Password Reset

[Scott EIT]

Lost acess to a client's portal. Trying to request a password reset but not receiving any links. What's the best way to gain access again?

 

[BrunoI_3CX]

Hello @Scott EIT

As a first step, please navigate to your system's FQDN login page and click 'Forgot password?'. Then, enter the email address assigned to the System Owner extension and click 'Reset password'.

If you do not receive the password reset email, could you please confirm the following?

- Is the email address assigned to the System Owner extension unique, or is it also assigned to other extensions?
- When you mention 'lost access to a clients portal', are you referring to the system's admin console, reachable when using the web client, or to the 3CX Customer Portal?

 

[Scott EIT]

Thanks. Historically we've always logged into this PBX using the System Owner extension number and password rather than an email address.


Unfortunately, we've now lost access and don't know which email address is assigned to the System Owner extension. I suspected it might be the same as the subscription contact, but password reset emails are not received for that address.


As I no longer have access to the PBX, I'm unable to verify which email address is actually configured for the System Owner extension.


Is there an alternative recovery method for a partner who owns the licence, or another way to identify the System Owner email?

 

[bitn2]

Thanks. Historically we've always logged into this PBX using the System Owner extension number and password rather than an email address.


Unfortunately, we've now lost access and don't know which email address is assigned to the System Owner extension. I suspected it might be the same as the subscription contact, but password reset emails are not received for that address.


As I no longer have access to the PBX, I'm unable to verify which email address is actually configured for the System Owner extension.


Is there an alternative recovery method for a partner who owns the licence, or another way to identify the System Owner email?

If you have a backup of the PBX, you can open the XML file within it and check who the system owner is and which email address is linked to them.

 

[BrunoI_3CX]

As @bitn2 mentioned, if you have a backup of your system, you can identify the email address assigned to the System Owner within the backup files.

Open the backup.zip file (do not extract it) using 7-Zip, then open the XML file with Notepad++.

Locate the extension that has the system_owners role assigned, and then find its email address. For example: <EmailAddress>[email protected]</EmailAddress>.

If the system is an on-premise deployment, you can create a backup using the command line. For instructions, please refer to our Backup and Restore Command Line guide: https://www.3cx.com/docs/backup-restore-command-line/

 

[Scott EIT]

Thanks both.


I was able to access the PostgreSQL database on the server directly and have confirmed that:

• Extension 100 is the System Owner.
• The email address assigned is the same as we thought
• The original Management Console username during installation was also the same

Despite this, using the Forgot Password option on the Web Client/Management Console does not generate a password reset email.

Is there a supported method to:

• manually reset the System Owner password,
• recreate the Management Console administrator account,
• or enable additional logging for the password reset process?

At this point it appears the account exists, but the password reset mechanism isn't functioning.

 

[NikosT_3CX]

@Scott EIT is the email unique to this extension or it is setup also to other extensions ?
The SMTP on the PBX side, is the 3CX one or any custom like M365 ?

 

[Scott EIT]

Thanks.

I've confirmed that the System Owner is extension 100. The email address assigned to that extension appears to be unique and I cannot find it assigned to any other extension.

The PBX is configured to use Microsoft 365 (Graph/OAuth), not the built-in 3CX SMTP service.

When I request a password reset for the System Owner, no email is received. The Management Console log records:
Reset password email sent failed
followed by:
Microsoft.Graph.Models.ODataErrors.ODataError:
The mailbox is either inactive, soft-deleted, or is hosted on-premise.
The mailbox referenced is an active Microsoft 365 shared mailbox.

Does this suggest an issue with the stored Microsoft 365 Graph authorisation, or is there something else we should be checking?

 

[Alphabetic]

Can you not edit XML from the backup to change the SMTP server back to 3CX, restore then send it? Im sure it's been mentioned in the forums previously.

 

[BrunoI_3CX]

Hello @Scott EIT

Based on the mentioned log entry, the password reset email is not reaching the sending stage. The error is being returned by the configured Microsoft 365 (Graph/OAuth) SMTP server when attempting to send the message.

Please review the mailbox configured as the sender for the configured SMTP server and confirm that it is active and accessible. Additionally, please verify whether the system can successfully send other emails, such as test emails or voicemail notifications, or whether any error also occurs.

If the same error occurs for other system emails, the configured sender mailbox will need to be reviewed.

 

[Scott EIT]

I've confirmed the PBX is successfully sending other system emails. Missed call notifications are being delivered correctly.

That would suggest outbound email is generally working and the issue appears to be specific to the password reset process.

 

[Scott EIT]

Also tried a couple of password resets for two other users and they haven't received anything either.

 

[AbdullaR_3CX]

@Scott EIT
Do you remember when those extensions were created?

Also, have you tried resetting the password for a different extension that uses a different email domain (and therefore a different SMTP provider) to see if the issue persists?

As a troubleshooting step, you may also change the extension's email address in the backup file (for example, to a Gmail account), restore the backup using the command line, and then test the password reset again.

You can find the commands here: https://www.3cx.com/docs/backup-restore-command-line/

 

[Scott EIT]

Hi Abdulla,

All the extensions were created when the PBX was commisioned. Well over a year ago.

Other extensions have a different email domain to mine. I've tried and they didn't work either.

Just to clarify, my understanding is that the password reset email is sent using the PBX's configured SMTP service, regardless of the recipient's email domain.

Could you explain what changing the recipient domain is intended to prove? I just want to make sure I understand the reasoning before restoring a modified backup.

 

[AbdullaR_3CX]

Hi @Scott EIT ,
You're correct that the password reset email is sent using the PBX's configured SMTP service, regardless of the recipient's email domain.

The purpose of that test is to rule out any filtering, quarantine, or security policies on the receiving mail server that could be preventing the email from being delivered.

That said, based on the log entry you shared earlier in the post, the issue appears to be related to Microsoft 365 SMTP.
You can switch to a different SMTP to regain access to the PBX. Once you have access, you can check that the M365 integration is active and configured correctly on the PBX.

 

[Scott EIT]

Thanks everyone.

I've done some more investigation and found something that may be relevant.

We recently configured scheduled backups for several customer PBXs to our SharePoint. On every PBX where this was done, the Email Server setting changed from the built-in 3CX service to Microsoft 365. This wasn't an intentional change on our part. The only configuration change made was enabling the SharePoint backup destination.

The Email Server was automatically populated with the same Microsoft 365 Global Administrator account that had been used to authorise the SharePoint backup. That account was not licensed for Exchange Online.

Reverting those PBXs back to the built-in 3CX SMTP service immediately restored normal email notifications on the affected systems.

Interestingly, it didn't affect every instance in the same way. Some PBXs continued sending notifications despite being configured for Microsoft 365, including this instance, which is still successfully sending missed call notifications even though we're currently unable to access the Management Console. Other PBXs, however, stopped sending notifications altogether.

Has anyone from 3CX seen this behaviour before, or is configuring SharePoint backups expected to switch the Email Server from 3CX to Microsoft 365?

 

[Charles_3CX]

You can use the process described by my college to

Thanks everyone.

I've done some more investigation and found something that may be relevant.

We recently configured scheduled backups for several customer PBXs to our SharePoint. On every PBX where this was done, the Email Server setting changed from the built-in 3CX service to Microsoft 365. This wasn't an intentional change on our part. The only configuration change made was enabling the SharePoint backup destination.

The Email Server was automatically populated with the same Microsoft 365 Global Administrator account that had been used to authorise the SharePoint backup. That account was not licensed for Exchange Online.

Reverting those PBXs back to the built-in 3CX SMTP service immediately restored normal email notifications on the affected systems.

Interestingly, it didn't affect every instance in the same way. Some PBXs continued sending notifications despite being configured for Microsoft 365, including this instance, which is still successfully sending missed call notifications even though we're currently unable to access the Management Console. Other PBXs, however, stopped sending notifications altogether.

Has anyone from 3CX seen this behaviour before, or is configuring SharePoint backups expected to switch the Email Server from 3CX to Microsoft 365?

When you integrate with a system using M365, the email server can switch to using the M365 account you use for integration (the M365 global admin account). The choice is presented to you during integration, and you can use the M365 mail option to send mail from 3cx.

 

[Faraz]

Dear Team, I am taking ownership of this issue from Scott for the time being, can you please advise on what to do next especially in terms of an official account recovery procedure.

 

[SteveITS]

So the SMTP is configured to go to the unlicensed M365 account, and you can't log in to 3CX? An easy workaround would be to add an Exchange Online Plan 1 license to that M365 account, so it can email.

 

[BrunoI_3CX]

Hello @Faraz

Since the password reset email cannot be sent due to the current Microsoft 365 email integration, the next step would be to open a support ticket with us.

That way, you can include a recent backup of your system with the ticket, and we can then modify the backup to revert the email configuration to the default 3CX SMTP service.

Once the modified backup is returned, you can restore it using the Backup & Restore Command Line procedure. After the restore is complete, you should be able to trigger a new password reset email using the 'Forgot password?' option.

You can find the Backup & Restore Command Line guide here: https://www.3cx.com/docs/backup-restore-command-line/