### [How to Get Alerts When Your WordPress Emails Stop Working](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-get-alerts-when-wordpress-emails-fail/)

**Published:** August 31, 2022
**Author:** Osama Tahir

**Excerpt:** WordPress emails can fail to send if your mailer service is down or due to misconfiguration. No matter the source of the problem, it's important to learn about email failures as soon as they happen so you can fix them fast. 

Thankfully, WP Mail SMTP can send you notifications outside of your WordPress site via email, Slack, and even via SMS to your personal phone. 

Check out this guide to learn how you can easily configure email failure notifications using WP Mail SMTP for your site.

**Content:**

Do you want to be notified when your WordPress emails stop working?

Emails play a critical role in keeping your business communications up and running. Any unrecognized email sending issues in WordPress can lead to lost leads and even money.

This is why it’s important to set up alerts so that you can instantly learn about email failures on your site and fix them as soon as they occur.

In this post, we’ll show you how you can get WordPress email failure alerts on different apps of your choice.

[Get Email Failure Alerts Now](https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing/)

### Why Do WordPress Emails Stop Working?

In WordPress, the default method for sending emails is PHP Mail. However, many web hosts turn off the PHP Mail function due to security issues associated with it.

The result is that WordPress emails simply fail to send completely. In some cases, your emails may be ending up in the spam folder even if the PHP Mail function is enabled.

Most of the time, these issues can be fixed by reconfiguring your WordPress site to use SMTP instead of PHP Mail. This is pretty easy to do with plugins like WP Mail SMTP, which let you connect your WordPress site with a dedicated mailer service.

It’s still possible for email errors to occur on your site even if you’re using SMTP. Usually, this happens if you haven’t gone through the proper authentication steps with your mailer service.

Whatever the cause of the email sending issue on your site, you can set up alert notifications so you can identify the problem and fix it immediately.

## How to Get Alerts When Your WordPress Emails Stop Working

There are a few ways you can get alerts for WordPress email failure. We’ll show you the complete steps for each method below.

- [Installing WP Mail SMTP](#aioseo-installing-wp-mail-smtp)
- [Configuring Email Failure Alerts](#aioseo-configuring-email-failure-alerts)
    - [Method #1: Email Integration for Failure Alerts](#aioseo-method-1-email-integration-for-failure-alerts)
    - [Method #2: Email Failure Alerts via Slack](#aioseo-method-2-email-failure-alerts-via-slack)
    - [Method #3: Email Failure Alerts via Discord](#aioseo-method-4-email-failure-alerts-via-discord)
    - [Method #4: Email Failure Alerts via Microsoft Teams](#aioseo-method-3-email-failure-alerts-via-microsoft-teams)
    - [Method #5: Alert Notifications via SMS](#aioseo-method-4-alert-notifications-via-sms)
    - [Method #6: Push Notification Alerts](#aioseo-method-6-push-notification-alerts)
    - [Method #7: WhatsApp Alerts](#aioseo-method-7-whatsapp-alerts)
    - [Method #8: Email Failure Alerts via Custom Webhooks](#aioseo-method-5-email-failure-alerts-via-custom-webhooks)

### Installing WP Mail SMTP

To set up email failure alerts in WordPress, you’ll need to [install WP Mail SMTP.](https://wpmailsmtp.com/docs/how-to-install-the-wp-mail-smtp-plugin/) This plugin includes several really useful features including alert notifications for email issues.

![WP Mail SMTP](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/WP-mail-smtp-home.png)WP Mail SMTP is designed to fix your WordPress email issues because it uses SMTP, which is a faster, safer, and more reliable method of sending emails compared to PHP Mail.

However, issues can still arise if your mailer service undergoes an outage, the site isn’t properly connected with your mailer account, or if there’s a domain authentication issue with your mailer.

No matter the cause of the problem, WP Mail SMTP will send you a notification whenever an email fails to send from your site.

To get started, grab a WP Mail SMTP Pro license. After that, install WP Mail SMTP on your site and [connect a mailer using the easy setup wizard.](https://wpmailsmtp.com/docs/how-to-use-the-wp-mail-smtp-setup-wizard/)

![Choose Mailer](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/setup-wizard-choose-mailer-1024x845.png)After setting up your mailer, you’ll see additional features you can enable in WP Mail SMTP, including **Instant Email Alerts**.

![Enabling email logs and email alerts in the WP Mail SMTP Setup Wizard](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/setup-wizard-enable-features.png)You can enable notification alerts for email failure by turning this option on here, then adjust the settings as needing by following the steps below. We’ll also show you how to set up email failure alerts for Slack, SMS, and other methods.

### Configuring Email Failure Alerts

To set up email alerts, open your WordPress dashboard and go to **WP Mail SMTP » Settings**. On the **Settings** page, find the **Alerts** tab on the horizontal bar and click on it.

![Where to find Alerts in WP Mail SMTP Settings](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/alerts-in-settings-1.png)The Alerts page contains the settings for configuring integrations with different available services to receive your alert notifications, including:

- Email
- Slack
- [Discord](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-use-discord-for-team-collaboration/)
- Microsoft Teams
- SMS via Twilio
- Custom webhooks
- Push notifications
- WhatsApp

![Select your alert preferences in WP Mail SMTP.](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WP-Mail-SMTP-Alert-Options-1.png)Let’s see how you can enable each of these one by one.

#### Method #1: Email Integration for Failure Alerts

The first method involves receiving email failure alerts via email. WP Mail SMTP has the capability to deliver email failure alerts to your inbox even when emails have generally stopped working for your site otherwise.

To get email failure alerts via email, toggle on the **Email Alerts** switch. Then, you can simply enter the email address you’d like to receive notifications at in the Send To field.

![Email Alerts on](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/email-alerts-on-1.png)You can add up to 3 email addresses to integrate your email failure alerts. Just click on the Add Another Email Address button to open another Send To field where you can provide your second email address. If you want to add another one, just repeat the same process.

![Click the Add Another Email Address button](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/alerts-add-another-email-address-button.png)When you’re done, scroll to the bottom and press **Save Settings**.

Now, every time an email failure occurs on your WordPress site, WP Mail SMTP will notify you on your provided email address. The notification contains important details like the error message and helpful links to enable you to identify the problem and fix it quickly.

![An email alert notification](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/example-email-alert.png)In the next step, we’ll show you how to set up an integration with Slack for email failure notifications.

#### Method #2: Email Failure Alerts via Slack

Integrating alert notifications with Slack makes a lot of sense because it’s the platform that most teams use for business communication.

As a result, you can never miss a notification popping up right within your preferred Slack channel or even as a DM to individual members of your team.

To enable this integration, toggle the Slack Alerts button to the on position.

![Slack alerts toggle on](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/alerts-slack-enabled.png)This integration requires a webhook URL for your Slack workspace. To get that, visit your [Slack API page](https://api.slack.com/apps?new_app=1) and click on the **Create an App** button.

![Create an app in Slack](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/create-an-app-in-slack.png)This will open a modal giving you two options for creating an app. Choose **From Scratch.**

![Create a Slack app from scratch](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-create-an-app-from-scratch.png)The next modal will require you to enter an **App Name**. This can be anything you like (you can also change this later).

Below **App Name**, there’s another dropdown that requires you to select your Slack workspace for this integration. Be careful when choosing the workspace because you won’t be able to change this later on.

After entering the details above, click on the **Create App** button to proceed.

![Click create app](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-click-create.png)After that, a new dialog box for adding display information for your Slack app will appear. You can add an icon, background color, and change other details here.

When you’re satisfied with how everything looks, click on **Save Changes**.

![Save Changes to your Slack app](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-app-save-changes-1.png)Now, from your Slack API page, navigate to **Features » Incoming Webhooks** from the sidebar.

![Incoming webhooks in Slack](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-incoming-webhooks.png)Use the toggle button to **Activate Incoming Webhooks**.

![Slack incoming webhooks activated](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-incoming-webhooks-activated.png)After that, click on the **Add New Webhook to Workspace** button.

![Generate a webhook for your Slack app](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-app-add-new-webhook-1.png)On the next screen, you can choose a channel or individual to directly send email failure notifications to. Click on **Allow** after selecting your desired Slack channel.

![Click the Allow button](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-app-allow-in-workspace.png)After this action, Slack will generate a webhook URL for you, and you’ll be redirected to the Incoming Webhooks page. Copy the webhook URL.

![Copy Slack webhook URL](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-app-copy-webhook-url.png)Now, return to the Alerts page in WP Mail SMTP settings and paste your Slack webhook URL in the **Webhook URL** field.

![Slack webhook URL added](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/slack-webhook-url-added-1.png)You can repeat these steps to add webhooks for other Slack channels to receive email failure notifications.

Don’t forget to **Save Settings** when you’re done.

#### Method #3: Email Failure Alerts via Discord

If your team uses Discord for communication, you can receive email failure alerts directly in your Discord servers or channels.

Similar to Slack integration, Discord alerts work through webhooks and can be sent to multiple channels if needed.

To enable this integration, toggle the **Discord Alerts** button to the on position.

![enable discord alerts](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/enable-discord-alerts-1024x352.png)This integration requires a webhook URL for your Discord server. To get that, log into your Discord server, click the server’s name in the top left of the screen to open the settings menu, and select **Server Settings.**

![Discord server settings](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/server-settings-1-1024x690.png)In the server settings, click on **Integrations** from the left sidebar. Click **Create Webhook** (or **View Webhooks** if you already have some set up).

![Create webhook in Discord](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/create-webhook-1-1024x517.png)Click **New Webhook** to create a new one. Give your webhook a name like “WP Mail SMTP Alerts”, select the channel you want the alerts to be sent to, and optionally customize the avatar that will appear with your notifications.

Copy the **Webhook URL** that Discord generates for you and click **Save** to create the webhook.

![set webhook name](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/set-webhook-name-1-1024x742.png)Now, return to the Alerts page in WP Mail SMTP settings and paste your Discord webhook URL in the **Webhook URL** field.

![paste webhook url](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/paste-webhook-url-1-1024x330.png)You can repeat these steps to add webhooks for other Discord channels to receive email failure notifications.

Don’t forget to **Save Settings** when you’re done.

#### Method #4: Email Failure Alerts via Microsoft Teams

If your team isn’t using Slack, there’s a good chance you’re communicating through Microsoft Teams.

You can easily receive alerts right to your preferred Teams channel if there’s an issue with your email deliverability. This makes it easy to stay on top of alerts without having to switch between tools.

Let’s walk through how you can get it set up.

![Microsoft Teams Alerts](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/microsoft-teams-alerts.png)After enabling Microsoft Teams, you’ll be prompted to add a Webhook URL.

From the Alerts page, use the toggle button to enable Microsoft Teams.

Next, log in to your Microsoft Teams workspace in a separate tab or window. Select the channel where you’d like to receive alerts and click the button with the 3 dots on it.

A menu will drop down.

![In Teams, click on the button with the 3 dots to start configuring your connection. ](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/click-three-dot.png)Click on the option to **Manage channel**.

![Select the option to Manage Channel in Teams](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/manage-channel.png)This will open up a page that includes all of your channel settings. Scroll down through those options until you see a section called **Connectors.** Click the **Edit** button.

![Edit the Connectors in Teams](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/edit-connectors.png)A modal window appears for you to select your Connectors. To streamline the process, use the search box in that window to search for “incoming webhook.”

When that result returns, you’ll see the Connector with a button to configure it.

![Find and select the option for configuring an incoming webhook. ](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/configure-incoming-webhooks.png)**Note:** If this is the first connection you’re setting up on your Microsoft Teams workspace, the **Configure** button will read **Add** instead.

Click on the **Configure** button (or **Add**, if this is your first connection).

On the next screen, enter a name for your connector.

![Enter a name for your connector.](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/enter-webhook-name.png)If you want, you can also add an image that will display along with the alert messages. This is optional. When you’re happy with what you have, click **Create**.

![Click Create to set up your webhook. ](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/click-create.png)Once you click **Create**, Microsoft Teams will create a webhook URL. This is what you will use to establish the connection, so go ahead and copy that value.

![Copy the Webhook URL to continue setting up your connection. ](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copy-webhook-url.png)After you’ve copied that value from Microsoft Teams, you can click **Done** to finish up there.

Now you can go back to the window or tab where you still have your WP Mail SMTP Alerts settings open.

Go back to where you flipped the toggle switch to enable Microsoft Teams. Now you can paste your webhook into the **Webhook URL** field.

![Paste your webhook's URL into the correct field on your WP Mail SMTP Alerts settings page. ](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/paste-webhook-url.png)If you’d like to add another connector so you can receive notifications in multiple places, you can. If you’re good with just having Teams send you alerts, you can scroll to the bottom and click on **Save Settings**.

Now that everything is set up, you should begin receiving notifications in Teams when your site experiences an email deliverability failure.

![Microsoft Teams Email Alert](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/email-alert-test.png)That’s all there is to setting up alerts in Microsoft Teams!

#### Method #5: Alert Notifications via SMS

WP Mail SMTP also supports [SMS notifications for WordPress](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-get-an-sms-notification-from-wordpress-forms/) email sending errors. This is a really convenient option because you don’t even need to be connected to the internet to receive SMS notifications.

The SMS notification setup requires a Twilio integration. To start, first enable the **SMS via Twilio Alerts** option in WP Mail SMTP Alert settings.

![Twilio/SMS Alerts integration enabled](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/alerts-twilio-on.png)You’ll now need to enter a few details about your Twilio account to make this integration work. If you don’t yet have a Twilio phone number, you can[ read Twilio’s doc to get started](https://www.twilio.com/docs/usage/tutorials/how-to-use-your-free-trial-account).

When you’ve created your Twilio account and got your Twilio phone number, open your Twilio console. From here, copy your Account SSID, Auth Token, and Twilio Phone Number.

![Twilio integration details](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/twilio-integration-details.png)Now, return to your WP Mail SMTP Alerts settings, and enter these copied details into the fields under **SMS section via Twilio** section.

Please note that your Twilio phone number should go into the **From Phone Number** field and the **To Phone Number** should have the number where you want to receive the email failure notifications.

![Twilio settings for wp mail smtp](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Twilio-settings-for-wp-mail-smtp.png)You can add multiple phone numbers if you’d like. Just click on the **Add Another Account** button and repeat the process as before with a new number this time.

Due to the character limits of SMS, the SMS alerts are not as detailed as other integrations. But they still contain valuable information to notify you of an email failure.

![An SMS alert notification for WP Mail SMTP](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sms-alert-example.png)#### Method #6: Push Notification Alerts

WP Mail SMTP also supports push notifications for WordPress email sending errors. This is a convenient option because you can receive instant browser notifications even when you’re not actively on your website.

The push notification setup works directly through your browser and doesn’t require any external service accounts.

To start, first enable the **Push Notifications Alerts** option in WP Mail SMTP Alert settings.

![enable push notification alerts](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/enable-push-notification-alerts-1024x333.png)After toggling the option on, you’ll see an **Enable Push Notifications** button appear. Click this button to set up notifications for your current browser.

![enable push notifications iphone](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/enable-push-notifications-smtp-1024x704.png)Your browser will prompt you to allow notifications from your website. Click **Allow** to grant permission.

![allow notifications](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/allow-notifications-1024x335.png)Once enabled, you can test the push notifications to make sure they’re working properly.

![Email Failure Push Notification Alert in Broser](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/email-alerts-test-smtp-1024x356.png)You can enable push notifications on multiple browsers and devices by repeating this process on each device where you want to receive alerts. If you’d like to set up alerts on an iPhone, there are a few extra setup steps. You can get full instructions for [setting up email failure alerts on iPhone](https://wpmailsmtp.com/docs/setting-up-push-notifications-alerts/) in our documentation.

Push notifications will show you basic information about the email failure, including the error message. For more detailed information, you can always check your WP Mail SMTP email logs.

Due to the nature of push notifications, they only work when your browser is open. For 24/7 monitoring, consider combining push notifications with other alert methods like email or SMS.

#### Method #7: WhatsApp Alerts

WP Mail SMTP also supports WhatsApp notifications for WordPress email sending errors. This is useful if you’re frequently on WhatsApp and want instant notifications about email issues.

The WhatsApp notification setup requires creating a Meta (Facebook) developer app and configuring WhatsApp Business API integration.

To start, first enable the **WhatsApp Alerts** option in WP Mail SMTP Alert settings.

![Enable WhatsApp Alerts](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/enable-whatsapp-alerts-1-1024x384.png)You’ll now need to set up a Meta developer app to make this integration work. If you don’t yet have a Meta developer account, you can create one at [developers.facebook.com](https://developers.facebook.com).

When you’ve created your Meta developer account, you’ll need to create a new app and enable WhatsApp Business API for it. From your app dashboard, you’ll need to copy several details including your App ID, App Secret, Phone Number ID, and Access Token.

Now, return to your WP Mail SMTP Alerts settings, and enter these copied details into the fields under the **WhatsApp** section.

![WhatsApp business ID](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/whatsapp-business-id-1024x340.png)You’ll also need to enter the phone number ID and the phone number where you want to receive the WhatsApp notifications in the **To Phone Number** field. Make sure to include the country code and don’t include any special characters.

![](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/enter-to-number-1024x246.png)You can add multiple phone numbers if you’d like. Just click on the **Add Another Connection** button and repeat the process with a new number.

Please note that WhatsApp Business API may require business verification for production use and usage charges may apply based on your message volume.

Due to the technical nature of setting up WhatsApp Business API, we recommend checking Meta’s documentation for detailed setup instructions.

#### Method #8: Email Failure Alerts via Custom Webhooks

The WP Mail SMTP Alerts feature enables you to receive notifications with any service that supports custom webhooks.

Just enable the **Webhooks Alerts** option and insert the Webhook URL you’d like to use to receive notifications whenever an email error occurs.

![Webhooks alerts on](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/webhooks-alerts-on-1.png)Remember that you can set up all of the above notification integrations if you’d like to receive alerts via multiple platforms at the same time.

And that’s it! You’re now ready to get alerts on your favorite apps when your WordPress emails stop working.

### Next, Set Up a Backup Connection for WP Mail SMTP

Want to automatically resend emails if your mailer fails? You can set up [additional connections](https://wpmailsmtp.com/docs/configuring-additional-connections/) in WP Mail SMTP Pro, then select a [Backup Connection](https://wpmailsmtp.com/docs/configuring-backup-connection/). If your Primary Connection isn’t working for some reason, WP Mail SMTP will try sending emails using your Backup Connection instead.

You may also want to check out our post on [changing WordPress notification email address](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-change-the-wordpress-notification-email-address/). And here’s our guide to [sending emails from localhost using SMTP](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wordpress-smtp-localhost/).

[Get Email Failure Alerts Now](https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing/)

Ready to fix your emails? [Get started today](https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing) with the best WordPress SMTP plugin. If you don’t have the time to fix your emails, you can get full White Glove Setup assistance as an extra purchase, and there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee for all paid plans.

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**Categories:** WordPress Tutorials

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