Setting up Gmail SMTP for email confirmations in Rails 3

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1

Trouble with Gmail SMTP in Rails 3

I’m trying to set up email confirmations using a Gmail account in my Rails 3 app. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find a clear solution. The weird thing is there are no error messages. The email just doesn’t send.

Here’s my current setup in the initializer:

ActionMailer::Base.config.smtp_settings = {
  address: 'smtp.gmail.com',
  port: 587,
  domain: 'example.com',
  user_name: '[email protected]',
  password: 'mypassword',
  authentication: 'plain',
  enable_starttls_auto: true
}

ActionMailer::Base.config.default_url_options = { host: 'localhost:3000' }
ActionMailer::Base.config.delivery_method = :smtp
ActionMailer::Base.config.perform_deliveries = true
ActionMailer::Base.config.raise_delivery_errors = true

I’ve double-checked my Gmail credentials and made sure less secure app access is on. Any ideas what I might be missing? Has anyone successfully set this up in Rails 3?

2

hey there, had the same issue. try adding config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = true to your environment file (development.rb or production.rb). this’ll show any smtp errors. also, make sure ur using app-specific password if u have 2FA enabled on gmail. good luck!

3

I encountered a similar problem when setting up Gmail SMTP in Rails 3. One crucial step often overlooked is configuring your Gmail account to allow less secure apps. Go to your Google Account settings, find the ‘Less secure app access’ option, and turn it on. Additionally, ensure you’re using the correct port (587 for TLS or 465 for SSL). If issues persist, try using ‘login’ instead of ‘plain’ for authentication. Lastly, double-check your environment variables if you’re storing sensitive information there. These steps resolved the issue for me without any error messages.

4

I’ve been down this road before, and it can be frustrating. One thing that’s not mentioned yet is checking your firewall settings. Sometimes, especially in corporate environments, outgoing SMTP connections are blocked. Try running your Rails app on a different network to rule this out.

Also, have you considered using a third-party email service like SendGrid or Mailgun? They often provide more reliable delivery and easier setup than Gmail SMTP. I switched to SendGrid a while back and haven’t looked back since.

If you’re set on using Gmail, make sure you’re not hitting their sending limits. They have daily limits for free accounts which can catch you off guard. Lastly, try logging the entire email sending process to get more visibility into what’s happening behind the scenes. It might reveal issues that aren’t showing up as errors.