I’m having trouble setting up SMTP for Outlook in n8n and keep getting authentication errors.
I’ve been trying to get my Outlook email working with n8n but no luck so far. Here’s my setup:
- Turned on IMAP/POP access in Outlook settings
- Set up 2FA and generated an app-specific password
- Used these SMTP settings in n8n:
But I keep getting this error message:
Connection failed - Invalid credentials: 535 5.7.139 Authentication failed, basic auth is not enabled
Is there something else I need to enable in my Outlook account for SMTP to work? Maybe some security setting I missed?
Any help would be great!
Had the exact same headache a few months back. Microsoft killed basic authentication for SMTP AUTH in October 2022, so app passwords don’t work anymore - even if you generate them right. What fixed it for me was ditching SMTP and switching to Microsoft Graph API instead. You can still send emails through n8n but use the Microsoft Graph node, not the email node. Set up an app registration in Azure AD with Mail.Send permissions and use client credentials flow. Takes about 15 minutes to configure and works great. SMTP’s basically dead unless your org specifically re-enabled it at the tenant level.
yeah, microsoft broke smtp for everyone unless ur admin re-enables it. check if smtp auth is disabled in ur exchange admin center. if u can’t access that or don’t have admin rights, you’re stuck with oauth like others mentioned.
I experienced a similar issue not long ago. It’s worth noting that Microsoft has disabled basic authentication for SMTP by default. If you’re using Exchange Online, your administrator can re-enable it through the admin center under Settings > Mail flow > Authentication. Alternatively, you might want to consider switching to OAuth2, which offers enhanced security, although it’s more complex to configure. If you opt for OAuth2, you’ll need to register an application in Azure AD and create the necessary credentials. The Microsoft Graph API documentation provides a good guide to assist with the setup.