Overview
The ‘Error 534-5.7.9 Application-specific password required’ issue often occurs on sites attempting to send emails with the Other SMTP mailer. It indicates that your account is missing the required application-specific password for authentication.
Causes
This error typically occurs when:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled on your email account
- Your email provider requires app-specific passwords for third-party applications like WP Mail SMTP
- You’re using your regular email account password instead of an application-specific password
- There have been recent security changes to your email account
Solution
To resolve this issue, we suggest generating an application-specific password from your email account settings. For a complete walkthrough, be sure to check our tutorial on generating an app password for the Other SMTP mailer.
Note: We’ll use WP Mail SMTP for this tutorial. However, the steps should be similar for most SMTP plugins.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to replace your regular password with the newly generated app-specific password in your SMTP plugin settings.
For this, log in to your WordPress admin area and go to WP Mail SMTP » Settings » General to access the plugin’s settings page.
Then select the Other SMTP mailer (if you haven’t done so already) and paste the password you generated to the SMTP Password field. Be sure to click the Save Settings button to save your changes.
Another way to resolve this error is to switch to an API-based email service provider. Platforms like SendLayer ensure the connection between your SMTP plugin and email service provider routes through an API as opposed to using a password.
That’s it! Now you know how to troubleshoot and fix the ‘Error 534-5.7.9 Application-specific password required’ error.
Want to learn more about securing your email communications while improving deliverability? Be sure to check out our complete guide to WP Mail SMTP mailers.