SMTP: GMail as email Server

[mickster1963]

Describe the issue
Debug Email Connection
2026-01-02 19:20:15 Connection: opening to smtp.gmail.com:25, timeout=10, options=array()

2026-01-02 19:20:25 Connection failed. Error #2: stream_socket_client(): Unable to connect to smtp.gmail.com:25 (Connection timed out) [/home2/fbcsourl/membership.fbcsourlake.org/vendor/phpmailer/phpmailer/src/SMTP.php line 421]

2026-01-02 19:20:25 SMTP ERROR: Failed to connect to server: Connection timed out (110)

SMTP connect() failed. https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/wiki/Troubleshooting

Other information about setup:

Timeout while testing SMTP server connection. Seems like this should be 587 and not 25.

[DawoudIO]

Thanks for reporting! That debug log shows PHPMailer trying to connect to smtp.gmail.com on port 25 and timing out. Port 25 is commonly blocked by hosts and is not the correct port for Gmail SMTP.

Recommended Settings

Go to Admin → System Settings → Email and use:

Setting	Value
SMTP Host	smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Port	587
Encryption	TLS (or use port 465 with SSL)
SMTP Auth	Yes
Username	Your full Gmail address
Password	An App Password if 2FA is enabled

Verify Server Connectivity

Run one of these commands from your hosting server:

telnet smtp.gmail.com 587

[DawoudIO]

https://docs.churchcrm.io/administration/email-setup