How to Send Email on iPad 3G if you have a 3rd Party POP Account

Question

After a nice chat with the helpful support guys at O2, it may be worth me telling everyone here who has:
1. an iPad with Wifi and 3G
2. a POP email account with another home broadband provider (as I do)
This is a long post, but it's all worthwhile stuff. As they say in the US, 'your mileage may vary' so I'm not guaranteeing this solution will work for you, but it was the only way I can get my iPad Wifi+3G to successfully send emails when at home and out and about. It ain't pretty, so let's hope it gets cleared up in OS 4 grin
Before you begin, ensure that:
1. Wifi is turned off
2. You are in range of your 3G service.
3. You have already set up your iPad to work at home using your Wifi router with your broadband provider's POP and SMTP servers.
What you must do. (Have iPad in landscape format to follow along)
1. Tap the 'Settings' App on the Home screen
2. Tap on 'Email Contacts and Calendars' option (on the left)
3. In the panel on the right, tap on your POP email account, under 'Accounts'
4. When the Account pane pops up, scroll down to 'Outgoing Mail Server'
5. Tap on the server
6. Tap 'Add Server...' under 'Other SMTP Servers' to add your carrier's SMTP server
7. When the input pane appears type the carrier's smtp server, which may look like smtp.o2.co.uk or smtp.three.co.uk or whatever...
8. tap 'Save'
9. You will have to wait while iPad tries to use SSL. Eventually iPad will ask you to connect to the server without SSL.
10. Tap 'yes' to try without SSL
11. When iPad gets back to you, tap on the carrier's server in the 'Other SMTP Servers' list. (iPad goes back to the previous screen when the server is verified)
12. A new panel will appear, showing the server settings. Leave these alone, except for turning the server to 'on'
13. Tap 'Done' (top right corner)
14. Now turn your isp's outgoing server off (tap on your primary server and tap on the 'off' on the switch on the settings panel for the server)
15. Tap 'Done' at the top right and work your way back to the main settings screen
16. Now you can test your email
17. Turn iPad off. Not just 'off' but 'OFF'. Hold sleep/wake for a few seconds and slide the switch when asked to turn iPad OFF
18. Turn iPad back on again (sorry but this OFF/on is essential)
19. Tap on the Mail app
20. Compose a test email
21. Tap 'send'
Hopefully, after a few seconds of the little whirly thing rotating next to the 3G symbol, you'll hear a 'whoosh' and your email was sent.
What you must remember to do, when switching between Wifi and 3G:
In order for Wifi email and 3G email to live in harmony with iPad, iPad needs to be switched off between using one service or the other, and you will need to ensure that only the correct SMTP server is switched on.
This is not pretty.
Unfortunately, the hopeful statement on the settings screen that indicates that iPad can use several SMTP servers, one after the other, does not work when you switch from Wifi to 3G and back. It seems that iPad Mail app suffers from hyperthymesia and gets confused very easily and has to have its hand held.
This is the only way I have managed to send emails from my POP account over Wifi and 3G on O2. Receiving email is fine with no need to turn iPad off and on.
Don't worry if you forget, and then get an odd message about 'rejected recipients'. Just switch from one SMTP server to the other and turn iPad OFF and on, then reopen the Mail app and the email should send fine.
Mark

Answer 1

Most, if not all internet service providers block the use of SMTP servers that are outside of their network or not provided by the ISP being used for your internet connection at the time unless the SMTP server is authenticated. This restriction is part of an overall effort to prevent spam emanating from the ISP's domain and when connected to a cellular internet network for internet access is no exception.
This has been in place and an issue for a long time - well before the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad were introduced that firmware update 4.0 can't do anything about.
I access two email accounts and both have an authenticated SMTP server. I've never had any problems sending with either account regardless the ISP being used for my internet connection with various wi-fi networks and when connected to AT&T's cellular network.
Most ISPs don't provide an authenticated SMTP server, but a number of other email account providers do. Apple does with a MobileMe account, and so does Google with a Gmail account to name only two.