SMTP Method setup trouble

Developing with Concrete
1

My host server recently disabled use of PHP mailer, forcing me to switch to using SMTP. The best setup instructions for this that I have found are here: https://www.fastcomet.com/tutorials/concrete5/configure-smtp
Yet I cannot get it to work. I’m using Formidable for an Employment Application Form. The form works fine and stores the response online, but the notification of a form submission is not going out.

Below is a snapshot of my settings:

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image522×831 67.9 KB

Here is a snapshot of the error I get when I test these settings:
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Can anyone help me with this?

2

Ask your host what to use for the mail server and login credentials. This of course assumes that they are running an SMTP server. If not, you will need to use a service like Sendgrid, or my preference, Mailersend. Mailersend has a generous free plan.

Also, some SMTP servers require TLS, and 587 specified as the port.

3

It seems that your SMTP configuration is correct, but you need to use a sender address with an authorized domain: you should change the default sender email address in the System & Settings > Email >
System Email Addresses dashboard page

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4

Thanks for the suggestion! I visited the System & Settings > Email >
System Email Addresses dashboard page and changed the Default Email Address to admin@mybethanyhome.org and the Form Block Email Address to applications@mybethanyhome.org. This allowed the Test to work within the SMTP Method configuration. But still, when I send a new Employment Application form entry, while it appears to complete successfully and shows up in Formidable Results, the notification email doesn’t seem to go out - not received - not in the spam folder either. Do you have any other suggestions?

5

Thank you for your suggestions! I have spoken with my host multiple times and it doesn’t look like there is anything to change on the host side. I am using their SMTP credentials. Also, I am using TLS and 587 as the port. Within the SMTP method setup in System Settings/Email, the Test works, but I still can’t get the Form to send a notification email.

6

So, I reviewed the Dashboard/Reports/Logs and found this:
"Nov 28, 2022, 2:25:24 PM||Exceptions|mainideas|Mail Exception Occurred. Unable to send mail: Sorry! This server is unable to send email from this domain:
bethanylutheranhome.com. Please try sending from a domain on this server. "

I don’t know where it is finding the domain “bethanylutheranhome.com” to try and send from. That’s not a domain associated with this website or on the same server. Does anyone have a clue what I should look for to change this?

7

I found the solution.
The specific problem I was having was solved when I changed the “From” email address to one with the same domain as the website. This form worked fine for many months with the “From” address set to the HR manager’s email address that used the domain “bethanlutheranhome.com”, a domain hosted on a different server, when I was using PHP Mailer, but it doesn’t work for SMTP. I changed that to “applications@mybethanyhome.org”, the same email address I used to set up the “SMTP Method” and that fixed it.

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