# Error: 534: application-specific password required

Source: https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/error-534-app-password-required/
Updated: 2026-10-19 · By Duane Garner

The SMTP server will not accept your account's normal password. Create an app password, or switch to a mailer that uses OAuth.

This article is for sites using the **Other SMTP** mailer (most often with Gmail or Google Workspace, `smtp.gmail.com`) or the **Backup SMTP Transport** on the **Alerts** tab, where a send fails with SMTP reply code 534. The **Zoho Mail** mailer can show a similar refusal when it is given the account password instead of an app password.

 

> **The error as you see it:** `534 5.7.9 Application-specific password required.`
>  
> A related form is `534 5.7.14 Please log in with your web browser and then try again.` Both are shown in the failed-send banner, in **Tools → Debug Events** and in the **Email Log**.

 

## What this error means

 

Reply code 534 means the server understood your sign-in but considers the method too weak for this account. With Gmail, `5.7.9` says the account has 2-Step Verification on, so its normal password cannot be used by apps; you must give the plugin an app password instead. `5.7.14` says Google wants a person to sign in through a browser first, usually because the sign-in looked unusual.

 

## Common causes

 
- **The account's normal password is saved** in **SMTP Password** while 2-Step Verification is on.
- **Google saw a sign-in from an unfamiliar place** (your web server) and paused it until the owner confirms it (`5.7.14`).
- **An older app password was revoked** or deleted after a password change.
- **The Zoho mailer was given the mailbox password** instead of the **Application-Specific Password** Zoho generates.

 

## How to fix

 
1. Create an app password (Google)
  Signed in as the sending account, open `https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords`. If the page says it is unavailable, first turn on **2-Step Verification** at `https://myaccount.google.com/security`. Name the password, then copy the 16 characters Google shows.
2. Clear a browser sign-in prompt (Google, 5.7.14)
  Sign in to `https://mail.google.com/` as the sending account and confirm any security alert about a recent sign-in. Then try again within a few minutes.
3. Create an app password (Zoho)
  In Zoho Accounts, open **Security → App Passwords** (the console's current name may differ slightly), generate one for "SMTP", and copy it.
4. Save it in CRM-NG SMTP
  Go to **CRM-NG SMTP → Settings → General**. For **Other SMTP**, use **Remove Password** and paste the app password into **SMTP Password**. For **Zoho Mail**, use **Remove Password** and paste it into **Application-Specific Password**. Press **Save Settings**.
5. Backup transport
  If the error came from the backup, update the **Password** under **Backup SMTP Transport** on **CRM-NG SMTP → Settings → Alerts** and press **Save Alert Settings**.
6. Send a test
  Go to **CRM-NG SMTP → Tools → Email Test**, fill in **Send To** and press **Send Email**.

 

## Verify it worked

 

The test page shows "Test email sent successfully! Check your inbox to confirm delivery." and **Tools → Debug Events** records no new 534 replies.

 

## Notes

 
- App passwords stop working whenever you change the account password. Make a new one and update the plugin each time.
- For Google accounts the cleaner long-term answer is the **Google / Gmail** mailer, which uses OAuth and never stores a password. See [Google Workspace / Gmail](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/mailer-gmail/).
- If the reply is 535 rather than 534, the password itself is wrong. See [535 Authentication failed](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/error-535-authentication-failed/).

 

## Related

 
- [Other SMTP](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/mailer-other-smtp/)
- [Zoho Mail](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/mailer-zoho/)
- [Google Workspace / Gmail](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/mailer-gmail/)
- [Error: Gmail could not authenticate](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/error-gmail-could-not-authenticate/)
- [Troubleshooting email delivery](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/troubleshooting/)