Blocked text notifications

[dpierre]

Hello all... I recently migrated to IOP.  Didn't go as smooth as I would have hoped for, but nonetheless,  I'm back up and operational.  Having a problem with my text notifications not coming through.  I submitted a ticket to the folks UDI and was told my carrier (Verizon) is blocking or throttling me from receiving text messages because of too much activity.  UDI then shuts me down because the traffic is bouncing on their servers.  I never had this problem prior to the migration from the 944i. 

The program I have for the notification is tied to my garage door opening and closing, four maybe, five times a day.  I reached out to Verizon's tier 3 tech support to inquire about the possibility of me being blocked or throttled down from alerts@universal-devices.com.  They couldn't find anything.  Email notifications are fine.  Is anyone else having or had this issue?  If so, what was your remedy?  I really, need to have this functionality.  Anyway, I guess I'm blocked again, no texts today   

 

 

 

[Geddy]

Are you sending texts from an email? This has been asked/answered in many posts on here. The "old" method of sending texts to a #@vzw<whatever-email> is very low priority for most carriers these days. The suggested route is to use network resources, node server, and/or UD Mobile alerts. 

Run a Google Site Search for slow texts and see what has been said.

It's not just you, and it's not UDI. It's the cell carriers. 

[dpierre]

3 minutes ago, Geddy said:

Are you sending texts from an email? This has been asked/answered in many posts on here. The "old" method of sending texts to a #@vzw<whatever-email> is very low priority for most carriers these days. The suggested route is to use network resources, node server, and/or UD Mobile alerts. 

Run a Google Site Search for slow texts and see what has been said.

It's not just you, and it's not UDI. It's the cell carriers. 

Yep.... I started looking deeper.  I see this is an issue everywhere.  I'm just going to use Gmail and call it a day.  Thank you

 

[JTsao]

Pushover notifications work well - I switched to this method when I encountered this problem.  You don't need a Node Server, just create a free Pushover account and they provide you with an email address to send your notifications to.  I just use the default IoP email for sending notifications - they appear in a timely fashion on your phone's pushover app.  It's also nice to have your home notifcations separated from other text messages.

[dpierre]

Jtsao... I may have to use it.  As I'm getting an SMTP error from Gmail I can't seem identify what the problem is.  Thanks for the info. 

[Geddy]

On 11/22/2022 at 5:52 PM, dpierre said:

As I'm getting an SMTP error from Gmail I can't seem identify what the problem is.

Make sure you follow the wiki setup information for Gmail. Some slight adjustments were made earlier this year. 

https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY994:Configure_Mail_Server_Settings#Configuring_gmail_Account
 

If you’re getting errors post them here. I use Gmail without any problems sending to another email address. If you’re trying to use Gmail to send to text you might still have delivery problems. 

Pushover is good. Another good option (often suggested by @MrBill) is using a 3rd party email app (like Spark) so alerts that only that app checks the email for are ISY alerts so you know when ISY alerts are received. I think he uses a spare ISP email to send to that same account and uses Spark to check that email only. 
 

[larryllix]

17 hours ago, Geddy said:

Make sure you follow the wiki setup information for Gmail. Some slight adjustments were made earlier this year. 

https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY994:Configure_Mail_Server_Settings#Configuring_gmail_Account
 

If you’re getting errors post them here. I use Gmail without any problems sending to another email address. If you’re trying to use Gmail to send to text you might still have delivery problems. 

UPDATE:

As per all previous trails over the last few years, port 587 returns an immediate [[ERROR---1]]] undocumented in wiki.

port 465 without TLS returns same error buy thinks about it until timeout = 8000 seconds

I have tried every combination of TLS, various other accounts, with tested elsewhere passwords, with name (formatted) and without, User account ID with '@gmail' and without.

After spending many hours on this years ago and retries every year or so I just assumed this was an ISY software bug and always gave up as it just quit working years ago and hasn't worked since, no matter what I have tried for combinations of setup.

Pushover is good. Another good option (often suggested by @MrBill) is using a 3rd party email app (like Spark) so alerts that only that app checks the email for are ISY alerts so you know when ISY alerts are received. I think he uses a spare ISP email to send to that same account and uses Spark to check that email only. 
 

I have not been able to get my gmail account working for years now, and switched to the default (UDI) However, text messages now are getting assigned different numeric suffixes to every SMS and appears as multiple account sources making it a PITA to cleanup.

Is it possible for you to send me a screenshot of your gmail setup, possibly blocking any credential password information? gMail formerly worked for me here but stopped a few years ago. I would like to return to gMail. IIRC I also used my ISPs freebie email address and server but they never used any security as I was on a dedicated line and they could tell my source anyway.

Is this possibly a same account to same account problem that is being filtered?

UPDATE

Despite trying every combination of TLS on/off with matching ports 587/465, user name/filled with format observed, various gmail accounts with proven passwords, pop enables and not blocking on any account, account name including/not-including '@gmail.com', always leaving edited line and clicking "Save" the test email has never worked for me in the last few years.

Port 587 with TLS returns an immediate [[Error--1]] = not documented in wiki.
Port 465 without TLS returns same erro after 8000 sec timeout.

After years of attempting this I concluded this was always just a bug in ISY software and gave up, going back to the default but the new various account names are a PITA and would like to make another email server work.

Edited November 24, 2022 by larryllix

[DennisC]

18 hours ago, larryllix said:

I have not been able to get my gmail account working for years now, and switched to the default (UDI) However, text messages now are getting assigned different numeric suffixes to every SMS and appears as multiple account sources making it a PITA to cleanup.

Is it possible for you to send me a screenshot of your gmail setup, possibly blocking any credential password information? gMail formerly worked for me here but stopped a few years ago. I would like to return to gMail. IIRC I also used my ISPs freebie email address and server but they never used any security as I was on a dedicated line and they could tell my source anyway.

Is this possibly a same account to same account problem that is being filtered?

UPDATE

Despite trying every combination of TLS on/off with matching ports 587/465, user name/filled with format observed, various gmail accounts with proven passwords, pop enables and not blocking on any account, account name including/not-including '@gmail.com', always leaving edited line and clicking "Save" the test email has never worked for me in the last few years.

Port 587 with TLS returns an immediate [[Error--1]] = not documented in wiki.
Port 465 without TLS returns same erro after 8000 sec timeout.

After years of attempting this I concluded this was always just a bug in ISY software and gave up, going back to the default but the new various account names are a PITA and would like to make another email server work.

I also use Gmail for email notifications for my ISY/Polisy using  a dedicated Gmail account. I have been using this for several years.

You need to set up an app specific password for it to work. You should be able to Google instructions for how to set it up.

Let me know if you have a specific question about the procedure.

[dbuss]

19 hours ago, larryllix said:

I have not been able to get my gmail account working for years now, and switched to the default (UDI) However, text messages now are getting assigned different numeric suffixes to every SMS and appears as multiple account sources making it a PITA to cleanup.

Is it possible for you to send me a screenshot of your gmail setup, possibly blocking any credential password information? gMail formerly worked for me here but stopped a few years ago. I would like to return to gMail. IIRC I also used my ISPs freebie email address and server but they never used any security as I was on a dedicated line and they could tell my source anyway.

Is this possibly a same account to same account problem that is being filtered?

UPDATE

Despite trying every combination of TLS on/off with matching ports 587/465, user name/filled with format observed, various gmail accounts with proven passwords, pop enables and not blocking on any account, account name including/not-including '@gmail.com', always leaving edited line and clicking "Save" the test email has never worked for me in the last few years.

Port 587 with TLS returns an immediate [[Error--1]] = not documented in wiki.
Port 465 without TLS returns same erro after 8000 sec timeout.

After years of attempting this I concluded this was always just a bug in ISY software and gave up, going back to the default but the new various account names are a PITA and would like to make another email server work.

This is the process I used to setup my gmail account in my ISY.

Create & use App Passwords

If you use 2-Step-Verification and get a "password incorrect" error when you sign in, you can try to use an App Password.

1. Go to your Google Account.
2. Select Security.
3. Under "Signing in to Google," select App Passwords. You may need to sign in. If you don’t have this option, it might be because:
   1. 2-Step Verification is not set up for your account.
   2. 2-Step Verification is only set up for security keys.
   3. Your account is through work, school, or other organization.
   4. You turned on Advanced Protection.
4. At the bottom, choose Select app and choose the app you using  Select device and choose the device you’re using  Generate.
5. Follow the instructions to enter the App Password. The App Password is the 16-character code in the yellow bar on your device.
6. Tap Done.

Tip: Most of the time, you’ll only have to enter an App Password once per app or device, so don’t worry about memorizing it.

Here's a screenshot of how it is setup in my ISY.

[Geddy]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:26 PM, larryllix said:

Is it possible for you to send me a screenshot of your gmail setup

Here's the settings I have:

Often times the error I recall seeing most is that people don't catch/notice the colon (:) between First-Name Last-Name in the setup and will error out because the "From" is not formatted correctly. 

Beyond that the key is usually the Google/Gmail settings for 2FA. In the Google Account Settings look at Security (seen below), make sure 2-Step Verification is "ON" then setup App Password.

 

Once you have this it will show you what you have App Passwords for, when they were created, and when they were last used. My last notification was apparently emailed at 8:02 this morning. 

 

The WIKI was updated to link to this information for such setup (following the changes Gmail made earlier this year): https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en

 

My custom notification uses variables in the body so it's not always the same text so spam/robo checks from Gmail or receiving account shouldn't auto flag it. I was concerned that if it was a static message that got sent regularly that it would be flagged as robo sending even though it doesn't send very often (daily most of the time) so it's simple and works for me. 

Hope that helps. Let me know if you've got other questions. 

[Geddy]

@dbuss interesting that yours works with only "ISY" in the "FROM" line. I haven't taken out the email address portion of that line, but thought that might have been an issue in the past so just left it as it was in my initial setup. Mine is actually "Home-ISY:<bogusaccount>@gmail.com". 

One thing I have noticed is that I need to actually log into that account on a somewhat regular basis to keep it active. I don't keep up with when I do it, but I have Spark running on my phone for a different account and it checks the bogus account when it's active so I think that counts as me logging into it. 

I know Google had gotten a lot more aggressive with idle accounts sending messages, but not other activity over the recent years. So best to keep it active to avoid flagging or removal from Gmail services.

@larryllix like I said...this setup has been my setup since I started with ISY, about 6 or 7 years ago. I turned 2FA on for Gmail as soon as it became available; long before I had the ISY. 

 

[larryllix]

1 hour ago, Geddy said:

@dbuss interesting that yours works with only "ISY" in the "FROM" line. I haven't taken out the email address portion of that line, but thought that might have been an issue in the past so just left it as it was in my initial setup. Mine is actually "Home-ISY:<bogusaccount>@gmail.com". 

One thing I have noticed is that I need to actually log into that account on a somewhat regular basis to keep it active. I don't keep up with when I do it, but I have Spark running on my phone for a different account and it checks the bogus account when it's active so I think that counts as me logging into it. 

I know Google had gotten a lot more aggressive with idle accounts sending messages, but not other activity over the recent years. So best to keep it active to avoid flagging or removal from Gmail services.

@larryllix like I said...this setup has been my setup since I started with ISY, about 6 or 7 years ago. I turned 2FA on for Gmail as soon as it became available; long before I had the ISY. 

 

Thanks everybody for the help.

It seems my problem is likely the 2FA settings. I have avoided that as much as possible and never turned them. That was likely the time when they forced it on users and my notifications stopped functioning.

It never made sense to me to have a password sent to the same device that my account is being hacked from, and it is a PITA. I have a few services that request a 2FA password every time I login. I then have to run to get another device (my cell phone) just to access websites from my laptop. I have dumped most of the services requiring that nonsense, and gone elsewhere.

I will think some more about this.

I assume once google 2FA is enabled there is no going back again with google.com? Google always reports I am accessing the account from my cell phone, while really on my laptop so I distrust the method, afraid I will lose everything.

[Geddy]

3 minutes ago, larryllix said:

I have avoided that as much as possible and never turned them.

While I agree that 2FA is a PITA it's become the necessary evil for many accounts. I find it helpful and turned on for every account I can have it. I'm the opposite of what you're doing. I avoid accounts that don't offer 2FA or handle it only through email (that is indeed easy to hack). Now that the new iPhones don't have physical sim cards hopefully sim swapping is a little more difficult. 

3 minutes ago, larryllix said:

It never made sense to me to have a password sent to the same device that my account is being hacked from

The point about 2FA is that it should be sent to another device. Yes, I'd say most of us are logging in on multiple devices and ultimately it probably is one log in and secure process getting sent to same device, but again...I see it as a deterrent rather than real PITA. 

5 minutes ago, larryllix said:

I assume once google 2FA is enabled there is no going back again with google.com?

I don't really know what you're saying here...must be Canadian for something. But my guess is once you turn 2FA on you can't turn it off? I don't think so, but haven't tried. The issue is that Google finally turned off being able to log into other applications with only user name and password. They (Google) require accounts to have additional security turned on and thus make an app specific password. 

The good thing is that on my iPhone once the mail app setup my Gmail account it doesn't ask the password/2FA each time it checks the mail. It's making a secure connection though so that's trusted by Apple and Google. 

The problem is that the ISY is making a fairly unsecure connection so by using the app specific password Google thinks that it's more secure than your basic user/pass combination. 

Again, just setup an ISY specific google/gmail account. Turn on 2FA set an app specific password and forget about it. It's fairly simple (IMO). But again, I've had it on for ages and accustomed to it. 

 

[DennisC]

21 minutes ago, larryllix said:

Thanks everybody for the help.

It seems my problem is likely the 2FA settings. I have avoided that as much as possible and never turned them. That was likely the time when they forced it on users and my notifications stopped functioning.

It never made sense to me to have a password sent to the same device that my account is being hacked from, and it is a PITA. I have a few services that request a 2FA password every time I login. I then have to run to get another device (my cell phone) just to access websites from my laptop. I have dumped most of the services requiring that nonsense, and gone elsewhere.

I will think some more about this.

I assume once google 2FA is enabled there is no going back again with google.com? Google always reports I am accessing the account from my cell phone, while really on my laptop so I distrust the method, afraid I will lose everything.

In my situation, I created a gmail account only for the ISY. Once you create the app password and enter it in ISY setup, you are done with it. I have never needed to re-enter it and I also never had gmail challenge it. 

I do not receive notifications from Google when ISY is utilizing gmail.

It's actually pain free once it is set up.

[dbuss]

6 hours ago, DennisC said:

Once you create the app password and enter it in ISY setup, you are done with it. I have never needed to re-enter it and I also never had gmail challenge it. 

I do not receive notifications from Google when ISY is utilizing gmail.

It's actually pain free once it is set up.

Same here.