Email notifications for errors and reports

The Charge Controller can be configured to send email notifications for critical errors and periodic session reports. This feature is useful for remote monitoring and diagnostics, but can be affected by several layers of configuration and network behavior.

This guide helps with setting up the SMTP configuration and identifying common pitfalls.

1. Configuration

1. Log in to the Config UI using the Operator Login Credentials

2. Apply the following configuration:

Setting	Info
Email provider account username	Your SMTP account's email address or username
Email provider account password	The password or app password for the account
SMTP server and port	SMTP hostname (e.g. smtp.example.com) and port (usually 587 or 465)
SMTP connection security	Either STARTTLS (recommended) or SSL/TLS
'From:' address	Email sender address (often same as username)
'To:' address(es)	Recipient address(es) (can be the same or different)
Location in outgoing emails	Optional field for including device site or installation location

info

Look up the settings needed for your email provider on their website and apply accordingly.

3. At the bottom of the Config UI, click , then click to apply the changes
4. (Optional) Under Backend, click to validate your settings. An email should arrive within a few minutes.

Read on if you haven't received a test email.

2. Troubleshooting

2.1. Test with Mailtrap

Mailtrap is ideal for testing:

• Accepts fake addresses
• No spam filter issues
• View messages instantly

and testing with it helps isolate Charge Controller-side vs. provider-side issues.

2.2. Mailtrap SMTP configuration

1. Log in to the Config UI using the Operator Login Credentials

2. Apply the following configuration:

3. Enter the Mailtrap credentials into the corresponding Config UI fields under Backend > Email notification
4. At the bottom of the Config UI, click , then click to apply the changes
5. Under Backend, click to validate your settings. An email should arrive within a few minutes.

2.3. Troubleshooting flow

3. Common issues

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Nothing happens	VPN blocks connection	Disable VPN, try hotspot
TLS handshake fails	STARTTLS blocked	Use port 587 and check firewall
Login rejected	No App Password used	Use provider-generated App Password
Mail not received	Spam/junk filter	Use Mailtrap or check spam folder
Works from PC only	Outdated TLS on the Charge Controller	Update firmware or test from PC

4. Charge Controller-side retry checklist

• Confirm the Charge Controller has internet access
• Disable VPN or test off corporate network
• Use Mailtrap SMTP config first
• Try port 587 with STARTTLS
• Use plain text body only
• Check logs for send_email() errors

5. If still stuck, test externally

curl --ssl-reqd --url smtp://sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io:587 \
--user "username:password" \
--mail-from you@example.com \
--mail-rcpt you@example.com \
--upload-file email.txt

Or:

import smtplib
from email.message import EmailMessage

msg = EmailMessage()
msg.set_content("Test email")
msg['Subject'] = "Test"
msg['From'] = "you@example.com"
msg['To'] = "you@example.com"

smtp = smtplib.SMTP("sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io", 587)
smtp.starttls()
smtp.login("your_username", "your_password")
smtp.send_message(msg)
smtp.quit()