Telstra SMTP Settings
Telstra's Australian home email, on bigpond.com, bigpond.net.au and telstra.com addresses.
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Outgoing mail (SMTP)
SMTP server
smtp.telstra.com
Port. STARTTLS
587
Port. SSL/TLS
465
Security
SSL/TLS on 465 (recommended) or STARTTLS on 587.
Incoming mail (IMAP)
IMAP server
imap.telstra.com
Port. SSL/TLS
993
Incoming mail (POP3)
POP3 server
pop.telstra.com
Port. SSL/TLS
995
Sending limits & login
Daily send limit
Per-account daily caps apply.
Authentication
Your username is the full address (@bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.com) and outgoing authentication must be switched on.
App password
No app password. Use your Telstra Mail password; reset it in My Telstra if sign-in fails.
Covers Telstra Mail and legacy BigPond addresses on the same servers.
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Telstra SMTP, IMAP and POP3 settings
Telstra Mail is the Australian carrier's home email, covering the old BigPond addresses at bigpond.com and bigpond.net.au as well as telstra.com. Telstra stopped handing it out to new broadband customers back in September 2020, so the accounts in use today are all long-standing ones. Leave a mailbox untouched for 180 days and Telstra can cancel and permanently delete it without warning.
For incoming mail, use the IMAP server imap.telstra.com on port 993, or POP3 at pop.telstra.com on port 995. Pick the exact values from the tool above and copy them straight into your mail client.
Checked against Telstra's own documentation: telstra.com.au. Ports and limits change, so check there too if something will not connect.
Telstra settings at a glance
One card with every server and port on it. Right click to save it, or share the page and this is the preview people see.
What to enter as your Telstra username and password
Wrong credentials, not a wrong port, are the usual reason a Telstra connection fails. These are the exact values to type.
Your full Telstra email address, ending in @bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.com
Your Telstra email account password, which is case sensitive
How to set up Telstra in a mail client
The exact path through Telstra's own settings, in order.
- 1
Check the mailbox is still active
Sign in at https://email.telstra.com. Telstra suspends mailboxes that go 180 days without a sign-in, and reactivating one takes about 30 minutes.
- 2
Add the account as IMAP
Incoming server imap.telstra.com on port 993 with SSL. Telstra recommends IMAP over POP so folders stay in sync across devices.
- 3
Set the outgoing server
smtp.telstra.com on port 465 with SSL/TLS, which Telstra recommends, or port 587 with STARTTLS. SMTP authentication has to be on.
- 4
Enter the full address and the email password
Username is the whole address ending in @bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.com. The password is case sensitive.
- 5
If moving from POP, rescue your folders first
Telstra warns that switching an account from POP to IMAP loses the POP folder setup and any mail held only on that device. Sign in to webmail and recreate the folders before you switch.
What Telstra looks like filled in
Every mail client asks for the same handful of fields. Here they are with Telstra's values already in place.
Account settings: Telstra
Server
smtp.telstra.comPort
465Encryption
SSL/TLSAuthentication
RequiredUsername
Your full Telstra email address, ending in @bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.comPassword
Your Telstra email account password, which is case sensitiveServer
imap.telstra.comPort
993Encryption
SSL/TLSAn illustration of the fields, not a screenshot of any one app. Field names differ slightly between Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird; the values do not.
Telstra SMTP settings in Thunderbird
The outgoing server dialog with Telstra's details entered. Outlook and Apple Mail ask for the same four things under slightly different names.
Which port should you use for Telstra?
SSL/TLS on 465 (recommended) or STARTTLS on 587.
STARTTLS
Starts as a plain connection, then upgrades to an encrypted one. The modern standard for sending.
SSL/TLS
Encrypted from the first byte. Widely supported and a good choice when 587 is blocked.
Plain SMTP
Meant for server-to-server relay. Home networks and cloud hosts block it, so do not use it to send from a client.
Why your Telstra connection is failing
The failures people actually hit with Telstra, and what fixes each one.
Telstra suspends mailboxes after 180 days with no sign-in. Sign in at email.telstra.com or contact Telstra chat; reactivation takes roughly 30 minutes, and accounts left deactivated beyond six months cannot be restored.
A Telstra mailbox holds 10 GB across mail, contacts and calendar entries. Above that you can neither send nor receive until you delete enough to drop back under 10 GB.
Telstra's terms let it refuse to deliver any message over 25 MB including attachments. Share a download link instead of attaching the file.
Telstra's terms allow deletion of anything stored in the Trash folder for 30 consecutive calendar days or more. Move anything worth keeping into a normal folder.
Take Telstra's standalone Paid Email plan, which costs $79 including GST per mailbox for 12 months, paid up front and not refundable, and keeps one existing @bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.com address with no other Telstra service.
Telstra sending limits
Storage is 10 GB per address, and both sending and receiving stop once the mailbox goes over it.
Max attachment
25 MB per message including attachments
Sending cold email through Telstra
Per-account daily caps apply. Your username is the full address (@bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.com) and outgoing authentication must be switched on.
Those caps make single-mailbox sending fine for personal mail but a poor fit for cold outreach at volume. Emailchaser spreads sending across warmed inboxes and manages deliverability, so you can scale without burning Telstra accounts.
Other internet provider (isp) email
Setting up more than one mailbox? These sit in the same category as Telstra.
Common questions about Telstra SMTP settings
What are Telstra's SMTP settings?
Telstra's outgoing (SMTP) server is smtp.telstra.com. Use port 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (SSL/TLS). SSL/TLS on 465 (recommended) or STARTTLS on 587. Sign in with your full email address and password (or app password).
What is Telstra's IMAP or POP3 server?
Telstra's incoming IMAP server is imap.telstra.com on port 993 (SSL/TLS). If you prefer POP3, use pop.telstra.com on port 995.
Which port should I use for Telstra?
Use port 587 with STARTTLS wherever it's offered, it's the modern standard for authenticated sending. Port 465 with SSL/TLS is a solid alternative. Avoid port 25, which most networks block for client sending. Telstra's recommended value is above.
Why won't my Telstra SMTP connection work?
Check authentication first: Your username is the full address (@bigpond.com, @bigpond.net.au or @telstra.com) and outgoing authentication must be switched on. No app password. Use your Telstra Mail password; reset it in My Telstra if sign-in fails. Then confirm the host, port and security method match exactly, a 587/SSL or 465/STARTTLS mismatch will fail to connect.
Can I send bulk or cold email through Telstra?
Not at scale. Per-account daily caps apply. Providers throttle bursts to fight spam, so pushing cold email through one mailbox hits limits and wrecks deliverability. High-volume outreach belongs on dedicated infrastructure that spreads sending across warmed inboxes, which is what Emailchaser does.
Can I keep my bigpond address if I leave Telstra?
Yes, through Telstra's standalone Paid Email plan. It costs $79 including GST per mailbox for a 12 month subscription, paid up front and not refundable. Your existing mailbox carries over and keeps working rather than being recreated.
Can I get a brand new Telstra email address?
No. From September 2020 Telstra stopped including Telstra Mail with new broadband services and stopped selling it as a standalone product to people who are not broadband customers. Only mailboxes that already exist carry on.
Why did my Telstra email stop working after a long trip away?
Telstra suspends mailboxes that go 180 days without a sign-in, and its terms allow permanent deletion of accounts inactive that long. Sign in at email.telstra.com to reactivate, which takes about 30 minutes. Anything left inactive beyond six months cannot be brought back.
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