While configuring an Azure backup server, I was trying to set the SMTP settings with anonymous authentication to email notifications, but kept getting the following error:

ID: 2013
Details: The user name or password is incorrect

Quick Fix

Create a local user (with stupidly long and complex password). Add the user to the Adminstrators group. Use these details for the Username (servername\username) and Password.

Overview

To configure the SMTP server settings go to Management on the left hand side

The click Options in the tool bar across the top.

Ideally, I did not want to enter any details here because there because it technically there aren’t any (our SMTP server is provided by our ISP and is authenticated by our IP address). I kept getting the ID 2013 error. When I used a domain user, I still got the error. Creating a local user and using those details, the same error. It was only when I made the user a member of the local Administrators group was I able to send a test email successfully.

Despite it saying “The username entered should domain account name of person whose “From” address is mentioned above, otherwise notification delivery will fail” it didn’t matter. A local server account was fine as long as it was in the Administrators group… not ideal but at least notifications will work.

This issue is in Data Protection Manager (DPM) and thanks to this post, Anonymous SMTP for DPM  which gave me the solution of adding the local user to the Administrators group (number 2 on the page, deleting the registry keys as described in solution 1 did not work for me).

Cheers.