SMTP password defaults to off

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Level 1

94 points

SMTP password defaults to off

Hi, This is unrelated to the other question I have on this forum at the moment.

Recently, I can receive Gmail but not send. I have never been able to send email using iCloud. I have configured the settings as instructed.

Gmail SMTP setup settings:

SMTP username: Your Gmail address.
SMTP password: Your Gmail password.
SMTP server address: smtp.gmail.com.
Gmail SMTP port (TLS): 587.
SMTP port (SSL): 465.
SMTP TLS/SSL required: yes.

I notice that when I close the preferences and re-open them, the authentication has often defaulted from "passoword" back to "None". However, this is intermittent.

Any suggestions how to fix please?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jun 25, 2021 4:56 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Jun 25, 2021 6:48 AM in response to oxcart

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes.

Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.

Many eMail providers now require a separate App Password, without notifying users…

It may just need an App Password...

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?hl=en-GB

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Answer 2

oxcart Author

Level 1

94 points

Jun 25, 2021 10:00 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for the suggestions. I visited the gmail security page as you suggested and found the two factor security was off, but at least I now know it exists. :-)

Anyway, there seems to be a ghost in the machine. Here is what happened.

I started in safe mode and then reinstalled the OS from the recovery partition: no joy.

I booted up my clone and found gmail was working. I examined the settings and found that I was barking up the wrong tree trying to set up SMTP. In the working clone the outgoing server seems to be the Google IMAP server and SMTP is not needed. I have included screenshots from the clone with the working Gmail to show others what it is like. It does not appear to require the an SMTP setup.

Next, I went to internet accounts in the system preferences and deleted Google. I then reinstalled Google but it did not help. I repeated this three more times and then it started working.

I believe in cause and effect, and the scientific method. I am therefore at a loss to explain why repeating the same series of commands fixed it in the end.

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Answer 3

oxcart Author

Level 1

94 points

Jun 25, 2021 11:18 AM in response to BDAqua

50 years. That predates the GUI ! I briefly worked on an Apple II before the first Mac appeared. I would not be surprised if repeated migrations haven't left remnants of that OS on this very SSD.

Occasionally, I have to use SheepShaver to boot OS9 because there is an arc tool in MacDraw Pro that none of the modern graphics packages can match. Good old 9.2, the acme of the Mac OS. I stuck with it till 10.6 (another acme) and I stuck with that until 10.13 Everything in between was buggy and worse than its predecessor.

Best wishes, Ronnie.

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