Then we will show you how to remove it so that you can proceed with sending emails from your WordPress website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcda In this tutorial, we will dive deep into the cause of the “your host may have disabled the mail() function” error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s dive into the tutorial! \ud83e\ude82<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Causes of the “your host may have disabled the mail() function” error<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before learning about the causes of the error, let’s try and understand how emails are sent<\/strong> from a WordPress website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emails are generated on a WordPress site because of actions<\/strong> like registration of a new user, contact form submission, visitor comments left on a post, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By default, WordPress uses your hosting server’s PHP “mail()” function<\/strong> to generate an email message with the specified content, recipient addresses, subject, and other relevant details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the email is generated, it’s passed to the hosting server’s sendmail application<\/strong> which routes the email through appropriate channels to reach the recipient’s email server<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After receiving the email, the recipient’s email server processes it and places it in the recipient’s email inbox<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, your email has to jump through several hoops to reach the recipient’s inbox. Any obstruction in any of the steps can lead to an error and prevent email deliverability.<\/p>\n\n\n The “your host may have disabled the mail() function” error occurs due to the following reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some hosting providers deliberately disable the “mail()” function<\/strong> to prevent websites from sending emails. This is done to protect the hosting server and prevent it from being blacklisted by email servers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Email servers like Google and Outlook blacklist hundreds of thousands of hosting server IP addresses for carrying out spammy activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So if your hosting server considers your emails to be spam, it stops them from being sent out by disabling the “mail()” function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from this, hosting server firewalls<\/strong>, although important for security, can occasionally create challenges for outgoing emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes the sendmail application is missing<\/strong> from hosting providers or it’s incorrectly configured. This is a relatively uncommon cause for the “the email could not be sent” error because when hostings are not using Sendmail, they use alternative applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, as good hosting providers invest in mantaining well-optimized servers, they are unlikely to have configuration issues. They are committed to maximizing the reliability of their service. That said, mistakes do occur even with the best hosting services out there<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you know what caused the “the email could not be sent” error, let’s fix it. \ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udd27<\/p>\n\n\n To fix the “email could not be sent” issue, you need to take the following steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Note<\/strong>: You don’t need to carry out both the steps. Implement one solution at a time and then try sending out emails. Disabling the mail() function is the most common reason why emails are prevented from going out of a WordPress website, so you might not need to implement the step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your host has disabled the “mail(),” then it’s best to reach out to them and ask to enable the function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But if seeking help from hosting provider is not convenient, use a WordPress SMTP plugin to send emails from your website and fix the “your host may have disabled the mail() function” error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SMTP plugins route outgoing emails through a different mail server, bypassing the need for the “mail()” function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After WordPress generates an email, the SMTP plugin intercepts it instead of relying on the hosting server’s “mail()” function. It takes the email content and sends it to its SMTP server. The SMTP server, which is not your hosting server, processes the email and delivers it to the recipient’s email server. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This process is independent of your hosting server’s “mail()” function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s set up the SMTP plugin on your WordPress website. \ud83d\udd0c<\/p>\n\n\n \u26a0\ufe0f For this tutorial, we are going to use the WP Mail SMTP plugin<\/strong> plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Install<\/strong> the plugin by going to Plugins \u2192 Add New<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n Of course, you can choose any other SMTP plugin like Post SMTP Mailer<\/strong>, Easy WP SMTP by SendLayer<\/strong>, and Fluent SMTP<\/strong>. The steps you need to take to set these up are almost identical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Behind the scenes of emails sent from a WordPress site<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\nReal causes of the error<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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How to fix the “email could not be sent. your host may have disabled the mail() function” issue?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How SMTP plugin works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Install & set up SMTP plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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