Microsoft appears to be pushing the .NET Messenger Service to HTTP

Dec 5

Posted by

No one suspectsThe changes to Messenger have continued this week with Microsoft blocking access to port 1863 (that’s the defacto port for Messenger) firstly with the servers known as messenger.hotmail.com (bay.*) on December 1st and then the bn1.gateway.messenger.live.com (bn.*) server(s) on December 3rd.

The ever ingenious dx put together a status page listing the various types of servers in the network and their current status.

In practical terms, this means that instead of using the MSN protocol directly, the protocol is now being funneled over an HTTP connection, just like a web page. The Microsoft Messenger clients will automatically give up on port 1863 and use HTTP without any prompting, so if you’re a Messenger Reviver user, you shouldn’t have to do anything.  However, third-party clients may require triggering their HTTP mode options manually, and some don’t support the HTTP mode.

You’ll note that on dx’s status page, only the servers that are directly called using hostnames have port 1863 blocked.  The more technically interested can force Messenger into using 1863 by using their local hosts file or setting up their own DNS server to redirect messenger.hotmail.com to one of the working bay servers, and bn1.gateway.messenger.live.com to one of the bn.* servers.

Posted on December 5, 2014, in Messenger, MSN Messenger, News. Bookmark the permalink. 21 Comments.

  1. Jeanne | December 5, 2014 at 9:43 pm

    Hi Jonathan, what does HTTPmode mean? Would appreciate an explanation if you have one for me, thank you for keeping such an interest in our MSN messenger. I really hate to lose it so I am trying everything to keep mine alive.
    thank you.
    Maggie

    Reply
    • Jonathan | December 6, 2014 at 11:47 pm

      Greetings Maggie. Basically it’s using another way to “talk” to the server to deliver the messages.

      For example, if we say the prior method was you writing me a note on a piece of paper and handing it to me, in the new way you’re writing your note, putting it into an envelope and then handing me the envelope.

      So it’s the same as before, just a little more complicated and a little more overhead (although the software handles it for you of course).

      Reply
  2. 11ryanc | December 6, 2014 at 2:09 pm

    Do you suspect any direct impact on the Messenger client itself in the near future as these server changes continue to persist?

    Reply
  3. Bambooz | December 8, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    Is there any chance of reviving/”fixing” the old MSN Messenger 7.0/7.5 versions? Or are they just too old (incompatible protocol version) by now?

    These were always my favorite no-bullshit clients, and they still worked as of late 2013
    (7.5 set to Win2k compatibility mode or hex-edited the .exe version string to something ridiculous like 16.5 instead of 7.5 (which worked before to bypass forced upgrades))

    I grew up with MSN messenger and ICQ (still using my ICQ account I registered way back in 2002!).. sad to see MSN slowly die and ICQ just getting worse with every (forced) update..
    And Skype definitely isn’t an option for me.. other than that.. what else is left out there for someone who doesn’t use Facebook, G+ or twitter (or any of the social media crap)..? IRC maybe, but that’s not an IM ..

    I feel old 😐

    Reply
    • Jonathan | December 9, 2014 at 3:43 pm

      Gettings Bambooz. There’s actually been more interest in this in the past few weeks, and although the answer initially was yes, since all the changes in Messenger have happened, I wasn’t so sure.
      However, I spent some time this afternoon and I’m pleased to say the answer is in fact yes, this can still be done, and I took a picture 🙂
      MSN Messenger 7

      Stay tuned. Also, you aren’t old :p

      Reply
    • Konrad | January 13, 2015 at 11:55 am

      There’s XMPP. If you can get your friends to use it, that will be your best bet since it’s open source and cannot die (easily). 😉

      Reply
  4. Maurice | December 9, 2014 at 12:27 pm

    Hi Jonathan my MSN had been blocked. I receive a message that the key ports are not ok. what can I do ?
    The code I get is 80072745

    Reply
  5. Lady Norémon | December 9, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    Seems they finally borked the Spanish portable version I was using. { http://www.mediafire.com/download/aixt1jp859b7d3v/MSN_8.5.zip } I’m getting unable to load my contact list/logging me out as soon as I start it. Connection repair gives an error for the key ports. It was working last night.

    I’d love to use Reviver on here, but I’m not allowed to uninstall Essentials, and as soon as WLM is openned after reviving, it updates, and then gives the Skype notification.

    Reply
  6. Lucas Raí | December 14, 2014 at 9:55 pm

    Hey Jonathan!
    my msn logs normally after using the Revive.
    But I have a problem: The webcam loads but does not show image. There are even a few days ago it was possible to make video call. By the way, no. Can you explain why?

    Reply
  7. Bob | December 22, 2014 at 10:29 am

    If you’re on Windows you can use Trillian which supports almost all IM client methods in once client. http://trillian.im

    Reply
  8. pepe | December 24, 2014 at 10:20 am

    can anyone confirm is there’s any way to still use msn 7.5 and how ?

    Reply
  9. pepe | December 25, 2014 at 1:56 am

    thanks for the answer Johathan ! i hope i can use again my old modded msn 7.5.

    Reply
  10. Luciano | January 10, 2015 at 11:12 am

    Hey, Jonathan!
    I tried following dx’s website in order to make MSN work on Pidgin. So I tried all those IPs, but none worked.
    Do you also use Pidgin? Could you please help me at this? Perhaps there’s something I’m missing.

    Reply

  1. Pingback: Messenger Service now requiring HTTPS (and error code 80072efd) | Jonathan Kay, MessengerGeek

  2. Pingback: Issues signing in to Messenger today | Jonathan Kay, MessengerGeek

Leave a comment