IA Modules eCommerce Documentation

Troubleshooting Email Issues

This page is for troubleshooting issues assuming that you have read and understand the section Email Addresses & Forwarding Rules and it's subsection Configuring your mail client

• System Generated Emails are not sent/received
  • The system may be routing mail to the wrong place -
    This happens most commonly for customers who do not use their web server for their email. It is important to use the Email Manager tool in your admin area to check the Mail Domains settings. The system will expect to handle email for all of these domains. If you do not want to use your web server as your mail server, then make sure to remove your domain name from the Mail Domains list so that the system will route the mail according to your MX record. If your site is still being hosted off of an IP address, and you plan to use the server as your mail server later, you can temporarily change the mail domains setting, but you may find that you still have problems sending mail. This is because the system is identifying itself as the name you will launch under, and the name is not pointed to it yet. This will resolve itself when you change your DNS info to launch.
  • The mailbox may not exist on the system that it is routed to. No matter if you are using the web server or another server for email, the mailbox must exist (or a forwarding rule by the same name) on teh receiving server.
• All email is disappearing
  • Check your MX record using http://www.dnsstuff.com "DNS Lookup" tool. Make sure it is pointed to your mail server. Again, make sure the mailbox or forwarding rule exists.
  • Check that the mail server is functioning correctly. Common problems may be that the system is out of disk space or down for any reason. If you use your web server for email, contact support for assistance.
• Can send but not receive email (Mail client gives error)
  • This means that your incoming mail settings are not working, the mail server has a configuration problem. Make sure that the mailbox exists, and that you are using the correct username/password. Sometimes the mail server can have a configuration problem or a mailbox can become "corrupted". Contact your mail server admin or support.
• Can receive but not send email (Mail client gives error)
• This means that your outgoing mail server settings are not working correctly. Many ISP's require that you use their mail server for sending mail. Check your ISP's requirements. If they allow you to use your own mail server, and you use the web server for email, then you can configure it as documented in the Configuring your mail client page. If not, you will have to go by their requirements.
• spam
  • Spam is a huge problem for everyone. It costs corporations billions of dollars to fight. It is also at least 50% of all email sent on the planet. However, there are things that can be done to reduce the amount of spam you receive.
    • Do not post your email address on any public site. Your shopping cart system provides a clever way to allow customers to email you without exposing your address. It is called a form mailer and is documented here.
    • Check your domain name WHOIS info and make sure your email address is not exposed there. You can use the "WHOIS Lookup" tool on http://www.dnsstuff.com to view this.
• Disk Usage
  • If a mail server runs out of disk space, it will no longer be able to receive mail. The mail may be resent again later, or it may be lost forever. To avoid using disk space in such a way that would cause problems, make sure that the mail is not stored on the server if not needed. Special considerations include:
    • Using webmail - If you use webmail on your web server you must be careful to delete emails with large attachments after they are no longer needed. Also, if you use folders to sort your mail, remember that mail is kept on the server and will accumulate over time.
    • Using IMAP - If you configured your mail client to use the IMAP protocol, then all mail is stored on the server, and is downloaded to the mail client program for viewing. Even after downloading for viewing, it is still kept on the server. While this is ideal for people who check the same mailbox from multiple computers, it does mean that mail accumulates indefinately. Remeber to delete old mail regularly when possible.
    • Using POP3 - With POP3 you can still choose the option of leaving the mail on the server. This is not recommended. If you choose this setting, limit it to a reasonable time frame, like leave mail on server for up to 30 days.
• Can't add forwarding rules
  • Forwarding rules cannot be added if there is a mailbox by the same name. If you need to forward an existing mailbox to one or more recipients, then you will have to delete that mailbox and create the forwarding rule in it's place. If needed you can create mailboxes for that mail to be forwarded to.