Email notifier board

[pete_c]

Here using T-Mobile for texting via email. 
 
I have had a recent issue which didn't have anything to do with using my email stuff rather the issue was theirs.  Fixed it after a month of willy nilly technical support. (and executive support and FCC complaints).  Still getting letters of apologies here (as of last week).
 
ATT has been on my S-List historically for screwing around with my two copper lines 13 years ago, recently for slamming my legacy (25 years) cellular accounts and today now for managing my DTV account.  I really want nothing to do with them anymore.
 
Probably going to switch over to pure SMS via telnet / ssh scripting which will work better than using email. 
 
Never had an issue using Pushover for this stuff.

 

[jcd]

We got called back to a client today because they'd stopped receiving their e-mail notifications (it had previously been working using the kludgey SMTP2GO "solution", but for whatever reason that ceased to work.)
 
We tried:
 
From: [email protected]
<default smtp>
port (25)
SMTP Username (**** - used the smtp2go username)
Password (**** - used the smtp2go password)
SSL (No)
 
From: [email protected]
mail.smtp2go.com
port (2525)
SMTP Username (**** - used the smtp2go username)
Password (**** - used the smtp2go password)
SSL (No)
 

From: ****@smtp2go.com
mail.smtp2go.com
port (2525)
SMTP Username (**** - used the smtp2go username)
Password (**** - used the smtp2go password)
SSL (No)
 
From: ****@gmail.com
mail.smtp2go.com
port (2525)
SMTP Username (**** - used the smtp2go username)
Password (**** - used the smtp2go password)
SSL (No)
 

From: ****@gmail.com
smtp.gmail.com
port (465)
SMTP Username (**** - used the gmail username)
Password (**** - used the gmail password)
SSL (Yes)
 
OmniNotifier Board FW is version 1.5
OmniPro FW is 3.16.0.808
 
We have rebooted the controller, reseated the Notifier board serial and network cables, etc. etc. Communication to everything via PCAccess is all fine and good. It looks like everything is working, but e-mail WILL NOT SEND.
 
NONE OF THESE SETTINGS WORK! Stupid Leviton POS.
 
Hours wasted, unpaid, and still an unhappy customer because we have no answer for them. 
 
Can anyone else who's gone through this whole "Notifier" pain please confirm if their solution is still working, and if so what the settings are that work?
 
 

 

 

[jcd]

BTW, we also tried using gmail on ports 25, 465, and 587, both with and without SSL, and using gmail and non-gmail sending address domains.
 
IOW, we've tried every permutation we can think of.
 
What really worries is that we have other boards in the field that *for now* seem to work okay with these same kludge-y SMTP2GO workaround settings; I just can't figure out why some work and some stop working, ceteris paribus.

 

[ano]

BTW, we also tried using gmail on ports 25, 465, and 587, both with and without SSL, and using gmail and non-gmail sending address domains.
 
IOW, we've tried every permutation we can think of.
 
What really worries is that we have other boards in the field that *for now* seem to work okay with these same kludge-y SMTP2GO workaround settings; I just can't figure out why some work and some stop working, ceteris paribus.

Unfortunately SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocom) is not really that "simple" anymore.  It has evolved through the years and more providers today require various security which also has many various versions.  Leviton certainly hasn't kept up with all the changes.
 
If you are an installer, personally I wouldn't rely on Google or SMTP2GO or any outside provider that you don't control to send out the email.  I would buy a domain name and find a service provider to host the email. For example I use Hostgator.com for hosting which maybe for $100/year can provide all this and the same email account can be used for all your customers to send out email. That gives you some options to configure it the way you want and maintain it so you know it works and it keeps working. Google changes email requirements all the time and its a moving target. And your mail host can usually help you troubleshoot should you need to. Good luck getting Google to help you.

 

 

[pete_c]

Google offers a less secure method of connectivity and it worked for me. 
 
Google the change to a Google account and see if it works for you.
 
Test it first.

 

[BobS0327]

First of all, I use a RPI3/Jomnilink Java solution to send text messages from the OP2 controller.  I only use the email notifier board to maintain accurate time on the OP2.
 
But I did follow the Leviton procedure by getting a Smtp2go account and setting up the board to use this account for testing purposes.  The result of my testing was a total failure.  I could not successfully send a test message from the controller to my email account..
 
I decided to verify that the SMTP parms used were valid.  So, I used the C# example code provided by Smtp2Go https://www.smtp2go.com/docs/csharp/ to verify the parms.  My test results were totally successful.  I had absolutely no problem sending text messages via Smtp2Go using the parms suggested by the Leviton procedure.
 
IMHO, it's indicative of an issue with the EmailNotifier board not a Smtp2Go issue.

 

[pete_c]

Thank you Bob for chiming in.
 
My testing / gmail stuff related to some email tinkering I have been doing unrelated to the HAI Email board.
 
Wondering how many folks using current Leviton email board firmware are having the same issues.

 

[BobS0327]

Wondering how many folks using current Leviton email board firmware are having the same issues.

 
FWIW, On another Leviton/HAI forum, a user encountered this very same problem.  He sent his PCA file into Leviton tech support for review.  Per his post, Leviton verifed that there was nothing wrong with his hardware setup etc. Leviton Tech Support is currently working on a solution to this problem.

 

[StarTrekDoors]

Well after two years it would be nice to have a fix but wondering if that means another two years wait..... 
 
As BobS0327 mentioned, the Email Notifier is better suited at "mostly" keeping time accurate on the OP and very happy that function usually works.  If someone purchases the Email Notifier for email, it seems to be hit or miss and not too reliable for many.  I would probably change the name of the board from Email Notifier to something like Time Sync WPEC Board (with possible email capability).
 
Sad that time won't update on the OT7's automatically.  I guess the Email Notifier sync doesn't allow the OP to push time updates to the OT7, but would be cool to see that fixed too....

 

[ano]

As BobS0327 mentioned, the Email Notifier is better suited at "mostly" keeping time accurate on the OP and very happy that function usually works.  If someone purchases the Email Notifier for email, it seems to be hit or miss and not too reliable for many.  I would probably change the name of the board from Email Notifier to something like Time Sync WPEC Board (with possible email capability).

I think it would be more fair to say it always works for some email providers, but certainly doesn't work for all. I have used it for a long time with my own domain email and I can not think of even one instance where it didn't work, and that is with 100's of emails.  But it certainly doesn't work with Google and many others that don't accept its old protocol.

 

[sniem1525]

I think it would be more fair to say it always works for some email providers, but certainly doesn't work for all. I have used it for a long time with my own domain email and I can not think of even one instance where it didn't work, and that is with 100's of emails.  But it certainly doesn't work with Google and many others that don't accept its old protocol.

 
 

Unfortunately SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocom) is not really that "simple" anymore.  It has evolved through the years and more providers today require various security which also has many various versions.  Leviton certainly hasn't kept up with all the changes.
 
If you are an installer, personally I wouldn't rely on Google or SMTP2GO or any outside provider that you don't control to send out the email.  I would buy a domain name and find a service provider to host the email. For example I use Hostgator.com for hosting which maybe for $100/year can provide all this and the same email account can be used for all your customers to send out email. That gives you some options to configure it the way you want and maintain it so you know it works and it keeps working. Google changes email requirements all the time and its a moving target. And your mail host can usually help you troubleshoot should you need to. Good luck getting Google to help you.
 

 
ano - Great info. SMTP has definitely evolved, especially in the past few years. Not so much in the sense of how email is transported concerning the email transaction, but the additional security layers being added or existing layers tightened up.
 
For a business install with multiple boards relaying off the same server, a cloud (or even private if you have infrastructure for it) server works great. You can get a basic email cloud instance for cheap. Mileage may vary. For this setup, the kicker sometimes is your ISP if the board is installed at a home or somewhere with residential grade circuits. Where I live, Comcast is the only option. Unless you're on a business class circuit, port 25 outbound from your connection is a no go. 
 
For my personal home setup, I'm still running the same setup from a few months ago and I haven't missed an email yet. The setup I put in place for email flow is Relay Board -> Linux Server -> GMAIL. The purpose of the server is to accept email on a protected LAN insecurely and send to GMAIL securely. 
 
You also get an added benefit here that you don't normally get. Initially, I found troubleshooting the actual issue when GMAIL bumped up their security to be a massive pain. The board offers no troubleshooting, status codes, or any other diagnostic utility to see what's going on. At least with this setup, I can watch the SMTP transaction from the Linux server while the board interacts with it. This is both receiving from the board and then sending off to GMAIL.
 
Admittedly running an additional box JUST for email is also a pain. Extra box to maintain, more closet heat, etc. In the next few days I'll be consolidating it down from a Linux Server to a Rasberry Pi. The advantage here is really the physical footprint. No heat, almost no power draw, plus I can start stacking other features as things are built out around the house. On top of that, it's CHEAP. The bare setup is $30 or so, kit runs you around $70. If you're running this at a business, Google will show you all the beneficial stuff you can do with a Pi to monitor infrastructure, but that's outside the scope of this thread.
 
The actual setup for email relay is pretty easy and straightforward (Linux or Pi), if anyone is interested in the setup either PM me. Happy to help.

 

[immaxx]

about time!.... there is now an update to the notifier board... and it works!

 

[roadrunner908]

Works for me!
 
See Configuring the Leviton Omni Notifier Using My Leviton Cloud at  http://communities.leviton.com/docs/DOC-4920 for instructions.

 

[mechengineer2]

My Omni Notifier firmware update keeps failing.  I'm currently using firmaware version 1.5 trying to update to V2.
 
Any ideas?  It takes roughly 48 minutes to load and then at the end when it tries to validate it takes about 10 seconds and then says "failed".

 

[StarTrekDoors]

Total update took 58 minutes and 2 seconds. 
 
Selecting the check MAC button shows the board has yet another MAC address, with the old one being replaced yet again.  000NAN0000000 (N = number, A = alpha character).  So thinking the software has issues, clicked the button to read the MAC again and second time around it yielded 000NANNNNNNA and it returned to the second MAC it changed to on an earlier update (the first MAC the board had never came back after the first upgrade).  I'll test to see if reliability was fixed.