Email Error: Could not instantiate mail function. Please check Admin->Configuration->

I have using the most current version of Zen. I have used the same version on a previous website and found no difference in email configuration that i posted on this site from the previous. Yet im getting the same error as eveyrone else.
Email Error: Could not instantiate mail function. Please check Admin->Configuration->Email Options->Email Transport.

I have searched and found no previous answer to fix this problem.

E-Mail Transport Method PHP
E-Mail Linefeeds LF
Use MIME HTML When Sending Emails false
Send E-Mails true
Email Archiving Active? false
E-Mail Friendly-Errors false
Email Address (Displayed to Contact you) [email protected]
Email Address (sent FROM) [email protected]
Emails must send from known domain? Yes
Email Admin Format? TEXT
Send Copy of Order Confirmation Emails To [email protected]
Send Copy of Create Account Emails To - Status 0
Send Copy of Create Account Emails To [email protected]
Send Copy of Tell a Friend Emails To - Status 0
Send Copy of Tell a Friend Emails To [email protected]
Send Copy of Customer GV Send Emails To - Status 0
Send Copy of Customer GV Send Emails To [email protected]
Send Copy of Admin GV Mail Emails To - Status 0
Send Copy of Customer Admin GV Mail Emails To [email protected]
Send Copy of Admin Discount Coupon Mail Emails To - Status 0
Send Copy of Customer Admin Discount Coupon Mail Emails To [email protected]
Send Copy of Admin Orders Status Emails To - Status 0
Send Copy of Admin Orders Status Emails To [email protected]
Send Notice of Pending Reviews Emails To - Status 0
Send Notice of Pending Reviews Emails To [email protected]
Set "Contact Us" Email Dropdown List
Allow Guest To Tell A Friend false
Contact Us - Show Store Name and Address 1
Send Low Stock Emails 0
Send Low Stock Emails To [email protected]
Display "Newsletter Unsubscribe" Link? true
Audience-Select Count Display true
SMTP Email Account Mailbox
SMTP Email Account Password
SMTP Email Mail Host
SMTP Email Mail Server Port 465
Convert currencies for Text emails £,£:€,€

With your server, you may need to use an alternate transport method, such as SMTPAUTH.

I tried that with yahoo hosting, Maybe i used the wrong settings?

Yahoo hosting has been known to have difficulties running eCommerce software such as Zen Cart.
You might look at the Email Troubleshooting guide here: http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Troubleshoot_-_Email_Problems ... it discusses a few thoughts related to Yahoo

I looked at that and now im stuck at

Email Error: SMTP Error: Could not connect to SMTP host.

ersio:

I looked at that and now im stuck at

Email Error: SMTP Error: Could not connect to SMTP host.
That means that the SMTP server details (mailbox, password, host/server, port) you specified aren't valid.

I assumed that and have double even triple checked..

My only emial setup is [email protected]
the pw is what i use to log in and check email
and i use smtp.mail.yahoo.com
I've tried all 3 ports liste,d the 25, 587 and 465

Whats weird is, its the same hosting, same info except a few changes in words like this is kentuckytastebuds instead of kennyspopcorn and yes the email cant be sent out.

I wanted to also add that with my "dummy" customer, he recieves emails still when he places an order or signs up a new account.

Could this be because I see in my settings that its [email protected] witht he capitalization?
Can i just reinstall also or will this delete my customers and my previous orders.

ersio:

I wanted to also add that with my "dummy" customer, he recieves emails still when he places an order or signs up a new account.I'm confused. Your post suggested that the error is happening on all emails. But now you're saying that customers ARE receiving your emails?

ersio:

Could this be because I see in my settings that its [email protected] witht he capitalization?Normally capitalization in email addresses shouldn't matter. But ... you can always change it to lowercase and test it to find out ...

ersio:

Can i just reinstall also or will this delete my customers and my previous orders.
Re-installing will certainly delete all data.

I've used my dumby customer to let them place an order and they got an email. Yet when i try to send a email to any customers in admin or update their order status to shipped with any comment, the error comes up.

I am having this exact same problem. My customers get an email thanking them for the sale, but I am not receiving a notification. I only know I have a sale if I log in and check my admin section, or from a PayPal email receipt. What's maddening is that it all worked perfectly for the first couple of sales, and then the emails stopped. I was able to send emails to customer from within ZC admin, but now I can't. And now I cannot get it to send me my password, and the old one stopped working. So I can't even get into my admin section. I am doomed.

stephaniebt:

I am having this exact same problem. My customers get an email thanking them for the sale, but I am not receiving a notification. I only know I have a sale if I log in and check my admin section, or from a PayPal email receipt. What's maddening is that it all worked perfectly for the first couple of sales, and then the emails stopped. I was able to send emails to customer from within ZC admin, but now I can't. And now I cannot get it to send me my password, and the old one stopped working. So I can't even get into my admin section. I am doomed.
So, when you say "I am having this exact same problem", are you referring to the error message mentioned in the title and in the original post? ie: "Email Error: Could not instantiate mail function. Please check Admin->Configurati..."

Yes, that is the problem, this error message:

Email Error: Could not instantiate mail function. Please check Admin->Configurati

This happens when I try to send an email to a customer from within the ZC admin section. It worked fine for a number of sales, and now it won't work anymore. Further, when I went to my shop admin section, the username and password were filled in automatically. I wanted to double check the password, so clicked the link to "Resend password." That was a big mistake! I got that Email Error message again, no password was sent to me, and now I can't even log into my shop admin anymore. So I can't even do anything with my shop. The shop itself is working fine.

http://seaspritesoaps.com/shop/

My hosting service swears that they did not change anything. I can't understand why it would work perfectly for several weeks and then start throwing errors. I have not changed one thing in the admin section except for my products.

How can I reset the password to get into my admin?

I just want to add that I found this thread

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123673&highlight=admin+password+change

I've accessed my DB but there are a lot of different files and I'm not sure which one is the one where I'm supposed to cut and paste the new admin name and pw?

I'm using ZC 1.3.8
My hosting service is Jaguarpc.net

Whew, I figured it out with the help of that thread and a help tutorial. I was able to get into my admin again, thankfully! :)

I am also getting the same error:

(ERROR: Failed sending email to: "" with subject: "[ORDERS STATUS] Order Update #1058" Could not instantiate mail function. Please check Admin->Configuration->Email Options->Email Transport.)

I fiddled in the Admin email options (changed from PHP to SMTPAUTH and back again).

Now I just get the following error:

Notice: FAILED to send Email to all recipients: [email protected] (0)

Everything has been working fine for over one year. Was hacked a month ago though. I repaired and reinstalled an old backup and all catalogue files. Everything was then working ok for a few weeks - now this.

The only other thing I've done recently is purge the archive, but I don't remember if that was since my last sussessful email...

Cheers,