diff --git a/modules/smtp/hm-smtp.php b/modules/smtp/hm-smtp.php
index 9aab4b00ea..29066092a7 100644
--- a/modules/smtp/hm-smtp.php
+++ b/modules/smtp/hm-smtp.php
@@ -408,8 +408,8 @@ function authenticate($username, $password, $mech) {
                     break;
             }
         }
-    
-        if (!$result) {
+
+        if (!isset($result)) {
             $result = 'An error occurred authenticating to the SMTP server';
             $res = $this->get_response();
             if ($this->compare_response($res, '235') == 0) {