As you can see Quickfile doesn’t like to connect to SMTP.
I’ve read forums everywhere and users have been having this problem where there is no apparent resolution.
All details are 100% correct. There is no 2FA on 365 for Business. All the email, DNS etc… is set up as it should be. There is NO reason for this to not be sending.
Now I did try this at first and it said it successfully sent, although I never received an authentication email, nor in my junk. Ever since then, I tried to re-enter my details and it would keep telling me this despite again, everything being as it should as proven originally.
There seems to definitely be an issue on the Quickfile end and would like to resolve quickly as invoices have been going to clients Junk folders.
I’m not very technicaly minded but there was another post with the same error as the one your seeing. @QFMathew suggested in that one that the smtp server was wrong. May be worth trying?
"The results have come back with either the from address doesn’t exist (e.g. it’s an alias for an account), or the password has expired.
There is another solution posted on a Microsoft Forum which suggests using a different SMTP server than the one you have in your screenshot."
– The secondary SMTP server Microsoft lists does not work. Using port 25 instead of 587 also does not work. The email address is the main email, it is not an alias.
We’re not doing anything special in terms of the SMTP connection - we literally just connect using the settings provided and show any errors returned if necessary.
Are you using this account elsewhere (e.g. on a phone or in Outlook/Windows Mail)? It’s worth cross-referencing the details there with what’s on QuickFile. If it works elsewhere it should work on QuickFile.
The error you’re seeing is returned to us by the SMTP server based on the settings entered.
However, it’s worth noting that SMTP is optional. Even without it enabled, we will continue to send emails and clients can reply to them too. They’ll just be from a generic QuickFile email address.
Let me know how it goes with the cross-referencing. If you want to send @QFSupport a private message with screenshots of the settings elsewhere, along with your QuickFile account number, we’re happy to take a look for you and see if we can get this working.
The thing is, any of my clients using Microsoft mail servers gets their invoices chucked into the Junk. So most of the time I send an invoice, and I then get a response back ‘I haven’t received it’. Which causes headaches. It also doesn’t look very secure/professional if invoices are being thrown straight into Junk.
So setting up SMTP is highly important. As you can see all information is correct, I have cross referenced everything.
After a bit of research, I have found countless people having this same issue with QuickFile, yet no real resolutions to the issue.
Again, all information is 100% unequivocally and categorically correct and as it should be as stated by Microsoft’s SMTP credentials. I have even tried doing the port 25 direct send option instead, yet that does not work either. So it works elsewhere apart from on QuickFile. Which is why this issue is so very frustrating and confusing.
I’ll PM so we can get to the bottom of this strange issue.
To make an SMTP connection there are really only a small number of variables to set, there aren’t a myriad of different settings we can play around with.
In cases we’ve looked into in the past for SMTP errors it’s almost always an external factor. Many large cloud services like MS have multiple validation rules in place before allowing an email to be sent. Sometimes the errors returned aren’t really truly descriptive of the problem.
There are some clues here in regards to what you can look at on Microsoft’s end. Things like MFA and IP white listing have been known to cause issues with Office 365. Also you need to make sure the sender address configured in QuickFile matches the one in your Office 365 account.
I just have to be blankly honest with you Glenn. I have tried everything. Nothing is working. I have contacted Microsoft and tried all of their recommendations. Nothing has worked. They can’t even figure this out themselves.
I’ve changed my password 3 times, nothing. I’ve ensured all whitelisting, validation etc… is correct and it is. But yet again. Nothing is working. So many people on this platform appear to have this same issue across Microsoft, Google and many other platforms. This is therefore telling me its more of an issue with the way QuickFile is actually making the SMTP connection.
I’m literally at my wits end, this is so frustrating, I have been trying to sort this for months and nothing, literally NOTHING has worked. Every client I get complains about not receiving their invoices as it goes to their junk. It just looks so unprofessional. Why can’t this process just be as simple as entering my details and it working? Why can’t it ‘just work’?
This problem alone is making me seriously justify the extortionate expenses of other paid solutions.
Out of curiosity what did microsoft say the error message meant? I can’t imagine they would only send this message to quickfile
I done a quick search on the error in your screenshot and it looks like a common error for office 365. But I did find a bit of a checklist from microsoft which may help
Authentication: You must be able to configure a user name and password to send email on the device. Note that you cannot use Microsoft Security Defaults or multi-factor authentication (MFA), which disable basic authentication and are designed to protect your users from compromise.
Mailbox: You must have a licensed Microsoft 365 or Office 365 mailbox to send email from.
Transport Layer Security (TLS): Your device must be able to use TLS version 1.2 and above.
Port: Port 587 (recommended) or port 25 is required and must be unblocked on your network. Some network firewalls or ISPs block ports, especially port 25.
DNS: You must use the DNS name smtp.office365.com. Do not use an IP address for the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 server, as IP Addresses are not supported.
I’m not a techy but the only thing I cant work out from your screenshot is the top one. Not that I no what security defaults is anyway!
So this is basically what they have said to me long story short.
As I can see, this seems to work for quite a few people amongst resetting passwords and doing some other obscure setting changes. But nothing is working and this is why it’s very frustrating and confusing.
As I said, it originally did actually work, but I never actually received the activation code. So I’m assuming there’s confusion where it’s already sent it or something? Can’t my SMTP setting on my account simply be reset by QuickFile?
I’ve checked in with our development team this morning and we have plenty of users with verified and working Office 365 setups, which does suggest it could be an issue either with the details being used, or a setting on your Office 365 account itself.
Looking at those accounts that are verified, they’re using these settings:
Host: smtp.office365.com
Port: 587
UseSSL: true
This also seems to match your screenshot, so it’s a bit strange.
However, to add to @Spike’s post, I did come across this article, which suggests SMTP authentication can be disabled, so it’s worth checking on this too.
It may also be worth generating an app password specifically for QuickFile. This is generally only used if you have 2FA enabled, but it wouldn’t hurt to try it:
