v2.01 - Need PHP or SMTP Mail Settings That Might Work

[norepli]

Hello all,

The default PHP mail setting stopped working (sometime in the last 2 months). When discovered, I reported it to my host and they confirmed their PHP sendmail function was working properly and offerered no support for the forum software (which I totally understand).

So, now I am trying to use the SMTP function as an alternative; however, the localhost, google and comcast all require "authentication" to work. When I attempt to invoke the SMTP function, I sometimes get and error log indicating that "authentication is required" to open a mail connection and I don't know how to get around this isuue.

I could really use some help in getting "either" method working so I can continue to use the "email activation" method for new member signup.

Thanks a bunch in advance for your assistance.

Best regards,

norepli

[Illori]

you would have to see if those services have smtp and how they require it setup. all smtp servers should require some type of login in order to send the email so that they can restrict the spammers from using their server.

[norepli]

Hi Illori,

I have established usernames and passwords for all three (localhost, google and comcast) and I can access their webmail and use Outlook Express and Thunderbird to access them as a PO3 client as long as I have the "Server Requires Authentication" box checked. See picture:



And, as far as I can see, there is no authentication option built into the SMF Forum (or any of the other major forum softwares either) so I don't know how to make SMTP work. I have been assured that it is uniquely different from the username and password because if I uncheck the tickbox on one of my pop3 emails, it stops working.

thanks for your input.

norepli

[Illori]

admin -> mail -> settings change mail type to smtp and put in the details, but not always will pop work for smtp they are not always the same.

[norepli]

I did that already and all 3 have smtp servers (which I input) but there is no way to mark authenticate (notice in my picture that you must specify the smtp server to get the pop3 email). Pop3 refers to incoming server mail and smtp refers to outgoing server mail.

[Illori]

you have to enter the username and password to authenticate to the server

[norepli]

I did. Please look at my example and you will see a username (account name) and a password specified PLUS the authenticate checkbox is marked. I put the same information into the smf mail location WITHOUT the authenticate checkbox being present. BTW, the user name and password does not authenticate the server.

[Oldiesmann]

There is no authentication checkbox. SMF will handle that automatically.

[norepli]

It does not work and SMF does not handle it automatically or I wouldn't be getting SMF error logs stating that "authentication is required."

[Illori]

then that means the username and/or password you entered was incorrect or you are not using an smtp server to connect to.

[norepli]

Not really Illori. The SMTP injformation, username, and password are all correctly input and I receive authentication required errors. That information does not provide the necessary authentication. So, instead of going around in circles on this issue, could anyone, who has either PHP or SMTP mail working, respond and possibly share their settings with me? For example, if someone is using v2.01 and they have gmail working, I would love to know about their partciular settings. I'm not looking for username or password information, just some general setting information.

[Illori]

i have it working on my server as it is configured correctly

[norepli]

OK and...

[Illori]

given you enter the correct information it should work. you need an smtp server, you seem to be using pop instead.

[norepli]

Ok, you may have finally gotten through to me so let me do some quick research and if I find something different, I'll try it and get back with an update. Thank you.

norepli

[norepli]

I tried different google settings but nothing is working for me. Is anyone willing to share their Google SMTP and Port information. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

norepli

[Oldiesmann]

According to Google's help section, their SMTP server requires either STARTTLS or SSL. SMF only supports SSL.

To make it work, try the following settings:
Server: ssl://smtp.gmail.com
Port: 465
Username: [email protected]
Password: your GMail password

Also make sure you've enabled POP/SMTP in the Gmail settings (Click on "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" in the GMail settings page and then choose one of the options in the "POP Download" section).

[norepli]

Hello Oldiesmann,

Thank you for that detaied suggestion.

So, I tried placing the ssl:// infront of smtp.gmail.com (which I had already been trying) and I made sure the port was set at 465 (which I had also tried previously) but unfortunately, the new combination didn't work either.

Best regards,

norepli

PS
I'm still hoping that someone has this working for Google or any other smtp server that I can gain access to

[Illori]

did you enable it in your gmail account? if you have not it will not work.

[norepli]

Hello Illori,

Yes I did properly enable it in my Gmail account.

So, now I have a request/suggestion.

If I totally delete my old forum and do a fresh install, would anyone want to take a crack at getting my php or smtp email to work? If so, I can supply the admin login and provide a user name and password for one of my many gmail accounts. So, do I have any takers?

Let me know.

Thanks,

norepli