Updated: June 4, 2024
Sending email notifications using public mail servers is a frequently used function of Teracom’s remote monitoring and control modules. The TCW and TCG modules can send Email messages if any of the measured values is in an alarm state. Most modules support TLS encryption protocol that provides end-to-end security of emails sent between the email client and the email server. Despite TLS support, public email providers like Gmail and Yahoo treat these devices as less secure and do not allow them to send emails using standard email account settings. This article describes how to set your Teracom monitoring and control modules to send email notifications through Gmail and Yahoo! public mail servers.
Sending email notifications through Gmail
Since May 30, 2022, Google no longer supports third-party devices sending emails using a Google username and password. The new way to send emails is to use App Passwords, thus giving the mail client access to a certain part of the Google account such as mail, calendar or other. To use the App Passwords, you must first enable 2-Step Verification in your Google account. You can activate it from the Security settings in your Google account. After enabling the 2-Step Verification, you can proceed to create an App password by following the steps below:
- Open your Google account and select the Security tab
- Go to Signing in to Google->App passwords
- Select “Mail” from the Select app dropdown menu, set a custom name of the device and click the “GENERATE” button.
The generated 16-character App Password will appear. This password can be used for sending emails from third-party devices. To set your Teracom module to send email notifications, please use the following settings:
Mail Server IP/URL: smtp.gmail.com
Mail server port: 465
Type of encrypted connection: TLS
Sender Email: your Gmail address
Username: your Gmail address
Password: use the 16-character App Password
If the settings are correct, after pressing the “Test Server Settings” button, a confirmation of sending a test email will be displayed:
Sending email notifications through Yahoo!
The necessary steps for sending email notifications through Yahoo! mail server are identical to those for Gmail. To generate a Yahoo App password follow the steps below:
- Sign in to your Yahoo Account Security page
- Go to Generate app password or Generate and manage app passwords page
- Set your App’s name and click Generate password button.
А 16-character App Password will appear. To set your Teracom module to send email notifications, please use the following settings:
Mail Server IP/URL: smtp.mail.yahoo.com
Mail server port: 465
Type of encrypted connection: TLS
Sender Email: your Yahoo mail address
Username: your Yahoo mail address
Password: use the 16-character App Password
The Google and Yahoo App passwords can be easily disabled if you decide to stop using the email notification service.
Testing Settings with the Online SMTP Test Tool
Before sending email notifications using TCC and TCG devices, we strongly recommend testing your settings with the GMass online tool. This tool allows you to input the settings you intend to use and verify their functionality.
First, enter the settings you generated earlier. In the Security menu, select ‘Auto.’ For this example, we are using a Gmail account:
After pressing the “Test it” button, if the entered settings are correct, a test email will be sent to the specified recipient. Note that sometimes the test email may end up in the spam folder of your email client.
The log below shows the communication between the online tool and the mail server used. In this case, we have confirmation of a successfully sent email:
Once you’ve made sure your settings are correct, you can use them to send email notifications with TCW and TCG models.