I’m having trouble configuring Gmail SMTP for my Rails 2.3.5 app. The setup used to work, but now I’m getting SMTP auth errors in the production log. Here’s a simplified version of my config:
ActionMailer::Base.delivery_method = :smtp
ActionMailer::Base.smtp_settings = {
:enable_starttls_auto => true,
:address => 'smtp.gmail.com',
:port => 587,
:domain => 'example.com',
:authentication => :plain,
:user_name => '[email protected]',
:password => 'mypassword'
}
I’ve seen reports of issues with Gmail SMTP in older Rails versions, but not for 2.3.5. Has anyone encountered this problem or know how to fix it? I’ve double-checked my credentials and they’re correct. Any help would be appreciated!
Hey there! have u tried using app passwords instead? it’s a workaround for the 2-step verification issue. go to your google account, security settings, and generate an app password for your rails app. then use that password in ur smtp_settings. worked like a charm for me!
I’ve encountered this issue in the past. Have you checked if your Google account has 2-step verification enabled? If so, regular password authentication won’t work for SMTP. Instead, try generating an App Password specifically for your Rails application.
Go to your Google Account settings, navigate to the Security section, and look for the ‘App Passwords’ option. Generate a new password for your Rails app and use that in your SMTP configuration instead of your regular account password.
Also, ensure you’re using TLS encryption. You might want to explicitly set :tls to true in your smtp_settings. If problems persist, consider using a third-party SMTP service like SendGrid or Mailgun for more reliable email delivery in production environments.
I’ve faced similar issues with Gmail SMTP in Rails before. One thing that worked for me was enabling ‘Less secure app access’ in my Google account settings. However, Google has phased this out, so now you might need to use OAuth2 for authentication instead.
For Rails 2.3.5, you could try using the ‘gmail_xoauth’ gem. It allows you to use OAuth2 with Gmail SMTP. Here’s a basic setup:
- Add the gem to your Gemfile
- Set up OAuth2 credentials in Google Cloud Console
- Configure ActionMailer to use xoauth2 authentication
This approach is more secure and should resolve the auth errors you’re seeing. Just remember to keep your OAuth tokens safe and use environment variables for sensitive info.
If you’re still having trouble, consider upgrading Rails if possible. Newer versions have better built-in support for modern email authentication methods.