"The test said sent, but nothing arrived"

It is the most common question about any SMTP plugin: the test reported success, but no email arrived. The cause is almost always one of four things, checked in this order:

1. Simulation mode is on — the email was recorded, not sent.
2. The send failed or is waiting — Logs shows Failed or Pending.
3. Your From domain is not authenticated — no SPF or DKIM record, so the receiving server distrusts the email.
4. It is in spam — or the provider suppressed the address.

Answer one question at a time. The page address changes with each answer, so you can send someone a link straight to yours.

Question

Is simulation mode on?

Open BooleanSMTP → Logs. If your test email is under Simulated, Email Simulation Mode is on.

Yes, it is under SimulatedNo

Answer

Turn simulation mode off

Simulation mode records emails without sending them. Go to Settings, switch off Email Simulation Mode, and send a test again from Test Email.

Start over

Question

What does Logs say about the email?

Find your test email in Logs and look at its status.

FailedPendingSuccessful

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Answer

The provider refused it

Open the entry in Logs to read the error. The usual causes are a wrong API key or password, and a From address the provider has not verified. Fix the connection under Mailers, then send a test again.

Troubleshooting

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Answer

It is waiting to be retried

A failed send is retried in the background on your other active connections. Wait a few minutes, or run the queue now with: wp boolean-smtp queue:work --retry

Troubleshooting

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Question

Is your From domain authenticated with your provider?

Providers ask you to add DNS records — SPF and DKIM, often DMARC — for the domain in your From address. Without them, receiving servers often send mail to spam or drop it.

No, or not sureYes

Start over

Answer

Authenticate your sending domain

In your provider’s dashboard, add your domain and copy the DNS records it gives you into your domain’s DNS settings, then send a test again.

Start over

Question

Did you check the spam or junk folder?

Look in the recipient’s spam or junk folder, and in any quarantine your email host runs.

Not yetYes, it is not there

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Answer

Check spam, then your domain

If the email is in spam, mark it as not spam. Then check your domain’s SPF, DKIM and DMARC records with your provider — they are the usual reason mail lands there.

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Answer

Ask your provider what happened

Successful in Logs means your provider accepted the message. Its own activity log shows what happened next: delivered, bounced, or suppressed because the address bounced or complained before.

Troubleshooting

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Check yourself

Logs shows the email as Successful. What does that tell you?

It is in the inbox

Not quite. It tells you the provider accepted it; the provider’s own log shows what happened next.

The provider accepted it

Right. From there, domain authentication and the recipient’s spam filter decide where it lands.

Your test email is under Simulated in Logs. What is the fix?

Switch off Email Simulation Mode in Settings

Right. Simulation records email without sending it.

Add a Fallback Connection

Not quite. A simulated email never reached any connection, so a fallback does not help.