Basic Alerts Question Regarding Duplicate Alerts

[Pogo]

I just recently began using SMS alerts with a cloned driveway camera. The carrier took some figuring out as it's a Verizon MVNO, but that part is all good now. I receive a SMS alert with 100% image quality from a trigger at the entrance of my driveway before a vehicle gets even halfway to the house -- probably around 120 feet total. I'll take that.

The problem is, I'm also receiving unintended and unwanted duplicate alerts back to the originating email account and have not been able to figure out how or where to manage that. Been through as much of the Gmail settings as would seem applicable along with same in my Thunderbird client -- which really shouldn't have any effect on the situation anyway near as I can tell. I've juggled between POP and IMAP on the Gmail side with no obvious effect either way -- which again shouldn't have any either. The actual email account is a lightly used utility account with no customization. 'Bout as 'plain Jane' as it gets.

These are the settings. I've tried eliminating the email address entry itself to just go with the server info and user for authentication but it seems the email address is a requirement. The Gmail server info was entered by BI itself with the same port as my Thunderbird settings. The server names are different, but not likely causing the particular problem.

As usual, TIA for any enlightenment anyone may care to offer.

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[Mike A.]

So when the system sends an alert, you receive two, one to the phone at Straight Talk Verizon (as it should) and one to the sending Gmail account?

It's been a while since I used Gmail to do it but I don't recall that happening with that or any other SMTP setup that I had or any BI settings that would do it. I'd think some setting on GMail's side. Does it pick up saved sent messages from the account or something? The email account there should be just to authenticate for the server.

What does the alert event setup look like? Don't have both in there?

 

[Pogo]

So when the system sends an alert, you receive two, one to the phone at Straight Talk Verizon (as it should) and one to the sending Gmail account?
The email account there should be just to authenticate for the server.

Yes..,, and my thoughts exactly regarding the significance of the email account. That's why I'm puzzled.

Not sure what you're referring to for the alert event setup; the trigger to activate the alert, or the 'action' when the event triggers it?

 

[Pogo]

And thanks for the reply!

 

[Mike A.]

Not sure what you're referring to for the alert event setup; the trigger to activate the alert, or the 'action' when the event triggers it?

Alerts tab, On alert... button. Not more than one notification action there? Obvious, but just to double check.

Also, nothing under Trigger tab, Immediate actions?

Another thought... you don't have things from that account forwarding to or sync'ed with the Gmail account in some way?

 

[Pogo]

Just one alert setup for the SMS alert above.

'Immediate action' is simply enabled with a blank window -- presumably to at least have any alert that occurs be recognized and managed by the database?

 

[Mike A.]

Can't think of anything else in BI that might do it. I'd look on the mail side.

Oh... what about in the cam itself? Anything set up there?

 

[Pogo]

It's an analog camera being picked off an Amcrest XVR. Everything is happening with Blue Iris and the external mail server(s).

It's dawning on me that the Straight Talk server may be the actual source/relay of the email duplicate. Guess I need to trigger another alert and expand the email header for the answer to that possibility, though I do seem to recall the dupes in the 'sent' folder' of the Gmail account.

Thanks for your input. I'm guessing it's safe to assume the dupe is an aberration of some kind and shouldn't be happening.

 

[Pogo]

More testing is pointing to the smtp setup between BI's Gmail default server name selection and what is evidently the actual smtp server that allows authentication of the particular email account on the Gmail end being different and possibly creating a loop via redundancy? There's no mix and match between the username and the servers. The authentication appears to be Google generated exclusive to each server and the BI setup needs to reflect that.

To make things more interesting, my personal email address is the authoritative user for this secondary address by default within the Google user structure. Not quite sure how that may tie in aside from being the rescue account in the event of a lockout with the secondary one. That's a lot to start messing with on a trial and error basis just for this.

Do I really need this much protection from all those evil Asians trying to steal my identity? Sheesh.

If anyone else has any ideas, I'm wide open to suggestions. This has occupied way too much time for how simple it should be..., because it works perfectly otherwise.

 

[Mike A.]

What happens if you send an email manually from the Gmail account to the number at the Straight Talk address? That will take BI out of the equation.

 

[Pogo]

Good call. It sends the SMS as anticipated and still sends the duplicate to the email account, but only to the Thunderbird POP account at this point, I may have it set to delete inbox messages from the server when popped. I've lost track of what what I've tried.

 

[Pogo]

It looks like I was focusing on the wrong end of the transaction and the problem is at the incoming POP configuration somehow. Not quite as easy as just switching the incoming server to IMAP tho. LOL Quite the process involved there just to move local mail folders for later archiving and any new ones will be located on a Google IMAP server somewhere -- and one of the main reasons I've stubbornly stuck with POP for so long. No biggie for this account, and it would have been much easier to just create one for alerting purposes in the first place. Still may depending on how nice IMAP plays in the morning.

'Preciate your patience and hangin' in there with my effort today. I'll get it sorted out eventually and check back in when I do.

Thanks.

 

[Mike A.]

Glad you figured it out. Yeah, it's a pain switching one over unless you just want to start over with it. I still have an old one too for the same reason.

 

[Pogo]

Killing POP in the Gmail configuration did the trick. Was lucky to find an old domain name available I had registered years ago to use as a new Google account. Can leave the other account as a POP account and set this one up as IMAP (or just webmail) and should be good to go.

Now if I can just figure out how to set up two independent zones with independent triggers on one camera...

Another one not as easy as it sounds. LOL

Thanks again.