[OJS 3.2.1.1] Google SMTP email issues

charlescmyers · January 18, 2021, 8:47pm

Hello all,

Currently, we’re in the process of setting up a new journal, utilizing the full features of OJS. While in the process of checking our server settings, configuration, and user roles on the admin side of things, we’re running into the issue of Google SMTP servers not accepting our request for emails going out. We have the configuration setup as follows:

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; Email Settings ;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
[email]
Use SMTP for sending mail instead of mail()
smtp = On
; SMTP server settings
smtp_server = smtp.gmail.com
smtp_port = 465

; Enable SMTP authentication
; Supported mechanisms: ssl, tls
smtp_auth = tls
smtp_username = gmailaccount@gmail.com
smtp_password = gmailaccountpassword

With the settings on our end setup, we also have the Gmail account setup allowing Third-Party less-secure apps and get a notification when we attempt to use the email when it’s configured for the first time. However, we’re still unable to send emails and I’m not sure what needs to be done now. From reading through other posts and topics, I’m not sure if we HAVE TO setup a Google OAUTH2 API in order to facilitate logging in, as I know Google deprecated UN/PW login in June 2020. We’re stuck an any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

pheckler · January 20, 2021, 1:45pm

Hi,
I am not sure this will help, but have you tried either using SSL protocol with port 465, or using port 587 with TLS? This seems to be the recommended settings from google.

charlescmyers · January 20, 2021, 6:08pm

Hi,
Thank you for responding. Yes, I’ve tried both settings with the port information. Currently, the TLS setting on the port that I’m connecting to is the one that’s working with my setup. I’m sure there’s some other settings and server specific settings I can change and update that would work better. I’m just not sure what I need to do.
Thank you.

charlescmyers · February 9, 2021, 12:45am

I started using some of the changes that were posted here based on the input of asmecher:

github.com/pkp/pkp-lib

OAuth for Gmail Access

opened 11:50PM - 18 Dec 19 UTC

closed 07:08PM - 17 Feb 21 UTC

brueyd

Enhancement

**Describe the problem you would like to solve** Starting February 15, 2021, G …Suite accounts will only allow access to apps using OAuth. Password-based access will no longer be supported. **Describe the solution you'd like** An OAuth plugin for connecting to Gmail **Who is asking for this feature?** System administrators that currently use Gmail SMTP and connect OJS as a "Less Secure App" to Gmail accounts for sending email notifications. **Additional information** Here is the complete text from the G Suite notification email... Dear Administrator, We’re constantly working to improve the security of your organization’s Google accounts. As part of this effort, and in consideration of the current threat landscape, we’ll be turning off access to less secure apps (LSA) — non-Google apps that can access your Google account with only a username and password, without requiring any additional verification steps. Access through only a username and password makes your account more vulnerable to hijacking attempts. Moving forward, only apps that support a more modern and secure access method called OAuth will be able to access your G Suite account. Access to LSAs will be turned off in two stages: June 15, 2020 - Users who try to connect to an LSA for the first time will no longer be able to do so. This includes third-party apps that allow password-only access to Google calendars, contacts, and email via protocols such as CalDAV, CardDAV and IMAP. Users who have connected to LSAs prior to this date will be able to continue using them until usage of all LSAs is turned off. February 15, 2021 - Access to LSAs will be turned off for all G Suite accounts. What do I need to do? To continue using a specific app with your G Suite accounts, users in your organization must switch to a more secure type of access called OAuth. This connection method allows apps to access accounts with a digital key instead of requiring a user to reveal their username and password. We recommend that you share the user instructions (included below) with individuals in your organization to help them make the necessary changes. Alternatively, if your organization is using custom tools, you can ask the developer of the tool to update it to use OAuth. Developer instructions are also included below. MDM configuration If your organization uses a mobile device management (MDM) provider to configure CalDAV, CardDAV, and Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) profiles, these services will be phased out according to the timeline below: June 15, 2020 - MDM push of IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, and Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) will no longer work for new users. February 15, 2021 - MDM push of IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, and Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) will no longer work for existing users. Admins will need to push a Google Account using their MDM provider, which will re-add their Google accounts to iOS devices using OAuth. Other less secure apps **For any other LSA, ask the developer of the app you are using to start supporting OAuth.** If you use other apps on iOS or MacOS that access your G Suite account information through only a password, most access issues can be resolved by removing then re-adding your account. When you add it back, make sure to select Google as the account type to automatically use OAuth.

I’m testing out the gmail-oauth.diff.txt file information on my build to see if the write-up works. So far, OJS hasn’t returned an error but it’s doing nothing when I attempt to send an email.