Error Code 401 “missing required authentication credential” on a weekly basis

  • Resolved spec

    (@specwrites)


    11 months, 4 weeks ago

    Hi there, I successfully installed Post SMTP about a month ago and it generally works OK using the Gmail API.

    However, every single week since installing I am getting error 401:

    "error": { "code": 401, "message": "Request is missing required authentication credential. Expected OAuth 2 access token, login cookie or other valid authentication credential. See https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/web/devconsole-project.", "errors": [ { "message": "Login Required.", "domain": "global", "reason": "required", "location": "Authorization", "locationType": "header" } ], "status": "UNAUTHENTICATED", "details": [ { "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.ErrorInfo", "reason": "CREDENTIALS_MISSING", "domain": "googleapis.com", "metadata": { "service": "gmail.googleapis.com", "method": "caribou.api.proto.MailboxService.SendMessage" } } ] } }

    This is fixed fairly quickly by going back to the set-up wizard in WordPress and re-authorizing via Google, but I am getting confused as to why this keeps happening so regularly? Does this happen to anyone else? Grateful for any support here.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Support M Aqib Khan

    (@aqibkhan9)

    11 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hello @specwrites ,

    We hope this message finds you well.

    Thank you for reaching out to our Support team. The error message you’re seeing is a 401 Unauthorized error from the Gmail API, and it clearly indicates that the request is missing the required Client ID & Client Secret (OAuth 2.0 access token).

    changing your Gmail account password will reset all OAuth permissions associated with that account. This means that any applications or services that were authorized to access your account using OAuth will be disconnected. You will need to reauthorize those applications after changing your password. You can utilize our documentation for the process.

    If you encounter any issues with services that use OAuth after changing your password, you may need to log in again or grant permissions anew. Here are the <u>Google Guidelines</u> as source.

    Warm regards,
    Support Team – WP Experts

    Thread Starter spec

    (@specwrites)

    11 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi, thanks for the reply, but this issue has nothing to do with the Google account password. I haven’t changed it in months. The plugin still regularly gives Error 401. Could it be an issue with a specific browser, browser extensions, or being signed into multiple Google accounts at once? Can you please suggest other possible explanations?

    Best wishes

    Plugin Support M Aqib Khan

    (@aqibkhan9)

    9 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hey @specwrites ,

    If you’re confident the issue isn’t related to a password change, we may need to explore other potential causes, such as:

    • A conflict with another plugin or theme
    • Browser or site-level caching
    • Expired or incorrect Google Cloud credentials

    Warm regards,
    Support Team – WP Experts

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘Error Code 401 “missing required authentication credential” on a weekly basis’ is closed to new replies.