Unable to configure External SMTP Server with a non-email address login in Plesk: Unable to encode IDN email address ‘jdoe’

Symptoms

• Unable to configure External SMTP Server with a non-email address login in Tools & Settings > External SMTP Server, the following error is shown:

  PLESK_ERROR: Error: Unable to encode IDN email address ‘jdoe’: email address is invalid

• The relay mail server configured in Tools & Settings > External SMTP Server only accepts authentication with non-email address login. For example, it only accepts connection with the username jdoe instead of [email protected] email address.

Cause

This is a Plesk bug with ID #PPP-46097 which will be fixed in future Plesk updates.

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Resolution

Configure a non-email address login in External SMTP Server with the following workaround:

1. Connect to the server via RDP

2. Start a command prompt as Administrator

3. Back up the Plesk database:

   C:> plesk db dump psa > C:psa.backup.sql

4. Set the non-email address login directly on the database:

   C:> plesk db -e “update servicenodeconfiguration set value = ‘jdoe’ where serviceNodeId = 1 and section = ‘MailGate’ and name = ‘login'”

   * Where jdoe is the username used to authenticate with the external relay mail server configured in Tools & Settings > External SMTP Server