The other day I had my email to text (##########@vtext.com) stop working (emails to normal email address still work), and wondered if anybody else had this issue and if it was a security update thing or if you guys have any suggestions. I can send a test email from the gmail account I’m using and it works fine. I’m using the Send Email with Attachments commend. It worked for about 6 months then stopped. I’m going to check for error codes soon but wondered if anybody else has had this happen.
I am having this same issue when sending out texts for a R2 controller. Sometimes the texts work, but most of the time they do not receive them. Emails send with no problem and no bounce back messages in my email. I am using a gmail account to send out alarms.
This sometimes happens as email servers tighten up security. Have you tried using your own mail server?
I have not. I just use a gmail account, that I created for each controls job.
Have you set up two factor authentication and thus got an application specific password for that account?
gmail changed and it might be unhappy if you have not done that.
See more here:
Also how old are the Google SSL certificates in that controller. They update them from time to time.
See here for more details:
https://www.opto22.com/support/resources-tools/knowledgebase/kb87080
It would not surprise me if it is the carrier/provider is blocking the email to text messages in an effort to help protect against spam. If it is Verizon having the issue, it would also be near impossible for you to troubleshoot as the email likely successfully sends. This may or may not be related, but there have been very recent registration requirements for A2P (application to person) texting in an effort to crack down on spam.
On the Gmail route - we had to migrate away from that over a year ago with them deprecating basic authentication with SMTP. Microsoft also recently deprecated basic auth with Exchange. To use any big-name email provider they really want you to use modern authentication now a days.
Basic authentication is generally considered an outdated industry standard. I would recommend looking into alternatives with stronger security requirements. From personal experience, it is a huge pain to have an alarming system customers rely on just randomly stop working.
-Peter
Two factor is on and the app password is set. The cert is what comes along with the new firmware opto22 provides.
I believe it is something with the carrier/provider, as emails get sent out and received just fine. Email to text is the problem. @psantoro3 do you have any recommendations to an alternative solution? Yes, it has become a huge pain.
Automated texting is a pain (why is email not good enough?!). I recently went back and forth with a few solutions as email to texting was no longer reliable. It either did not work, or the texts were delayed 5+ hours. I did not find a quick and easy solution, and I have a feeling it is just going to become more difficult in the future.
There are services you can use with rest API’s (Twilio being one of the big name companies), which can be integrated into PAC Control projects. These services are not free, and any phone number you use likely needs to have A2P10 DLC registration for your business so you do not get immediately flagged as spam.
In general, I use MQTT with a cloud broker, so there is really only a single service I have to manage/monitor that sends alerts. This is not a quick fix or something you can easily spin up.
Others here might have better options…
-Peter