If Magic Link or OTP emails aren’t showing up, the issue is most often email delivery rather than VentraConnect. Follow this checklist in order to find the failure point fast.
Confirm You Can Receive Emails
Before anything else:
- Check Spam / Junk
- In Gmail, also check Promotions (and “All Mail”)
If you’re testing repeatedly, always use the latest email. When you request a new Email OTP code, earlier codes are cancelled. Earlier unused Magic Links stay valid until they expire or are used, but using the newest email avoids confusion.
Test if WordPress Can Send Any Email
The Run site diagnostics tool includes a wp_mail() availability check.
Install an email testing/logging plugin:
- WP Mail SMTP (recommended)
- Or “Check & Log Email” (logging only)
Send a test email from the plugin. You can also use VentraConnect’s own Send test email button in Login Methods → Magic Link or OTP (Email) (it sends to the site admin email address), and Diagnostics & Tools → Run site diagnostics, which checks that wp_mail() is available.
Outcomes:
- ❌ Test email fails → this is a site email delivery issue. Go to Step 3.
- ✅ Test email succeeds → delivery works in general. Go to Step 4.
The Most Common Cause: Your “From” Address Is Wrong
If WordPress is sending emails from a personal address like yourname@gmail.com, many providers will block it (spoofing).
✅ Use a real email on your own domain, for example hello@yourdomain.com.
VentraConnect’s Email sender field only changes the From name. Set the From address in your SMTP plugin.
In WP Mail SMTP set:
- From Email:
hello@yourdomain.com - From Name: your site/brand name
- ✅ Enable Force From Email
- ✅ Enable Force From Name
Send the test email again.
Why this matters: Email providers verify the “From” domain. Sending from Gmail through your hosting server often gets blocked or dumped into spam.
If You’re on cPanel, Check Delivery Logs
This shows the real reason. If your host uses cPanel, open cPanel → Email → Track Delivery, send a test email and check the result.
Common failures:
- “550-5.7.26 unauthenticated sender” (Gmail): your domain is missing or failing SPF/DKIM/DMARC. Go to Step 5.
- Rejected / spam / blocked: usually SPF/DKIM/DMARC or server reputation.
Fix SPF / DKIM / DMARC (Domain Authentication)
In cPanel open Email → Email Deliverability and make sure these show VALID:
- SPF
- DKIM
- DMARC
If they don’t, use the suggested DNS records shown there and add them to your authoritative DNS provider (where your nameservers point).
PHP Mail Can Be Unreliable: Use SMTP for Best Deliverability
Even if it is “sent successfully”, PHP mail on shared hosting can be inconsistent. For the most reliable delivery:
- Install WP Mail SMTP
- Configure SMTP using a real provider (Zoho, Mailgun, SendGrid, SES, etc.)
- Retest Magic Link / OTP
Still Not Receiving Magic Link / OTP?
If general emails arrive but Magic Link or OTP still doesn’t:
- Re-check that Magic Link and OTP (Email) are set to Active in Login Methods (a method that is off shows “This sign-in method is currently unavailable.”) and that your email templates are correct
- Check for rate limits or too many attempts during testing: the resend throttle (default 60 seconds) delays another request, and after repeated wrong codes VentraConnect temporarily refuses all code checks for 10 minutes
- Temporarily disable security / caching / email-related plugins and retest
If email sending works but Magic Link or OTP still fails, see Troubleshooting Magic Link and Troubleshooting Email OTP.
When Contacting Support
To diagnose quickly, include:
Include:
- Your From Email setting
- A screenshot (or copy) of the Track Delivery result (if on cPanel)
- Whether a test email from WordPress arrives
- The recipient email provider (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
- The output of Copy diagnostics (Diagnostics & Tools → Logs & export)
