Postfix - Can't Send External Mail - Relay Access Denied

I've been trying to set up a mail server with postfix. Sending/receiving local mail and receiving external mail works. However, sending external mail does not work.

When I start sending a message through telnet example.com 25 I get the following message after typing rcpt to: :

454 4.7.1 < >: Relay access denied

Some information that might be helpful:

/etc/postfix/main.cf

# See /usr/share/postfix/main.cf.dist for a commented, more complete version
# Debian specific:  Specifying a file name will cause the first
# line of that file to be used as the name.  The Debian default
# is /etc/mailname.
#myorigin = /etc/mailname

smtpd_banner = $myhostname ESMTP $mail_name (Ubuntu)
biff = no

# appending .domain is the MUA's job.
append_dot_mydomain = no

# Uncomment the next line to generate "delayed mail" warnings
#delay_warning_time = 4h

readme_directory = no

# TLS parameters
smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
smtpd_use_tls=yes
smtpd_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtpd_scache
smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache

# See /usr/share/doc/postfix/TLS_README.gz in the postfix-doc package for
# information on enabling SSL in the smtp client.

smtpd_relay_restrictions = permit_mynetworks permit_sasl_authenticated defer_unauth_destination
myhostname = example.com
virtual_alias_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/virtual
alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
myorigin = /etc/mailname
mydestination = example.com, mycomputername, localhost.localdomain, localhost
relayhost = mail.example.com
mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8 [::ffff:127.0.0.0]/104 [::1]/128 192.168.0.0/24
mailbox_size_limit = 0
recipient_delimiter = +
inet_interfaces = all
inet_protocols = all 
1

1 Answer

As it turns out. My internet service provider (ISP) blocks outgoing mail. They however provided a relay option: smtp.myisp.tld. I had to use this address as my relay host in the /etc/postfix/main.cf config file:

relayhost = smtp.myisp.tld

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David Miller

David Miller

Executive Financial & Market Analyst

David Miller brings 15 years of experience in global economics, personal finance strategy, and market dynamics. He specializes in turning complex economic trends into actionable insights for everyday readers.

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