How to request the unblocking of your mail server's IP address from Microsoft
It may happen that when you send an email to Hotmail, Outlook, Live and/or MSN, you receive a returned message indicating that your message has not been sent because the IP of your server is listed by Microsoft. This causes that your e-mails do not arrive to the addressees.
If you have a (shared) hosting located at our servers, you don't neet to worry about that, we will take care of everything. But if you have your own cloud, in this manual you will find the steps to follow to request the unblocking of your IP.
You can request the unblocking by following the steps described below:
1) Access the following link:
https://olcsupport.office.com/
2) Log in with a Hotmail or Outlook account. If you do not have one, you must create one following Microsoft's instructions.
It is important to have a Microsoft email address. The requests you make will go to this mailbox you have created. Microsoft usually gives priority to mails coming from their services.
3) Fill in the fields with the requested data:
Issue Title: You have to describe the reason for the request. In this particular case you must indicate that the server IP is listed and is not allowed to send mail. An example for this field can be:
Server IP Listed / Non-Delivery Returned Mail
Contact Name: You have to type your name, or your company name. It is recommended to indicate the same name you have defined in your SWPanel.
What domain are you sending to?: You have to open the drop-down and select the domain name of the mailboxes you are trying to send the e-mail to.
Contact e-mail address: This field cannot be modified, it is the e-mail account you are logged in to request the unblock.
Timezone: You have to open the drop-down and select your timezone. You can guide yourself by looking at the cities listed in each option.
What domain are you sending from?: You have to type the domain name of your mailbox. This information is the one after the @ in your email address.
How would you describe your company or yourself?: You have to open the dropdown and select the option that best fits your profile.
Outbound IP(s) or range(s): You have to indicate the IP of your mail server.
Is your server dedicated or shared?: If your server is for personal use, you must open the dropdown and select the "Dedicated" option. If you are a reseller and have a mail server for multiple clients, you must select the "Shared" option.
Copy and paste any error messages: You have to paste the message that Microsoft returns when you try to send mail.
Provide the URL of your website: You have to indicate what is the URL/link of your website. If you only have a mail server without a web server, enter the domain name of your mailbox. This information is the one after the @ of your email address.
4) Click the "Submit" button to submit the request.
Microsoft will provide you with a request number that will be assigned to the unlock request.
5) After a reasonable amount of time, you will receive a message with the following subject in the Hotmail or Outlook email you are signed in with:
Important information about Microsoft Support request (Request number).
Here 2 scenarios can occur:
success Nothing was detected to prevent your mail from reaching "Hotmail/Outlook/Live/MSN".com customers
Your mail server is no longer listed and you can send it normally. You do not need to follow the steps below.
danger Not qualified for mitigation
Your IP is blocked and you will need to continue with the unblocking process.
6) At this point it is necessary that you check that none of your email accounts has been violated and that no email with malicious content (spam, phishing, etc.) has been sent. It is also necessary to check that the mail server is configured correctly.
You can make use of the mail check of your SWPanel:
How to do a test of the functioning of the mail of your Hosting in SWPanel
If your email has been violated, we recommend to follow these indications:
info - Scan all the computers on which the e-mail is used with an antivirus program.
info - Do not give the password to third parties and do not use the same email password on Internet sites.
info - Assign a new password for the email, generate random passwords from SWPanel, or use a sufficiently complex one.
info - Download via FTP all the content locally and delete it completely from the server.
info - Once downloaded locally, check all the content with antivirus software, deleting the infected files.
info - Check with antivirus software all computers that upload content to the web via FTP or backend of the site itself.
info - Check the source code of the website, make sure that all the code is legitimate and there is no malware.
info - Check the permission level of each directory, avoiding full write permissions "777".
info - Update the content manager and plugins to the latest version, use reliable plugins, avoid free plugins and plugins from unknown sources.
info - Protect the forms against robots and automatic accesses implementing captcha.
info - Protect forms against malware injection by using escape functions.
info - Change all site related passwords, admin users, FTP accounts and database connection users.
7) If the previous step is correct, click on reply to the message. You have to communicate that your server is correctly configured and that you are requesting the unblocking.
Below is a sample text to guide you through the process:
Hello Microsoft,
We are experiencing technical difficulties with our mail service. We have checked the returned non-delivery message and our mail server IP [IP OF YOUR MAIL SERVER] has been flagged as a spammer.
Our technicians have checked the server configuration and the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are properly configured.
In addition, we keep track of the mail we send to avoid spam, phishing and so on.
We request the unblocking of the IP, since for us, the mail service forms an essential part of our services.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME / COMPANY]
8) After a reasonable time, you will receive a reply to the email indicating that in 24-48 h the unblocking will be effective:
We have implemented mitigation for your IP [IP OF YOUR MAIL SERVER] and this process may take 24 - 48 hours to replicate completely throughout our system.
9) Check that the unblocking has been done.
You can try to send the mail to the same initial recipient to rule out that the server is still listed.