diff --git a/infra/values/gitea-values.yaml b/infra/values/gitea-values.yaml
index 74e88ac..3ff8450 100644
--- a/infra/values/gitea-values.yaml
+++ b/infra/values/gitea-values.yaml
@@ -67,11 +67,14 @@ gitea:
 
     mailer:
       ENABLED: true
-      PROTOCOL: smtps
+      PROTOCOL: smtp+starttls
       SMTP_ADDR: smtp.office365.com
       SMTP_PORT: 587
       FROM: "noreply@fortedigital.com"
 
+    admin:
+      DEFAULT_EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS: enabled
+
   # -- SMTP credentials injected from secret (USER and PASSWD)
   additionalConfigFromEnvs:
   - name: GITEA__mailer__USER