Customers not receiving receipt emails from !&1 server

[skinnybloke]

Hi - I am using Actinic Business V12.0.2 hosted on a 1&1 managed server.

For about the last week my customers have not been receiving emails and I have not been receiving confirmation emails.

On viewing the error log I can see this error message repeatedly:

Program = ORDERSCR, Program version = 31353 , HTTP Server = Apache , Return code = 999 , Date and Time = 2014/12/16 12:21, Internal Errors = Error returned from SMTP server (1: 501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments

I have changed nothing.

I have tried to use the same server/user/pass credentials in Outlook and I can send and receive emails.

Any ideas?

[Mike Hughes]

That's not an error I've seen before. A quick look through google serps comes up with:

501

Another syntax error, not in the command but in its parameters or arguments.

In the majority of the times it's due to an invalid email address, but it can also be associated with connection problems

I'd certainly check the sending email address is correct and on domain just in case there's a problem there.

In general there have been a lot of problems with 1and1 and SMTP from sellerdeck but these have generally been associated with shared hosting rather than a managed server.

Probably the best thing is to talk to 1and1 and get them to look at the smtp settings you're using and see if there are any problems. They can also look at the smtp server log and see the problem in more detail.

[skinnybloke]

Hi Mike - thanks for the reply.

Emailed 1&1 with the details and got the this email:

We have tested sending mail from your server to both an external address
and a 1&1 webmail address and could not reproduce any problems as both
test messages delivered without issue. Please verify your that your
scripts are set up correctly.

In addition, the bounceback message you provided is not sufficient. It
does not include the full mail headers or the recipient information.
Without this, we cannot determine if the problem is on our end or the
remote end (in which case you would need to contact the administrator of
that mail server).

They then suggested using 'mrvnet.kundenserver.de' as the SMTP server without authentication. This now works but no explanation as to why 'auth.smtp.1and1.com' with authorisation stopped working.

[Mike Hughes]

They then suggested using 'mrvnet.kundenserver.de' as the SMTP server without authentication.

This is the smtp server we have to use on the shared servers and does work. The only thing to watch for is that to prevent spammer abuse they've implemented a delay (of something like 20-30 seconds) before each email and this can be a bit of a pain.

It's worth checking by sending a test email from within sellerdeck. Just select any order and pick one of the emails such as 'order shipped' and overwrite the 'to' email address with your own one. If you find you're twiddling your thumbs waiting for the email to be sent then you're also suffering this problem.

This can also affect the customer checkout experience as the 'new order received' email can delay checkout progress on the handover to a PSP because of the way the sellerdeck scripts operate. This could affect display of the receipt page although I haven't tested this.

There are a couple of work arounds. One is to use Norman's sendmail patch.

Mike

[skinnybloke]

Update for anyone who is interested.

Using the 'mrvnet.kundenserver.de' server did cause too many problems with customers repeatedly hitting the Enter button due to the time delay, which meant multiple orders were received, and the customer received numerous emails causing confusion all around.

As suggested by Mike I have implemented Norman's patch to Actinic.pm and this seems to be working fine at the moment.

See: http://www.drillpine.biz/sellerdecks...eadoOfSMTP.txt

[saucysal]

More help with this Sendmail please

I have received an email from 1&1 this evening saying I must stop using mrelay.perfora.net as the smtp, even though it was them who told me to use it.

As others have found, mrvnet.kundenserver.de means emails takes 19 seconds each to send, so no good.

I am looking at Norman's patch. OK, but what do I type in the smtp box in the network settings in Sellerdeck?

Sarah

[skinnybloke]

localhost

Username and password not required

[saucysal]

Location of "use strict;"

In my Actinic.pm (Sellerdeck 2014) the only "use strict;" is near the bottom, with "package ACTINIC_B2B;" on the line above it, and above that a line of hashes, and below it a line of hashes. I am concerned that I put the "use Mail::Mailer;" in the right place. Is this right?

Then it says to search for "sub SendRichMail", and follows with instructions for V6 and V5 and replace with new stuff, but I am using latest version, so what do I use?

I think I shall put mrvnet.kundenserver.de as the smtp until I know for sure how to set up the Sendmail, even if painfully slow.

Sarah

[saucysal]

Thank you David for localhost

Do I still have to do Norman's fix?

Sarah

[saucysal]

Localhost produces error message

If I enter localhost in the smtp box of web settings, it produces an error message saying that this is not an smtp address and to try entering localhost, which is of course what I had done!

Sarah

[skinnybloke]

Hi - localhost should work after you have made the changes to Actinic.pm

Check that there are no spaces before or after the word localhost

I have applied the patch to v2013. I don't have v2014.

Zip the file up and attach it to your post and I'll take a look

[saucysal]

I will be trying again later today

Thank you for your reply and for your kind offer. I will be having another proper go this evening. If I run into trouble I may take you up on the offer, but it would appear that if I do everything right and in the right order there should not be a problem.

When uploading the site again after making the changes, should I use Web: Refresh Website or Publish to Web, or does it not matter?

Sarah

[skinnybloke]

It shouldn't matter

[saucysal]

Results of my Sendmail Attempt

I made the changes to Actinic.pm, and entered localhost in the smtp box of the web settings. This produced an error message on Test, not an smtp address, suggest try localhost (as previously reported). When I change localhost to mrvnet.kindenserver.de, it passes the test. I can send a test "order shipped" email and it takes about 8 seconds, better than previous 19 seconds before making the changes to actinic.pm. However, my emails to myself are not in html, but in a rather poor text which does not look right, with headings/links which are not, even though html emails are selected in Sellerdeck. If the html email problem can be sorted, things look manageable. Any ideas?

Sarah

[saucysal]

Emails looking so bad having to revert

The "order received" emails sent to customers (I have copies go to myself) look so bad, with html code showing, plain text otherwise, that I am having to revert to original actinic.pm until it can be sorted. The "order shipped" emails are also not coming through as html, though selected, and not looking good. Back to square one. Looks like I will have to put up with 19 second delay and hope not causing too much problem for customers in the Checkout. We are getting more than usual failed payments at the first attempt, but most are trying again and succeeding.

Sarah