Email Sending Issues

From WHMCS Documentation

Sometimes, the system may not send mail using the expected methods. The problem is usually a misconfiguration.

Emails Not Sending

General Emails

If the system isn't sending general emails, such as client sign-up or order confirmations, take the following steps to ensure a correct setup.

First, check these points:

  1. Check whether you have disabled the email template in Configuration () > System Settings > Email Templates or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Email Templates.
  2. Check whether custom action hooks that could prevent email from sending exist in the /includes/hooks and /modules/addons directories.
  3. Check whether you can send the emails manually.

If the above steps don't resolve the issue:

  1. Check whether any email appears in the Email Message Log at Configuration () > System Logs (Utilities > Logs in WHMCS 7.x and earlier).
  2. Check whether an error occurs at the time of email sending in the Activity Log at Configuration () > System Logs (Utilities > Logs in WHMCS 7.x and earlier).

No Error in Activity Log:

If a message exists in the Email Message Log and there are no errors in the Activity Log, the message likely left WHMCS without any errors from your mail server. Therefore, the problem is one of email delivery and not a WHMCS software issue. Contact your mail server administrator to investigate.

There are many email templates for which the Email Message Log doesn't record messages, in order to protect the sensitive data they contain. These are:

  • Automated Password Reset.
  • Client Email Address Verification.
  • Password Reset Validation.

In addition to this, there a number of email templates for which the system won't CC or BCC at the template level. These are:

  • Password Reset Validation.
  • Password Reset Confirmation.
  • Automated Password Reset.

Product Welcome Email

Problems sending welcome emails typically relate to an account creation issue. The system sends the welcome email when the module's Create command completes successfully and automatically, creating the account on the server. Unsent welcome emails indicate a problem with the automated setup not occurring.

To troubleshoot this problem, perform these steps in the following order:

  1. First, perform the troubleshooting steps in Auto Setup Issues.
  2. Check whether you selected a welcome email for the product at Configuration () > System Settings > Products/Services or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Products/Services > Products/Services.
  3. Check the activity log for any syntax errors in the email template.

If you aren't using a module (for example, cPanel or Plesk), you can send the welcome email automatically by selecting the Autorelease module.

Support Ticket Notifications

If the system isn't sending support ticket notification emails to your staff (for example, new support tickets or new client replies) take the following steps to ensure it is set up properly:

First, check these points:

  1. Check whether you have selected Enable Ticket Notifications at Configuration () > Manage Admins > Administrator Users or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Staff Management > Administrator Users.
  2. Check whether you have selected Support Emails under Configuration () > Manage Admins > Administrator Roles or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Staff Management > Administrator Roles.
  3. Check whether the admin ticket notification emails are disabled under Configuration () > System Settings > Email Templates or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Email Templates.

If the above steps don't resolve the issue:

  1. Check whether you have selected Disable Reply Email Logging in the Support tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > General Settings. If you have selected it, deselect it and then attempt to replicate the issue.
  2. Check whether there's an error at the time of email sending under Configuration () > System Logs (Utilities > Logs in WHMCS 7.x and earlier).

No Error in Activity Log:

If there is no error in the Activity Log at the time of email sending, this indicates that the email left WHMCS without any errors from your mail server. Therefore, the problem is one of email delivery and not a WHMCS software issue. Contact your mail server administrator to investigate.

Emails Flagged as Spam

There are multiple reasons why systems may deliver emails from a WHMCS installation to a spam folder or reject them. Usually, this is due to the server configuration. WHMCS email templates should not trigger any standard spam rules.

First, check these points:

  • Check whether you can use SMTP rather than PHP mail in the Mail tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > General Settings. Many email providers block PHP mailer scripts as "unverified mail".
  • Verify that the email address you are sending "from" actually exists on your server, and whether it can send and receive mail normally.
  • Contact your web hosting or mail server provider for investigation into your IP reputation. They will be able to contact other email providers on your behalf.
  • If you suspect that the wording of an email may be triggering a filter, try customizing you email templates so they do not match every other WHMCS installation's emails.
  • Verify that your domain has an accurate and strict SPF record setup, as well as a correct PTR record.

Troubleshooting

Sometimes, the error output in the Activity Log at Configuration () > System Logs (Utilities > Logs in WHMCS 7.x and earlier) when sending of emails via SMTP fails can lack verbosity. Alternatively, the underlying cause may be different from the message that the system ultimately displays. Adding the following line to the configuration.php file will output a lot of debugging information when you send mail manually. This requires that the Mail Type setting in the Mail tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings is SMTP: 

$smtp_debug = true;

After sending an email manually, the system will display the interaction between your server and the email server, for debugging purposes. After this process, be sure to revert the change to the configuration.php file.

Common Errors

The following are errors which may commonly appear in the activity log when attempting to send an email, resulting in email sending failure.

Could not connect to SMTP host

There are several possible reasons for this error:

  1. The SMTP settings in the Mail tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings are incorrect. Check with your system administrator to verify that you have entered the correct SMTP host, port, username, and password, and that you have selected the appropriate SSL type for use with your mail server.
  2. The mail server is blocking connections from your WHMCS installation's server.
  3. Your WHMCS installation's server is blocking outgoing connections to the mail server.
  4. The system is using an inappropriate SMTP port and the SSL Type option is selected. For example, selecting TLS and the port number 256 would cause this error. For a list of the most common port assignments, see Mail Tab.
  5. The mail server is advertising that TLS connections are available, but when a secure connection is attempted it fails due to a certificate validation error. The appropriate solution would be to ensure that you have installed a validated certificate on the mail server. As a workaround, you can set the SMTPAutoTLS setting to false in /vendor/phpmailer/phpmailer/class.phpmailer.php. For more information, see the PHPMailer troubleshooting documentation.

Message body empty

A "Message Body Empty" error indicates that a syntax error occurred, preventing the email from sending. Review Configuration () > System Logs (Utilities > Logs > Activity Log in WHMCS 7.x and earlier) at the time of sending for entries beginning "Smarty Error". This will provide more information on the invalid syntax, which you will need to correct before attempting to send the email again.

The following recipients failed

This error is often due to a misaddressed email. Check the following locations to ensure a valid email address:

  • The client's Profile tab.
  • The client's Contacts tab.
  • BCC Messages in the Mail tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > General Settings.
  • Copy To when you edit a template at Configuration () > System Settings > Email Templates or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Email Templates.
  • All administrator users at Configuration () > Manage Admins > Administrator Users or, prior to WHMCS 8.0, Setup > Staff Management > Administrator Users.

Check for blank spaces or punctuation before or after an email address in all the above locations.

Email Send Aborted By Hook

An "Email Send Aborted By Hook" error indicates that a custom hook has prevented the email from sending.

Take the following actions to begin troubleshooting this error:

  • Enable the Hooks Debug Mode option.
  • Replicate the error again.
  • Disable the Hooks Debug Mode option.
  • Review the Activity Log.
  • Locate the "Email Send Aborted By Hook" error in the log.

After locating the error look over the adjacent entries for a series of three lines that look similar to the following: 

Hooks Debug: Hook File Loaded: /path/to/the/hook_file.php
Hooks Debug: Hook Defined for Point: EmailPreSend - Priority: 1 - Function Name: (anonymous function)
Hooks Debug: Attempting to load hook file: /path/to/the/hook_file.php

The file in the "Hook File Loaded" and "Attempting to load hook file" entries is the hook responsible for the "Email Send Aborted By Hook" error.

Contact the developer of that hook file for more information.

Email sending aborted.

An "Email sending aborted." error indicates that an unknown issue has prevented the email from sending.

This error commonly occurs when there is a configuration issue with the file paths in the Storage Settings section of the installation.

To remedy this, ensure that you have updated the storage locations. For more information, see the Moving Storage Locations guide.

Email sending aborted by configuration

In WHMCS 8.1, this error indicates that you have set Disable Email Sending to ON at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings in the Mail tab. The system creates a log entry each time that you enable or disable this setting. For more information, see Disabling Outgoing Mail.

We recommend that you only enable this setting when you are testing updates or customizations on a development installation or while troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting Resources
Common Troubleshooting Tips - Frequently Asked Questions - Blank Pages - Troubleshooting Guide
Invoicing Issues - Auto Setup Issues - Email Sending Issues - Cron Job Issues

Emails Flagged as Spam

There are multiple reasons why systems may deliver emails from a WHMCS installation to a spam folder or reject them. Usually, this is due to the server configuration. WHMCS email templates should not trigger any standard spam rules.

First, check these points:

  • If you use PHP Mail, check whether you can use a different Mail Provider in the Mail tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings. Many email providers block PHP mailer scripts as "unverified mail".
  • Verify that the email address you are sending from actually exists on your server, and whether it can send and receive mail normally.
  • Contact your web hosting or mail server provider for investigation into your IP reputation. They will be able to contact other email providers on your behalf.
  • If you suspect that the wording of an email may be triggering a filter, try customizing you email templates so they do not match every other WHMCS installation's emails.
  • Verify that your domain has an accurate and strict SPF record setup, as well as a correct PTR record.

Troubleshooting

Sometimes, the Activity Log error output lacks verbosity when sending emails via SMTP fails. Alternatively, the underlying cause may be different from the message that the system ultimately displays.

For version 8.0 and later

In WHMCS 8.0 and later, follow these steps if your Mail Provider is SMTP:

  1. Go to Configuration > System Settings > General Settings and select the Mail tab.
  2. Click Configure Mail Provider.
  3. Check SMTP Debug.
  4. Click Test Configuration.
  5. View the debugging output at Configuration > System Logs.

For version 7.x and earlier

In WHMCS 7 and earlier, adding the following line to the configuration.php file will output a large amount of debugging information when you send mail manually. This requires that the Mail Type is SMTP in the Mail tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings: 

$smtp_debug = true;

After sending an email manually, the system will display the interaction between your server and the email server, for debugging purposes. After this process, be sure to revert the change to the configuration.php file.

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