Forum doesn't send emails

[EmsoffLambs]

I'm having a problem with my forum. I won't send emails. For example, if I try to send newsletters, no one receives them. Or is someone forgets their password and requests it be sent to them, they never receive that email. How can I repair this?

[margarett]

We need to know what are your mail settings? PHP or SMTP?

Is this happening recently or was it always failing? Anything in your SMF error log?

[Kindred]

ALso -- are you using GoDaddy as a host?

[EmsoffLambs]

It's a newer problem. It was working when I first created the forum, then the forum was hacked or something and I had to reinstall it and since then I hasn't been working. Host is Netfirms. And I don't know what my mail setting are. How do I find that out? I am using gmail if that matters. And no, nothing in my error log.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Admin -> Mail -> Settings

[EmsoffLambs]

It's set as php.

Here is the page. Do I need to change anything here?

[JBlaze]

If you are using Gmail to send forum emails, you will need to set it up using SMTP. Also, given Google's new authentication safety measures, this is becoming increasingly difficult.

I suggest you contact your host and see if they have changed anything with their mail configuration.

[margarett]

What have you set in "Webmaster email address"? (Admin --> Configuration --> Server Settings)

If your domain is, eg, www.domain.com is that email address [email protected]?
Or is it [email protected]?

[EmsoffLambs]

My personal gmail address is in set as the "Webmaster email address."

For SMTP, what do I enter in the other fields (server, port, username and password)?

[JBlaze]

My personal gmail address is in set as the "Webmaster email address."

For SMTP, what do I enter in the other fields (server, port, username and password)?

Try setting the Webmaster email address as [email protected] (replace example.com with your domain) and see if it works. Leave mail option set to PHP

[margarett]

For using PHP as mail type, you need to use an email address from the same domain as your... domain (which you can usually create in your cPanel)
Setting a gmail address there won't work, that's why you can't send any email. And glad you can't, that means that your server won't "impersonate" gmail --> good for no-spam

To use gmail, you need to disable gmail's security stuff (enable not safe applications - sorry, don't remember the exact wording) and then use tls://smtp.gmail.com as the SMTP server, you email address and password as the login details. And hope that your server allows you to use TLS

edit: ninja'd

[EmsoffLambs]

Setting the webmaster email address to noreplay did not solve the problem.

Now that I think about it more, I was getting emails every time someone registered, but I'm not getting those anymore either. That was with gmail. And I've never changed anything in the mail settings. When I've clicked "Accept and send email" to the new members, I don't think they are getting the emails.

[EmsoffLambs]

It looks like the last email notification I got for a new member request was on July 11, but there has been many requests since then...

[Steve]

That begs the question as to what's changed since then? Mods added? Host changing configurations? etc.

[margarett]

(...)I had to reinstall it and since then I hasn't been working.

@EmsoffLambs: did you check my latest post? The gmail configuration is more or less straightforward, but there are some "bumps" which might make it less easy...

BTW:

Setting the webmaster email address to noreplay did not solve the problem.

You need to change it to an existing and working email from your domain. If you didn't create a "[email protected]", then you won't be able to send emails from it

[JBlaze]

Setting the webmaster email address to noreplay did not solve the problem.

You need to change it to an existing and working email from your domain. If you didn't create a "[email protected]", then you won't be able to send emails from it

You can if the mail server is set up correctly. I routinely send out emails from addresses like [email protected] and [email protected] even though those email addresses aren't set up. It just means that those addresses cannot receive emails.

Mail servers are finicky and a royal PITA to handle, and most shared hosts don't do it properly (looking at you HostMonster/GoDaddy/BlueHost). But, if it is set up correctly, then it should send out emails from whatever address you put in so long as it's the same domain.

[EmsoffLambs]

Okay, I changed all the SMPT stuff and it's still not working. I cannot figure out how to "enable not safe applications" in gmail. I don't see anything about security in settings.

I did add the ad manager mod around the same time that this stopped working. I wonder if I messed something up in the coding somewhere? I didn't notice exactly when the email stopped working, but it was around the same time. How can I figure out if the coding got messed up?

[Steve]

Parse the mod's code and check it step by step I'd say.

[Illori]

i dont believe the ad management mod has anything to do with email. so that would not have an effect on this issue. maybe http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/E-Mails_-_Why_are_members_not_getting_emails_sent_from_the_forum would help?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

If you suspect a mod or custom coding has caused the problem, set up a clean install in another directory and see if it works.  That will give you a better idea if it's a host/server problem.