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Pre-Requisites
Please make sure that you have a reliable internet connection before trying to progress through this section. Without a reliable, working internet connection you will not be able to pickup your email! Many problems we see stem from trying to setup an Iridium connection AND our email software at the same time - and when it doesn't work you have twice as many problems to figure out!
It doesn't matter how you connect to the internet, but before you go any further verify that you can connect to the internet reliably and open up a small web page without any trouble, eg:
Note: It's ok to setup the satellite / mobile phone connection before you setup your email (eg if you have no other option). However, the point is to test your email over an internet connection which you know to be working reliably before you try over your Iridium or other satellite phone connection!
We recommend that you use Outlook Express as you mail client. The reason we do this is because it is a much more basic program compared to Outlook, Thunderbird, Etc. This allows Outlook Express to deal with the Iridium Dial up connection far better than its competitors. Like most things on a modern computer the newer mail clients were designed with a Broadband connection in mind. Outlook Express is so old it was originally designed to be used with Dial up.
This is not to say that you can't use Outlook, Thunderbird, etc with the Iridium, as our software will work with everything, but if you are using and Iridium you will have a less stressful more reliable experience with Outlook Express. We will of course help our customers with ant email client, however as we have decided that Outlook Express is the best option for Windows XP it means that all out documentation is written for it and we are more geared up to supporting problems with it than other programs.
Login Details
You can change your password by logging into the webmail (see link above) and clicking "Options", then "Change Password"
Your username (email address) and password will have been emailed to you when you signed up for your account. (If you have lost them, then please contact: support@mailasail.com ) Please note that they are both CaSe SenSiTiVe:
These login details are required to access the system from both your email program and also if you are in an internet cafe and logging in via the webmail at:
Configuring Outlook Express Automatically Using teleport-mail
Note that you can run the installer more than once!
If you have previously configured Outlook Express, then the automatic setup will detect this and offer to modify/repair the settings for use with teleport-mail. This is useful if you suspect that the settings have become corrupted for any reason...
- Double click the small "red boat" icon down by the clock, and then in the dialog which appears choose "Tools | Setup Outlook Express" (or "Windows Mail" under Vista) and follow the instructions. You will be prompted to enter your MailASail email address
- That's it! Now connect to the internet and test everything thoroughly (please do more than send one quick test message!)
Testing over your home Broadband connection.
Now that it is all setup and configured we need to test this over your Broadband connection. It is best to do this first, before trying to test it over a limited connection like the Iridium or FleetBroandband, as we know this connections works.
- First test is to try and send a message to yourself. This is a good test as it test both in the incoming and outgoing servers. Create a new message and send it to your MailASail email address.
- Another good test is to try out our Weather service and request some GRIB files.
Problems / Debugging
Many problems are due to Internet connectivity issues (ie lack of). The first test you should do is to try and connect to the internet, then use a web browser (Internet Explorer / Firefox) to go to a fast, reliable web page such as http://www.google.com - once this works then, without dropping the connection, try and access your email.
If you can prove that you can access web pages, but cannot access your email then please send a request for more help to: support@mailasail.com (either use your existing email account or log into our webmail system from the front page)
Please make sure that you tell us:
- The exact text of any error messages that you can see. Whilst we agree that they often look quite cryptic they do in fact contain important information that we need in order to figure out what is wrong with your configuration.
- Also remember to include basic information like what version of Windows you are using, which email program, how you are dialing into the internet, etc.
- Be sure to have already watch our Various Video Setup Guides and worked through the teleport-mail Troubleshooting Guide!!