Apple Mail VPN/No VPN issue

NovaScotian · 08-10-2012, 01:04 PM

Apple Mail requires a different setup for its accounts (i.e., SSL and different ports) when connecting through a VPN (in this case Hotspot Shield) for exactly the same addresses. I got those from my ISP, but since I don't always have the VPN running, I'm wondering if there's a way to switch easily rather than going to Mail Preferences and fiddling with two accounts.

leamanc · 08-10-2012, 02:23 PM

Honestly, I do not think this is an Apple Mail problem at all. I think it is how your ISP operates its mail servers. They will let you connect insecurely (and maybe even send mail via SMTP without authenticating) as long as you are "on their network", i.e., have an IP address that is in their range. When you connect to the VPN and get a different IP, they require more strict credentials.

This is how my ISP operates. I don't use their mail, though. All the mail accounts I have operate the same with or without VPN, and I don't have to change anything when connecting.

If my above theory is right, then I would guess that the SSL-based setup would work no matter if you were on the ISP's network or not, which should allow you to maintain just the one account.

NovaScotian · 08-10-2012, 04:42 PM

Good thought -- hadn't occurred to me that the SSL setup always has to work since they don't know where you are then.

08-10-2012, 01:04 PM	#1
NovaScotian Hall of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Halifax, Canada Posts: 4,945	Apple Mail VPN/No VPN issue Apple Mail requires a different setup for its accounts (i.e., SSL and different ports) when connecting through a VPN (in this case Hotspot Shield) for exactly the same addresses. I got those from my ISP, but since I don't always have the VPN running, I'm wondering if there's a way to switch easily rather than going to Mail Preferences and fiddling with two accounts. __________________ 17" MBP, OS X 10.8.3; 27" iMac, OS X 10.8.3

08-10-2012, 04:42 PM	#3
NovaScotian Hall of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Halifax, Canada Posts: 4,945	Good thought -- hadn't occurred to me that the SSL setup always has to work since they don't know where you are then. __________________ 17" MBP, OS X 10.8.3; 27" iMac, OS X 10.8.3

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08-10-2012, 02:23 PM	#2
leamanc Triple-A Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 157	Honestly, I do not think this is an Apple Mail problem at all. I think it is how your ISP operates its mail servers. They will let you connect insecurely (and maybe even send mail via SMTP without authenticating) as long as you are "on their network", i.e., have an IP address that is in their range. When you connect to the VPN and get a different IP, they require more strict credentials. This is how my ISP operates. I don't use their mail, though. All the mail accounts I have operate the same with or without VPN, and I don't have to change anything when connecting. If my above theory is right, then I would guess that the SSL-based setup would work no matter if you were on the ISP's network or not, which should allow you to maintain just the one account.