]

I'm having, the same issue, and even if vultr unblock the port, I think it will be a pain in the future if I setup more mail servers on more VPS's because the time it takes to be checked out by humans and bla bla bla... so, as far, the best option I've found is hostinger, the cheapest VPS costs $3.5 and doesn't block ports, I asked direct to support.

[ghost]

I have to confirm this for vultr since I have a similar issue. I have made 3 tickets and waited over 48 hours and still no major response. I am still getting automated comments with no major sign of forwarding it to the accounts department. Moreover the customer service is horrible I dont get a reply after 24 hours. I might think of dumping the vps idea and just use my home computer for hosting.

[jrejaud]

I set up vultr specifically for your guide on setting up a website, mailserver, and git server. That is all (though I haven't finished setting up the git server).

Edit: lol, I missed one and doxed myself. Now you can bask in the html on my domain.

They also asked me these questions (name/ org, use case, volume)

I told them what my "legitimate business which is not personal email" does and our "use case which is totally not me sending out personal emails" and like < 100 emails/mo for the vol and they opened the ports rather quickly, less than 12 hours I think. (If these vultures are reading this, in my case it was actually for an actual business mail, do not ban me).

Worst case, just make a basic HTML page with your "business" so that they can open the ports.

[ghost]

Well vultr said they would unblock it but only after a month of use of the vps (not just having an account).

[jrejaud]

I was using Vultr for ~ 6 months before I decided to use a mailbox server, maybe that's why they let me slip. Regardless, this is pretty terrible customer service. Cheers,Jordan Réjaud

On Mon, Dec 13, 2021 at 7:41 AM MeliodasZoom @.***> wrote:

Well vultr said they would unblock it but only after a month of use of the vps (not just having an account).

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS or Android.

[258204]

I set up vultr specifically for your guide on setting up a website, mailserver, and git server. That is all (though I haven't finished setting up the git server). Edit: lol, I missed one and doxed myself. Now you can bask in the html on my domain.

They also asked me these questions (name/ org, use case, volume)

I told them what my "legitimate business which is not personal email" does and our "use case which is totally not me sending out personal emails" and like < 100 emails/mo for the vol and they opened the ports rather quickly, less than 12 hours I think. (If these vultures are reading this, in my case it was actually for an actual business mail, do not ban me).

Worst case, just make a basic HTML page with your "business" so that they can open the ports.

I don't understand why you would make up stories to do business with people who will take 12 hours to do what literally any competitor would do in 5 minutes.

[ghost]

Well sadly I really dont think there are any

I set up vultr specifically for your guide on setting up a website, mailserver, and git server. That is all (though I haven't finished setting up the git server). Edit: lol, I missed one and doxed myself. Now you can bask in the html on my domain.

They also asked me these questions (name/ org, use case, volume) I told them what my "legitimate business which is not personal email" does and our "use case which is totally not me sending out personal emails" and like < 100 emails/mo for the vol and they opened the ports rather quickly, less than 12 hours I think. (If these vultures are reading this, in my case it was actually for an actual business mail, do not ban me). Worst case, just make a basic HTML page with your "business" so that they can open the ports.

I don't understand why you would make up stories to do business with people who will take 12 hours to do what literally any competitor would do in 5 minutes.

well does anyone have any other recommendations? I am thinking of changing from vultr as it took me 4 days to get the reply "wait for one month" which is honestly horrible by any standards.

[258204]

@MeliodasZoom ssdnodes

[ghost]

@258204 thanks will look into it.

[258204]

Waiting a month isn't too uncommon, not sure if AWS does it, but I know digital ocean does it. I will say that AWS, digital ocean, linode, etc. will all give you vastly better customer service.

[adrientremblay]

My account is over a month old I believe. I was having issues with incoming mail, so I created a ticket to unblock port 25. Apparently It was already unblocked on my server for some reason? hmm... The actual problem was I forgot to unblock port 25 on ufw.

The actual reply was very quick, took them 10 minutes to reply. Not sure this issue title is accurate, given they do seem fully willing to unblock the port (given the age of you account is over a month old perhaps)

[NebulaBC]

I don’t understand why people are using hosts like linode or vultr in the first place. Just use something like Oracle cloud, AWS or Azure. You control the ports yourself, and can open whatever. Oracle has dirt cheap and even free ARM vps’, and if you don’t like the oci crap installed by default, you can use a custom image like Debian.

[LukeSmithxyz]

Closing this. I will add a small list of VPS to use, but to be clear (possibly because of this script), Vultr is more wary of opening ports for accounts with less than a month of history.

I will also say, do not host a VPS with Amazon or Microsoft or Oracle. I will assume that was a satirical comment.

[vvcares]

No VULTR. Im also having issue with them in the past 1 month, end up they denied to open port. Just used 1st linux VPS. No any bad history with them for my account. But simply they seems dont allow any hosting services mainly for emailing.. Not meant for email marketing..

Simply can say NO TO 'Vultr' Linode is doing much better in this case..

[dappconsulting]

Unless I'm missing something completely here, in which case I apologize in advance, because I'm noway an expert in any of this at all whatsoever, so forgive me if I'm ignorant.

However, my answer/solution to all of the above woes/problems is as follows:

never use port 25. I'm not even going to explain why. Use port 587, and if you cant(you should be able to MOST of the time), then use port 2525, and if both these ports are not available to you, which would be an almost impossible scenario, then use port 465. And if it's the end of the world and none of these 3 ports are available to you, you might as well then resort to using port 25. Oh wait, it's blocked...

But yea, the above should solve your issues in this thread. If I'm wrong, please forgive my ignorance.

cheers Jerome

[vvcares]

VULTR VPS Linux/ I just installed simple HESTIACP with 1st domain , just to trial purpose. The email sending is blocked by 25 outgoing. They denied to open port. The root emails all are always using port 25, not 587. Even i tried many google search and set to port 587, still no luck. Seems port25 is must for root emails sending to sys admin.

[Francesco149]

I personally had no problem getting vultr to unblock port 25 (had to wait like 12h though), but I guess they have some criteria for new accounts that charge very little credit because they are likely to abuse it for spam or something.

my reasoning was "personal email server, low volume, sending emails to friends and family". I didn't have a landing page but I did have my email server set up and running, the default nginx landing page and a rainloop instance on a subdomain.

they have a dedicated support form to request smtp port unblock

either way, I would probably not recommend gambling on this provider if you're specifically trying to host an e-mail server

EDIT: it's also possible that my account being months old (unused, didn't charge any credit until today) could have played a role

[Bernard-Murphy]

Where can I find an updated list or does anyone have any recommendations?

[diepes]

I tried DigitalOcean not port 25 outbound allowed and no option to open it.

Moved to Vulter.com and they do have a process to request opening port 25.

[vvcares]

I tried DigitalOcean not port 25 outbound allowed and no option to open it.

Moved to Vulter.com and they do have a process to request opening port 25.

Even my website was worked well with DOcean. Gaushan Roofing Contractor Singapore DigitalOcean never block port 25. Im using it since 2013. Past 9 years of use, i installed about 50 over Linux hosting servers with them (I did this count for my trial/error projects) with HestiaCP. But the problem is, most of the DO's IPs are blacklisted for emailing. But port 25 still works well.

[jetblack0]

Unless I'm missing something completely here, in which case I apologize in advance, because I'm noway an expert in any of this at all whatsoever, so forgive me if I'm ignorant.

However, my answer/solution to all of the above woes/problems is as follows:

never use port 25. I'm not even going to explain why.

Use port 587, and if you cant(you should be able to MOST of the time), then use port 2525, and if both these ports are not available to you, which would be an almost impossible scenario, then use port 465.

And if it's the end of the world and none of these 3 ports are available to you, you might as well then resort to using port 25. Oh wait, it's blocked...

But yea, the above should solve your issues in this thread.

If I'm wrong, please forgive my ignorance.

cheers

Jerome

If I understand this correctly, two servers need to perform SMTP handshake to do authentication and decide which encryption algorithm to use before establishing TLS connection. In other words, your email server won't work without TCP port 25 open. You can easily see this yourself buy using a packet sniffer like Wireshark. It seems like most VPSs only block 25 outbound port so you can still receive emails but not send them, you can still use some kind of mail delay techniques to get around with this issue.

[diepes]

I tried DigitalOcean not port 25 outbound allowed and no option to open it. Moved to Vulter.com and they do have a process to request opening port 25.

Even my website was worked well with DOcean. Gaushan Roofing Contractor Singapore DigitalOcean never block port 25. Im using it since 2013. Past 9 years of use, i installed about 50 over Linux hosting servers with them (I did this count for my trial/error projects) with HestiaCP. But the problem is, most of the DO's IPs are blacklisted for emailing. But port 25 still works well.

Once you have a fixed IP, with dns and reverse dns setup, you can remove it(the ip) from blacklist sites. You just have to show that you're the owner takes a day or two.