Setting up, Administering, Configuring email notifications in Venio
Before using your third-party email account for use in the Venio SMTP server settings, make sure the third party account is configured properly to allow SMTP usage. Here are a few common examples.
For security reasons, gmail SMTP servers do NOT allow authentication with your normal google account password. Google's gmail SMTP servers will only allow you top authenticate with a generated application specific password. You need 2-factor authentication (2FA) enabled on your Gmail account in order to create app specific passwords.
Do not worry though, enabling 2FA will not prevent the system from being able to send emails, because, like an API key, app passwords provide a way to bypass 2FA.
Please note, you MUST update the app specific passwords if you reset your account credentials.
Here is documentation for enabling 2-factor authentication (2FA) on Gmail and creating an app specific password for SMTP access:
Enabling 2FA on Gmail
- Go to your Gmail account settings (click on the gear icon in the top right corner)
- Select "Security"
- Under "Signing in to Google," click 2-Step Verification and select "Get started"
- Choose the verification method you want to enable - this adds an extra step to verify your identity when logging into your Gmail account. Common options are text message codes, Google Authenticator app codes, security keys, etc.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to setup your preferred 2FA method. Confirm your phone can receive text messages or download the Google Authenticator app to get verification codes.
Creating an App Specific Password for SMTP
- Once 2FA is enabled, sign in and go back to your Gmail Account Settings
- Select "Security"
- Under "Signing in to Google," go to App Passwords
- You may need to re-verify your 2FA login at this step
- Select "Mail" and choose the device/app that needs the password
- Gmail will generate a 16-character password unique to that app. Copy and save this password.
- When configuring your email client or SMTP app, use your regular Gmail email address as the username and the 16-character App Password you generated as the password.
- The app you authorized can now access your Gmail account using SMTP/IMAP with the unique app password rather than your main account password.
This allows you to use 2FA for enhanced Gmail security while still granting applications SMTP access. Again, as stated earlier it is important that you MUST update the app specific passwords if you ever change or update your normal google account credentials.
Contact Gmail Support if you face any issues with credentials or access while configuring SMTP.
SendGrid provides a cloud-based SMTP service that allows sending high volumes of email reliably.
To get started with SendGrid:
- Sign up for a SendGrid account at sendgrid.com
- Verify the sender email address you want to use
- Create an API key with "Full Access" permissions
- Configure the following SMTP settings in your application:
- SMTP host: smtp.sendgrid.net
- SMTP port: 587
- SMTP username: apikey
- SMTP password: [Your SendGrid API key]
Some additional recommendations when using SendGrid:
- Carefully review SendGrid's email content and deliverability guidelines to avoid having mail flagged as spam
- Start with low sending volumes and slowly increase to build deliverability reputation
- Use categories and segmentation to target customer groups
- Use SendGrid email logs to monitor declines, bounces, spam reports etc.
- Consider upgrading to paid plans or dedicated IPs for advanced email delivery and analytics
If you have any trouble configuring SMTP or want to discuss use cases, contact SendGrid technical support.
Outlook Office 365 provides enterprise-grade email delivery via SMTP.
To configure Outlook Office 365 SMTP:
- Log into your Microsoft 365 admin center
- Go to Settings > Services & add-ins > SMTP
- Note down the SMTP outbound server (e.g. smtp.office365.com)
- Under More options, create an SMTP username and password
- Make sure the credentials have Send As permissions for the email address sending notifications
- In your application code/config:
- Set SMTP server as noted in step 3
- Set SMTP port to 587
- Set SMTP username/password from step 4
Additional recommendations when using Office 365 SMTP:
- Start with low email volumes and pace increases to build good sending reputation
- Use Office 365 reports to monitor email traffic and delivery stats
- Set up sender feedback notifications for bounce and delay notifications
- Enable TLS encryption in SMTP connection settings
Contact Office 365 Support if you face any issues with credentials or access while configuring SMTP.