454 4.7.0: too many sign-in attempts
Gmail is refusing SMTP sign-ins from your client for a while, because it tried to authenticate too many times in a short period.
- Gmail
- Provider
- Temporary (4xx)
- Class
- Sources checked
- Author
At a glance
- Code
- 454 4.7.0
- Provider
- Gmail and Google Workspace
- Temporary or permanent
- TemporaryThe sending server keeps the message and tries again later.
- Who has to act
- The sender. The fix is on the sending side: your domain, your server or your list.
- What the server says
454 4.7.0 Too many login attempts, please try again later.
What it means
This appears when an app, device or server signs in to Google's SMTP service, or to smtp-relay.gmail.com with SMTP AUTH, too often. Google blocks further attempts on the connection for a while. Opening a new connection and signing in for every message is a common trigger, and so is a client that keeps retrying with a wrong password. Google's relay documentation suggests reusing open connections, sending RSET and then MAIL FROM for each further message, and retrying with exponential backoff. Google's current table words it as too many sign-in attempts; the June 2025 version read 'Too many login attempts', the wording quoted here.
Common causes
- The client opens a new connection and signs in again for every message.
- A wrong or outdated password makes the client retry sign-in in a loop.
- Several devices share one account and sign in at the same time.
How to fix it
- 01Stop the client for a few minutes so the block can expire.
- 02Check the stored credentials, and fix a wrong password before the client tries again.
- 03Reuse open SMTP connections and send RSET followed by MAIL FROM for each new message, as Google's relay documentation advises.
- 04Set the client to retry with exponential backoff instead of signing in again immediately.
Sources
What this page rests on, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The explanation is ours; the reply text is the server's.
- Gmail SMTP errors and codes (Google Workspace Admin Help)knowledge.workspace.google.com
- Gmail SMTP errors and codes, version of June 2025 (Internet Archive copy)web.archive.org
- SMTP relay service error messages (Google Workspace Admin Help)knowledge.workspace.google.com
Related codes
- 454 4.7.0Sign-in failed on a temporary problem.Gmail could not complete your client's SMTP sign-in because of a passing problem on its side, and asks it to try again later.
- 535 5.7.8Username and password not accepted.Google rejected the user name and password your client used to sign in to its SMTP server, so it will not send mail for it.
- 454Temporary authentication or TLS failure.A login or a TLS handshake could not be completed because of a temporary problem on the server; the client should try again later without changing anything.
- 5.7.0Security or policy refusal, unspecified.The message or session was refused for a security or policy reason that the server did not describe more precisely, or chose not to reveal.
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