Forum Discussion
smtp auth in office 365
AndresGorzelany Thanks for the reply! interesting read, it did however just serve to confuse me more. In the article you linked this is also written:
Selected protocol(s) will stay enabled for basic auth use until end of December 2022. During the first week of calendar year 2023, those protocols will be disabled for basic auth use permanently, and there will be no possibility of using basic auth after that.
However, in the https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/mail-flow-best-practices/how-to-set-up-a-multifunction-device-or-application-to-send-email-using-microsoft-365-or-office-365#option-1-authenticate-your-device-or-application-directly-with-a-microsoft-365-or-office-365-mailbox-and-send-mail-using-smtp-auth-client-submission this is stickied:
We recommend using Modern Authentication when connecting with our service. Although SMTP AUTH now supports OAuth, most devices and clients have not been designed to use OAuth with SMTP AUTH. As a result, there are no plans to disable Basic Authentication for SMTP AUTH clients at this time.
The confusion only increases when I jump to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/clients-and-mobile-in-exchange-online/deprecation-of-basic-authentication-exchange-online#impact-to-messaging-protocols-and-existing-applications article that has two completely contradicting statements:
Any protocol exceptions or re-enabled protocols will be turned off early in January 2023, with no possibility of further use.
...SMTP AUTH will still be available when Basic authentication is permanently disabled on October 1, 2022. The reason SMTP will still be available is that many multi-function devices such as printers and scanners can't be updated to use modern authentication. However, we strongly encourage customers to move away from using Basic authentication with SMTP AUTH when possible. Other options for sending authenticated mail include using alternative protocols, such as the Microsoft Graph API
This could however be my failed understanding of how basic authentication differs from smtp auth
Yes, I can see where the confusion can be, but basic SMTP Auth differs from the "basic auth" term.
I recommend you to reply on the exchange team blog post that I sent to you, as you can see, a lot of people ask questions there and someone from the team will probably answer to you quickly so you can rest assured that SMTP Auth will continue to work as you expect.