This article helps troubleshoot issues with your recruiting email setup. It covers problems with connecting Microsoft and Google, and the SMTP setup.
Learn how to set up a connection in our dedicated article. If you use Google or Microsoft, then you need to set up our direct integration. Otherwise, you can set up an SMTP connection. With a connection, you can send recruiting emails from Personio using your custom email address.
Before you start: Check your setup
To proceed, you first need to check which setup you have for sending emails. For example, you might use the direct integration with Google or Microsoft, or use SMTP. Our Support Team can’t check this for you.
To check which connection you have in place, follow these steps:
- In Settings, go to Recruiting > General.
- In the Recruiting email settings section, you have an overview of your current email settings.
- Scroll down to check which sending option is active, for example, the Google integration.
Issues with your SMTP setup
Note
You will need support from your IT department to troubleshoot SMTP setup issues.
Refer to the list of common issues and potential solutions below. If you are still having issues with your email setup, contact our Customer Support team. Let them know if you have already tried the suggested solutions.
Switch to our direct integration with Google or Microsoft
Issue:
You experience issues with setting up an SMTP connection with Google Apps.
Possible solution:
Soon, Google will no longer support new SMTP connections. You need to set up our direct integration with Google.
Issue:
- Your existing SMTP connection with Google or Microsoft is slowly disconnecting.
- You encounter an error message when you try to send emails. When you check your integration in the recruiting email settings, you find a “Something went wrong” error message (or similar).
Possible solution:
We recommend you switch to our direct integration.
Check that your company email account is not a shared mailbox
Issue:
Your company email address is a shared mailbox. A shared mailbox does not have its own username and password. Also, several users can access and send emails from it.
Therefore, two essential components of the SMTP settings are missing: the username and the password.
Possible solution:
Use a fully licensed recruiting email address rather than a shared mailbox (i.e., when you buy a subscription for an email provider, like Microsoft 365, you specify the number of licenses you need. You then assign a license to each employee).
Allow the Personio Recruiting IP addresses
Issue:
You can only send certain IPs via your SMTP server with a firewall. Your SMTP server only allows emails to be sent from certain documented IP addresses.
Possible solution:
Ensure to allow the following Personio Recruiting IP addresses:
- 3.121.59.239/32
- 3.65.146.216/32
- 18.158.122.164/32
Allow the use of external apps in your email provider settings
Issue:
External apps cannot establish a connection. This is despite using a licensed email address and allowlisting the IP addresses.
Possible solution:
Check if your email account has permission to connect to external apps. For example, Gmail does not allow it by default. Then enable the use of external apps in your email provider settings.
Find more information on troubleshooting steps for Gmail and managing access to less secure apps.
Enable the Personio email service until you have edited your current setup
Issue:
You need to edit or update the currently selected email communication channel. For example, you want to edit your SMTP setup.
Solution:
You must temporarily activate another option first. We recommend enabling the Personio email service temporarily until you make the changes to your SMTP setup.
Update the credentials on your email server
Issue:
You receive an error message about the wrong credentials.
Possible solution:
You need to update the credentials on your email server. You can then check that they are updated in Personio. In Settings, go to Recruiting > General. Next to Recruiting email settings, click the button to edit. Here, you can review your email settings.
Check if the email server can be reached
Issue:
You receive a timeout error message during the setup.
Possible solution:
Your IT department must check if the email server can be reached.
Microsoft 365: Ensure that SMTP AUTH is enabled
Issue:
The following error message is displayed:
Failed to authenticate on SMTP server with username “jobs@company.de” using two possible authenticators. Authenticator LOGIN returned the expected response code 235, but got code “535”.
Possible solution:
We recommend switching to our direct integration with Microsoft.
Alternatively, ensure that SMTP AUTH is enabled. Find more information in this Microsoft help article. Read about troubleshooting Microsoft 365 authentication issues.
Microsoft Entra: Ensure Basic Auth is allowed for SMTP
Issue:
When using Microsoft, certain security defaults are added to new tenants and may overwrite SMTP AUTH settings.
Possible solution:
We recommend switching to our direct integration with Microsoft.
Alternatively, you need to disable the security default settings in Microsoft Entra ID. Ensure that Basic Auth is allowed for SMTP via the Org settings in your Microsoft 365 admin center and for the specific account.
Issues with setting up the direct integration with Microsoft or Google
Check the issue and solution below. If you are having other issues, contact our Customer Support team. Let them know if you have already tried the suggested solution.
Ensure the email account is not a shared mailbox
Issue:
The integration with Microsoft or Google isn’t working.
Possible solution:
Ensure the email account you use for the integration is not a shared mailbox. The email account you use for the integration must:
- Have its own mailbox and login credentials.
- Have administrator rights.
- Be licensed (i.e., when you buy a subscription for an email provider, like Microsoft 365, you specify the number of licenses you need. You then assign a license to each employee).