Hey Guys,

My Allworx 6x system email server has been working perfectly for years. We use it to email VM message as they are received. For some unknow reason, it just stopped working a few days ago. Through the system admin portal > email server > modify the "send test email" now fails. I'm using gmails' smtp servier and the authenication is correct. Any ideas? Thanks!

I just wanted to note that I'm just now seeing a similar problem that cropped up in the past week, and sounds very similar to Tom_Man's issue.

We have an Allworx 6x unit (Ver. 7.6.7.3) that has been running fine for us for over a year now. I initially configured the unit to send VM as email attachments and/or SMS notifications. We also use smtp.gmail.com:587 as our SMTP host/MTA and it has been working fine for over a year, until just recently...

Since 7/26 (or possibly earlier) the emails are not being accepted by GMail's SMTP host, and I'm seeing errors in the AllWorx log like this: "tSmtpC00: SMTP Relay: My EHLO name was rejected "

I assume that this may be due to a change on GMail's back-end, but does anyone else have any insight into the issue, or a work-around/solution? Again, I am assuming that this is a SMTP/MTA issue on the google side, but if anyone has any suggestions as to the underlying problem or how it can be resolved from the AllWorx end, I'd greatly appreciate any assistance.

From Google for a recent report of the same/similar issue:

If you tried configuring your SMTP server on port 465 (with SSL) and port 587 (with TLS), but are still having trouble sending mail, try configuring your SMTP to use port 25 (with SSL).

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gmail/Tv0WGHSleZY

More and More smtp host are blocking their use if it detects that the outgoing mail is using it as a "relay". I suspect in your allworx setup, you are using smtp.gmail.com as the outgoing host, however the email header may say its is coming from [email protected], totally unrelated to the gmail account authenticating for smtp. Gmail may have updated their policy to help target spam.

Then again, the denial may be coming from xyz.com, as smpt.gmail.com may not have authority to send mail for xyz.com. Please research SPF.

Keighlar,

Thanks for suggesting the alternate SSL/TLSSSL ports and providing the link. However, I've tried the alternate settings, and the system is still failing to relay the emails to the GMail SMTP server. The error message is similar to this: "tSmtpC01: SMTP Relay: My EHLO name was rejected"

One possible issue that I'd like to inquire about, is the Allworx's domain.
Current settings are: (Home > Network > Configuration > Domain Name [DNS]...)

Host Name lily
Domain Name (DNS) allworx.com

which means the device should presumably identify itself with the FQDN of lily.allworx.com. Our public DNS records have a valid A record for the device as lily.MYREALDOMAIN.COM. The installer indicated that the Allworx needed to retain the allworx.com domain for some reason that he never fully explained. We host our email externally with Google, and don't ever plan on using the AllWorx for any _real_ email. I haven't found any other recent reports of AllWorx boxes suddenly no-longer relaying email to one of the largest email providers in the world, but I have to assume that something changed behind the scenes to cause this otherwise stable subsystem to suddenly start failing.

Anyone else have any input, questions, or suggestions on how to continue troubleshooting this?

Rusty,

Thanks for bringing up the issues with relays and SPF, however I have had this setup successfully, as per GMails instructions on using the full GMail-hosted email address and password for over a year on this PBX, and SPF has been setup before, and is unchanged. I am aware of the setting the Email Sender and Username to the full, valid email address, the non-standard ports and all the other GMail-specific issues for SMTP and IMAP. I utilize GMail's SMTP email relaying for multiple devices at client sites, and have run into no major problems until this.

Seeing as someone else suddenly reported the same issue this week, I have to assume that GMail has tightened down on SMTP relaying, but I can find no reports of recent changes or large numbers of problems suddenly reporting that smtp.gmail.com is refusing to relay emails this week.

Any other reports of other Allworx users with the default allworx.com domain still set on the unit, suddenly no longer being able to relay via GMail?

OK, I did some additional digging and found that others _did_ report similar issues starting last week, ( https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topicsearch/smtp.gmail.com$20EHLO$20server/gmail/MUdRHbZYTDk ) and it appears that GMail has changed part of their SSL/TLS authenticatio & handshake, thus breaking this functionality. I will discuss this with our AllWorx installer and see if he can get us an ETA on AllWorx producing a fix/patch/update. Thanks for everyone's advice, and I'll try to put up a post-mortem on this once I've gotten it fixed.

"I'll try to put up a post-mortem on this once I've gotten it fixed."

Thanks, Wombat. Keep us informed.

After mucking about with the email server settings last night, the Allworx started auto-magically sending the backlog of queue'd messages through GMail's SMTP relay.

Use External SMTP Server enabled
SMTP Server Address smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Server Port 25
SMTP Display Name AllWorx Admin
SMTP Sender's Email Address [email protected]
SMTP Server requires authentication yes
SMTP Server User Name [email protected]
SMTP Server secure connection SSL

This morning, our Allworx vendor signed into the unit remotely and looked over my settings, not knowing that I'd 'fixed' the problem. He changed the SMTP port to 465 and the system continues to work normally. I don't know if GMail resolved the issue on their end last night, or if I somehow missed a setting when troubleshooting this over the past few days, but it's working now, and I'm loath to risk upsetting it again.

Best of luck to anyone else who's having this issue, I'll post more info if it becomes available.

I myself have been fighting this for two weeks. All started from a password change. Got the password back and have had problems since. Problems also continued with creating new accounts. I even went to Yahoo briefly although it stopped working after a few days.

I've been on the phone with Google several times and Allworx several times. Starting yesterday though I have noticed that one of my accounts has started to work. On ours and another though I tried this setting that was recommended by google and so far it has been working. It is a restricted SMTP address they gave me to try.

Use External SMTP Server enabled
SMTP Server Address aspmx.l.google.com
SMTP Server Port 25
SMTP Sender's Email Address [email protected]
SMTP Server requires authentication NO

SMTP Server secure connection NONE


I hope they do rectify this issue as it has been great being able to verify the sent messages in the GMAIL account periodically.

Another thing I tried was 2-step verification and creating an APP Password for the account. Then I used that APP password as my authentication password. However at the time it wasn't working, that account the next day mystically was working. Problem is I can't tell which password I left it as.

But that's another tidbit for you to try if my post above doesn't work

Bernie,

Glad to hear that you were able to get at least a partial solution worked out. Having played around with this for the past year or two, here are some tidbits of information that may come in handy.

1) If you are not using authentication when sending/relaying email, then you're much more likely to get your accounts temporarily locked due to 'spam-like' activity. If at all possible, use SSL or TLS-SSL to authenticate against google's SMTP relays.

2) the ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM mail relay you've been instructed to use has several limitations that may, or may not, affect you. For example, you'll only be able to send emails to addresses under your domain, or other GMail users. You will not be able to send email through this server to anyone who is not hosted on GMail/GoogleApps.

3) For more info about the restrictions imposed by different methods of sending SMTP email via GMail, take a look at https://support.google.com/a/answer/176600?hl=en

4) If all else fails, and you find yourself with an appliance/app that doesn't support SMTP/IMAP/POP authentication, or won't work with your mailhost, take a look at 'stunnel', a simple network daemon that can function as a relay between an insecure system and a secure host/server.

ie: I've got a TaskAlfa 205c MFP which does not support SSL/TLS-SSL and we had no work-around for utilizing the Scan-to-Email functionality with GMail as the SMTP relay/host.

I configured stunnel on a local box with the valid GMail credentials, and had the MFP send all emails to the stunnel-host without any security/authentication. STunnel accepted the mail from the MFP, and then performed all the authenication with GMail, relaying it for delivery. Everything works wonderfully, until someone ignores the multiple signs on the local box and powers the unit off.

IT Wombat:

Thank you very much. I didn't know a lot of that and will look into stunnel for sure. Thanks!

How about some of the people on here that have had accounts magically start working again? What's your status?

It has not happened with any of our customers---however, I'm not sure if we have any that use a Gmail account. We use GoDaddy as our website & e-mail provider. Our setup looks pretty much like yours, Bernie--except of course that we use GoDaddy's smtpout.secureserver.net as a SMTP Server. We also use server port 25 as you do.

IT Wombat---that was all good info. Thanks for starting this thread.

We have experienced this same problem and have moved our PBXs to our own email servers until a patch is released. Allworx says they are working on a patch for this.

I reverted back to my original settings with GMAIL which is very similar to what was originally posted (using port 465 SSL) and it has been working for the past week now. Maybe Google ironed something out?

Talk about relay agents, I cannot use telus email in the field. It does not except relay from other agents. I imagine this would be difficult to those of you with the same issue when you want to send a email reply, but your host isp is rejecting a email that is comming in from a third partys relay service. This caused me a huge amount of grief, when I was involved in a big Windows 7 upgrade project for one of the worlds largest timber companies and was getting complaints my emails were not going though in the hotel.