Troubleshooting

Work through the relevant section below. Enable WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG in wp-config.php if you need more detail — error output goes to /wp-content/debug.log.

SMTP not sending / test email fails

Double-check host, port, username, and password — copy-paste from your SMTP provider dashboard, don’t type
Confirm encryption matches port: TLS → 587, SSL → 465
Try port 2525 if 587 is blocked by your host (common on some shared hosting)
Check whether your host blocks outbound SMTP — some shared hosts require using their own mail relay; contact your host to confirm
Verify the From Email domain is authenticated with SPF and DKIM at your DNS provider

Emails are delivered but land in spam

Confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS records are published for your sending domain — this is the most common cause
Test your setup at mail-tester.com — it gives a score and identifies specific deliverability issues
Check that your From Email and SMTP username match the authenticated domain
Reduce sending rate — ISPs are suspicious of new senders; start low and warm up gradually
Avoid spam trigger words in subject lines (ALL CAPS, excessive exclamation marks, “FREE”, “WINNER”, etc.)

Queue stalled / campaign stuck on Sending

Confirm WP-Cron is firing: install a plugin like WP Crontrol to inspect scheduled events
Check that DISABLE_WP_CRON is not set to true in wp-config.php
On low-traffic sites, WP-Cron may not fire for hours — set up a real server cron job for reliability
Check PHP max_execution_time — very low values (under 30 seconds) can interrupt cron jobs mid-batch; ask your host to increase it
Check /wp-content/debug.log for PHP errors occurring during queue processing

Confirmation emails not arriving

Check spam/junk folder first
Use the Test Connection button in Settings to confirm SMTP is working at all
Manually confirm the subscriber in Dispatch → Subscribers while you investigate
If the test email works but confirmation emails don’t, check for PHP errors in debug.log at the time of form submission

Unsubscribe link returns a 404

Go to Settings → Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes — this flushes the rewrite rules
Confirm your permalink structure is set to “Post name” or any custom structure (not “Plain”)

Plugin conflict or white screen

Enable WP_DEBUG in wp-config.php to surface the actual error
Deactivate all other plugins and re-activate one by one to identify the conflict
Switch to a default WordPress theme (Twenty Twenty-Four) to rule out theme conflicts
Check server PHP error logs (location varies by host — often at /var/log/php-fpm/error.log or visible in cPanel → Error Logs)

Still stuck? See the Support section or check the FAQ.

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Troubleshooting