Can Gmail / Google Apps / G-Suite be used for SMTP relay?

gmail google-apps prtg smtp smtp-gmail-com

SMTP Delivery in PRTG works in Automatic SMTP Delivery Mechanism, but I wanted to know why it doesn't work if I enter the SMTP server relay info myself (same account info).

If I select via SMTP Relay Server option, the logs show: Error sending "Email": Connection failed ("smtp.gmail.com")

Settings Used:

Sender E-Mail: <[email protected]>
Sender Name: <User Name>
HELO Ident: <ServerHostName>
SMTP Relay Server: smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Relay SMTP Port: 587
SMTP Relay Authentication: SASL authentication is required (also tried std smtp)
SMTP Relay Username:  <[email protected]>
SMTP Relay Password: <User Password>
Use TLS: <yes>

Same SMTP / account information also works in the sendemail.exe utility you can find online. Is there something I'm missing as to why it won't work on PRTG?

Created on Mar 21, 2010 9:08:09 AM by candlebox1369 (1) ●1

Last change on Nov 8, 2017 11:07:52 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]

Best Answer

Accepted Answer

Votes:

2

Your Vote:

This article applies as of PRTG 21

Use a Gmail address for PRTG SMTP delivery

We successfully tested a Gmail address / Gmail SMTP server for sending out email notifications with PRTG 17.4.33.3251.

Settings for Gmail in PRTG 17.x.34 or later

In the PRTG web interface, select Setup | System Administration | Notification Delivery from the main menu, and use the settings as indicated in the screenshot below.

Note: Make sure you replace the user part of the email address with your own Gmail username (twice). When using a Gmail hosted address, use [email protected].

SMTP Delivery Settings

SMTP Delivery Mechanism	Use SMTP relay server
Sender Email	[email protected]
Sender Name	PRTG Network Monitor
HELO Ident	prtgserver.domain.tld (optional - make sure that it has no space in it.)
SMTP Relay Server	smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Relay SMTP Port	587 (or 465)
SMTP Relay Authentication	Use standard SMTP authentication
SMTP Relay User	[email protected]
Use Encrypted Connection	If supported by server
SSL Method	TLS V1.2

Note: The settings are similar in PRTG versions 13 through 17.4.33 and previous.

Settings in Gmail for PRTG

We successfully tested the PRTG email delivery with Google Apps (aka G-Suite) using the following setup that is probably the same for plain Gmail accounts.

Very important: You need to change a setting for the Gmail/Google Apps account that you want to use for sending emails over SMTP. The setting is Allow less secure apps (see this page for more information).

You can change the settings in your Google account under Less secure apps:

https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps

Google: Less secure apps

If you do not allow less secure apps, you will receive the following error even with everything set up correctly in PRTG:

Error sending "Email": Authentication unsuccessful ("smtp.gmail.com")

Alternative: If you have activated two-factor authentication (2FA) for your Google account, there is an alternative to the Allow less secure apps setting. Generate a dedicated app password for PRTG as described on this page.

You can add an app password in the settings of your Google account:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/apppasswords

Troubleshooting

To test the new settings, open Setup | Account Settings | Notification Templates in the PRTG web interface, select an email notification, and click Send test notification. PRTG will try to send an email immediately.

If you have any problems sending emails, please check the PRTG Logs for respective entries. Make sure your firewall settings allow a connection on port 465 or 587.

Can I use Microsoft Office 365 as SMTP relay server for PRTG email delivery?

Created on Jun 14, 2011 9:25:04 AM by Daniel Zobel [Product Manager]

Last change on Jan 4, 2022 9:32:23 AM by Frank Hadasch [Paessler Support]

13 Replies

Votes:

0

Your Vote:

This article applies to PRTG Network Monitor 7

We actually managed to get a GMail / Googlemail account to relay notification mails using the following settings:

Option	Setting
SMTP relay server	smtp.gmail.com
SMTP relay port	465
SMTP Relay Authentication	Use standard SMTP authentication
Use TLS	on

Please also see Configuring other mail clients from GMail help.

Created on Mar 22, 2010 10:56:44 AM by Patrick Hutter [Paessler Support] (7,225) ●3 ●3

Last change on Jun 14, 2011 9:07:26 AM by Daniel Zobel [Product Manager]

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0

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Tried it and worked. Thanks.

Created on Mar 24, 2010 1:54:11 AM by candlebox1369 (1) ●1

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0

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Hi, We have just recently installed prtg and we still can't send out notifications. Even after changing to the above settings we still get the 'Error sending "Email": Connection failed ("smtp.gmail.com")" message. I have left the HELO Ident with the default settings -WIN-JN6NM66AF2G. Not sure if this is the reason for this. Hope you can shed some light.

Created on Jun 9, 2011 3:47:42 AM by amirhussin (0)

Accepted Answer

Votes:

2

Your Vote:

This article applies as of PRTG 21

Use a Gmail address for PRTG SMTP delivery

We successfully tested a Gmail address / Gmail SMTP server for sending out email notifications with PRTG 17.4.33.3251.

Settings for Gmail in PRTG 17.x.34 or later

In the PRTG web interface, select Setup | System Administration | Notification Delivery from the main menu, and use the settings as indicated in the screenshot below.

Note: Make sure you replace the user part of the email address with your own Gmail username (twice). When using a Gmail hosted address, use [email protected].

SMTP Delivery Settings

SMTP Delivery Mechanism	Use SMTP relay server
Sender Email	[email protected]
Sender Name	PRTG Network Monitor
HELO Ident	prtgserver.domain.tld (optional - make sure that it has no space in it.)
SMTP Relay Server	smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Relay SMTP Port	587 (or 465)
SMTP Relay Authentication	Use standard SMTP authentication
SMTP Relay User	[email protected]
Use Encrypted Connection	If supported by server
SSL Method	TLS V1.2

Note: The settings are similar in PRTG versions 13 through 17.4.33 and previous.

Settings in Gmail for PRTG

We successfully tested the PRTG email delivery with Google Apps (aka G-Suite) using the following setup that is probably the same for plain Gmail accounts.

You can change the settings in your Google account under Less secure apps:

https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps

Google: Less secure apps

If you do not allow less secure apps, you will receive the following error even with everything set up correctly in PRTG:

Error sending "Email": Authentication unsuccessful ("smtp.gmail.com")

You can add an app password in the settings of your Google account:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/apppasswords

Troubleshooting

If you have any problems sending emails, please check the PRTG Logs for respective entries. Make sure your firewall settings allow a connection on port 465 or 587.

Can I use Microsoft Office 365 as SMTP relay server for PRTG email delivery?

Created on Jun 14, 2011 9:25:04 AM by Daniel Zobel [Product Manager]

Last change on Jan 4, 2022 9:32:23 AM by Frank Hadasch [Paessler Support]

Votes:

0

Your Vote:

Currently running PRTG Network Monitor 13. Tried to use my Gmail account based on the information supplied above for "Setting for PRTG 9" but it continued to fail.

After researching it a bit further, found that there is another port "587" that can be used for the SMTP Relay SMTP port. Updated new port, saved changes, tested and received the notification as desired.

Created on Mar 20, 2013 12:51:22 PM by ppatullo (0)

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0

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@ppatullo: Thank you for the information!

Created on Mar 20, 2013 12:53:09 PM by Konstantin Wolff [Paessler Support]

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0

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Hi Paessler Support,

I have configured as per above recommendation, but still negative result.

Could you please advise.

PRTG version: 15.4.21.5481+ Trial Version PRTG Version: 15.3.17.2996+ Commercial License

Regards, Jovan

Created on Dec 30, 2015 7:27:15 AM by jovan (0)

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0

Your Vote:

Hi Jovan,

Which exact error message do you receive within PRTG? We recently ran into this error ourselves and found that you would have to enable option "Allow less secure apps" in your gmail settings at this page.

This is currently the only way to get an POP/IMAP sensor to connect.

You will also need to white-list the PRTG server to use the GMail account as a relay server. The configuration is described on this page.

Best regards, Felix

Created on Dec 30, 2015 8:55:37 AM by Felix Saure [Paessler Support]

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0

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Hi Felix,

I will try.

Meanwhile, could you please advise where can i extract relevant information and send it to you?

Warmest regards, Jovan

Created on Dec 30, 2015 4:37:12 PM by jovan (0)

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0

Your Vote:

Hi Jovan,

You can write an email to [email protected], this will create a support ticket and me or one of my colleagues will answer your inquiry by email.

Best regards, Felix

Created on Dec 31, 2015 8:59:01 AM by Felix Saure [Paessler Support]

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0

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Thank you! Port 587 works for me.

Created on May 5, 2017 1:27:08 PM by hatula (0)

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0

Your Vote:

I have just tested the PRTG Mail Delivery using Google Apps (aka G-Suite) (should be the same for plain gmail accounts). This is what the set-up should look like:

SMTP Delivery Mechanism:	Use SMTP relay server
Sender Email:	[email protected]
Sender Name:	PRTG
HELO ident:	prtgserver.domain.tld(optional)
SMTP Relay Server:	smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Relay SMTP Port:	587
SMTP Relay Authentication:	Use standard SMTP authentication
SMTP Relay User:	[email protected]
Use Encrypted Connection:	If supported by server
SSL Method:	'TLS v1.2'

It's also very important to note that you need to change a setting for the Gmail/Google Apps account that you want to use for mail sending over SMTP. The setting is called Allow less secure apps and is described in this page. Here's the link to change the settings for your Google Mail account:

https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps

Even with everything set-up correctly in PRTG you will receive the following error if you don't allow the "less secure apps":

Error sending "Email": Authentication unsuccessful ("smtp.gmail.com")

Messages were sent successfully in PRTG Version 17.4.33.3251 with the set-up above.

Alternative: If you have two factor authentication (2FA) activated for your Google account, there is an alternative to the Allow less secure apps setting: Generate a dedicated app password for PRTG as described in this page. Here's the link to add an app password in the settings of your Google account:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/apppasswords

Messages were also sent successfully in PRTG Version 17.4.33.3251 using a per-app password with a 2FA account.

Best Regards,
Luciano Lingnau [Paessler Support]

Created on Nov 8, 2017 7:54:20 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]

Last change on Nov 9, 2017 2:46:51 PM by Gerald Schoch [Paessler Support]

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0

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Enabling access for "less secure apps" means that the client/app doesn't use OAuth 2.0 . OAuth 2.0 is the industry-standard protocol for authorization. When you sign in with OAuth 2.0, you sign in to Google's system directly. In OAuth 2.0 , you authenticate directly to Gmail with your credentials and authorize an app to do certain things. The third-party app only sees an authorization token provided by Google as proof that you authenticated correctly and agreed to authorize that app.

Created on Jul 31, 2019 6:09:15 AM by markfilan (0)