Server you are connected is using security certificate [Error Fixed]

The error message ‘The server you are connected to is using a security certificate that cannot be verified’ is often caused by network and connectivity problems, likely due to hostname errors. While using Microsoft Outlook 2010 or 2013, you might get this error if the mail server credentials you entered are not correct.

Due to this error, you might not be able to use some applications that require Microsoft Outlook, or if you want to use your favorite email account through Microsoft Outlook. In this article, we will go through the potential causes of the issue in detail and later explain the possible fixes that you can implement to resolve the problem.

What causes the ‘The Server you are Connected to is Using a Security Certificate that Cannot be Verified’ Error Message?

This error might pop up because MS Outlook is not able to complete the connection process, whether it be for an email account or anything else. Usually, it is caused by some of these issues:

Now, to fix the issue, you can use the solutions provided below.

Solution 1: Match Certificate Name

The first solution is to ensure that the name of the certificate in MS Outlook matches the name of the mail server. To do that, follow these instructions:

1. Once you get the error, click on View Certificate.

   

2. Click on “Issued to Name” and make sure that the name there is the same as the name of the mail server.
3. If it is not, change it and then try connecting again. Hopefully, it will fix your issue.

It is important to note that this might not work if the certificate has multiple names. In such a scenario, you need to try different names available and see if any work out. If they don’t, you should contact your ISP regarding any changes made in their DNS and ask for further assistance.

Solution 2: Use Domain of Your Hosting Company as Mail Server (if using shared web hosting)

On shared web hosting, the web hosting company is hosting many mail servers of many domains, and all of them point to the same address. These web hosting companies can’t renew SSL for each domain as it’s very expensive, so they do it only for their domain name. Thus, there are certificate issues due to which you can’t connect to your mail server by using your domain name, resulting in an SSL certificate warning.

Therefore, it’s recommended to use the domain name of your hosting as your mail server:

For example:

mail.yourhostingdomain.com

Instead of

mail.yourdomain.com

Solution 3: Add Non-SSL Ports

Sometimes, in universities, schools, and other places, there are some restrictions, and many popular mail servers’ ports are blocked, including the common SSL ports like SSL POP port 995, IMAP 993, and SMTP 465. In such a case, you can try adding non-SSL ports and connecting with them as they might not be blocked on your network. You can do this by following the instructions in the next solution. The ports are:

Non-SSL POP Port: 110

Non-SSL IMAP Port: 143

Non-SSL SMTP Port: 587

Solution 4: Change Outgoing SMTP Port to 26

Many ISPs block SMTP port 25 due to spam concerns. If your ISP has blocked it, you need to change the SMTP outgoing port to 26. Here’s how to do that:

1. Go to File and in the Info tab, click Account Settings, and then select Account Settings again from the drop-down list.
2. Highlight your email account and click Change.

   

3. Click on More Settings and switch to the Advanced tab.
4. Change the SMTP Outgoing Port to 26.

   

5. Click OK.

Note:

It is recommended that you don’t install certificates unless it is a custom certificate or a certificate particular to a certain mail server.

The good thing is that you don’t need to install certificates while connecting to many of the popular mail servers.

You only need to install certificates for those mail servers whose certificates are not generated by a Certificate Authority. These certificates are called “Self-Signed Certificates” and are the only certificates that need installation.