BuddyPress not sending activation emails to new users after registration

[rory.read]

Absolute novice here with a problem I can not get around.

On a BuddyPress installation, test registrations appear in the user table but no activation emails are being received. I believe they are not being sent.

I understand WordPress uses phpmail(), and that I should check if that is running on Bluehost servers?

New re-install of WP3.3.1

Plugins:

BP 1.5.4.
WPMU DEV Update Notifications 2.1.3
All other "stock" plugins de-activated

Theme is BuddyPress Community 1.4.2

Note the original site was originally set up under a different domain name (at bluehost). We then switched the primary domain to a newly registered name, so:

Main Domain newurl.org
Username oldurl
Home Directory /home7/oldurl

I have changed the email address in WordPress settings to admin@newurl.org which does exist in the site's cpanel at bluehost.

If I use the Configure SMTP plugin, a) it attempts to send to my primary email address (a site hosted by 1and1.com), and b) the test email from the plugin results in

SMTP -> FROM SERVER:250 OK
SMTP -> get_lines(): $data was ""
SMTP -> get_lines(): $str is "451 Temporary local problem - please try later "
SMTP -> get_lines(): $data is "451 Temporary local problem - please try later "
SMTP -> FROM SERVER:451 Temporary local problem - please try later
SMTP -> ERROR: RCPT not accepted from server: 451 Temporary local problem - please try later

Note the problem exists even when Configure SMTP is deactivated and/or removed. (I presume this gets my main email address from my admin user profile, different from the admin@ address in settings).

Also, if I don't use Configure SMTP, but I use test1@newurl.org as the new user (i.e. another address at the same domain so the email is supported by bluehost) I still don't get the email, although again it shows up in the user list on the WP dashboard.

I do see this same problem showing up in various forums. Sometimes it's a spam folder issue or non-existant email from address in the cpanel, but often bluehost comes up, often the problem is not showing as resolved.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thank you,

Rory

[rory.read]

I tried wiping the entire install, removing WP via simplescripts, deleting the DB and DB users in Mysql admin, then deleting anything else obvious via file manager.

I re-installed WP, registered a new user, and got a successful activation email.

Then I added the BP plugin, and back to square one, the actual registration works, but no email is sent.

At least this makes me think there is nothing wrong with the email addresses being used for the test.

Rory

[rory.read]

Solved.

I needed to use the Configure SMTP plugin, but leave the default SMPT host at "local host".

I needed to spend more time searching the error codes I was getting. That google search lead me to a post at http://premium.wpmudev.org/forums/to...ing-mu-plugins


myemediaMember
Reputation:17

Posted on 6th October 2010 (1 year ago) #
Solved now - The hosting company told me to swap outgoing mail server from "host111.hostmonster.com" to "localhost' and now seems to be working.
Thanks tremendously for all your help @Ulrich and others....


It's not easy being green.

R

[rory.read]

This just in from Bluehost:

Rory,

The default mailing behavior for WordPress typically fails based on the fact that it does not provide an appropriate From: header, which is a strict requirement in our hosting. The simple and effective work around is to install the MailFrom WordPress plugin (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mail-from/) which gives you simple control over the formatting of the From: header and allows you to set the mail as being sent from any user you wish rather than the default WordPress user which will often not exist in the cPanel email accounts, resulting in yet another point of failure for proper mail delivery in our hosting. I've yet to encounter anyone who has not been able to get WordPress sending mail with ease after having installed the MailFrom plugin.

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.

Thank you,
Scott H.
Level III Tech Support Engineer


I note that mail-from is Compatible up to: 2.7 and Last Updated: 2008-10-7, but I infer from Scott's email above that it would still work.

R

[dshurley]

Thanks Rory, I finally managed to get this working after 5 days of floundering, but I'd like to further clarify that I needed to use myboxnumber.bluehost.com instead of localhost to make it work. Here is my configuration to save everyone else the annoyance of going on various forums and being scolded by presumptuous, mildly autistic developers with little to no rhetorical capacity and boundless contempt for lay people attempting to solve simple problems.

The Configure SMTP plugin:
SMTP Host: box###.bluehost.com
SMTP Port: 465
Check SSL
Check SMTPAuth
SMTP User Name: support@mydomain.org
SMTP Password: ***************
Sender email: support@mydomain.org

Notes: Make sure you set the sender email in this plugin or with Mail From, as per Rory's post, otherwise Bluehost won't route your emails.
I also have a google accounts email address that matches the one I set up through the cpanel, BUT, I have Mail Exchanger (MX) set to Local Mail Exchanger, not Remote Mail Exchanger--this was another false lead I pursued on the Buddypress forum. You can change this setting in the cpanel under Mail>MX Entry. I don't know what any of this means but it's working now and I'm elated!

This just in from Bluehost:

Rory,

The default mailing behavior for WordPress typically fails based on the fact that it does not provide an appropriate From: header, which is a strict requirement in our hosting. The simple and effective work around is to install the MailFrom WordPress plugin (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mail-from/) which gives you simple control over the formatting of the From: header and allows you to set the mail as being sent from any user you wish rather than the default WordPress user which will often not exist in the cPanel email accounts, resulting in yet another point of failure for proper mail delivery in our hosting. I've yet to encounter anyone who has not been able to get WordPress sending mail with ease after having installed the MailFrom plugin.

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.

Thank you,
Scott H.
Level III Tech Support Engineer


I note that mail-from is Compatible up to: 2.7 and Last Updated: 2008-10-7, but I infer from Scott's email above that it would still work.

R