AcyMailing
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Version 5
Version 5
  • AcyMailing 5 documentation
  • Main pages
    • Users
      • Export Users
      • Import Users in AcyMailing
      • Mass actions
    • Lists
      • Distribution lists
      • List: Add/Edit
    • Newsletters
      • A/B Testing
      • Spam Test
      • Schedule your Newsletter
      • Smart-Newsletters
      • Campaigns
      • Joomla notifications
      • Simple Sending
      • Templates
        • Import a template
    • Queue
    • Statistics
      • Click statistics
      • Comparison page
      • Statistics charts
    • Configuration
      • Configuration tabs
        • Configure your send process
          • DKIM : DomainKeys Identified Mail
          • External SMTP service
        • Cron task
        • Geolocation
        • Captcha
        • Google Analytics
        • Forward to a friend
        • Access level
      • Custom fields
      • Bounce Handling
      • Unsubscribe page
  • Public part of your site
    • Configure your Subscription Module
    • Latest Newsletters module
    • Newsletter archive section
    • Front-end Newsletter edition
  • FAQ
    • Insert your subscription form in your article
    • Update AcyMailing 5
    • Your send process is slow?
    • Could not instantiate mail function
    • Sending issue
    • Spam issue
    • Compatibility issues
    • Install / Update issues
  • Integration plugins
    • Installed with AcyMailing
      • Insert Joomla articles in your newsletter
      • Plugin : Statistics
      • Plugin: (auto)Subscribe during Joomla registration
      • Plugin: Call to action
      • Plugin: Date - Time
      • GMail Inbox Actions
      • Plugin: Joomla Module Loader
      • Plugin: Joomla User
      • Plugin: Manage Subscription
      • Share your Newsletter on social networks
      • Plugin: Subscriber
      • Plugin: Website Links
      • AcyMailing plugin : table of contents generator
    • User management
      • Plugin: AltaUserPoints
      • Plugin : VirtueMart Checkout Subscription
      • Plugin: CB User
      • Plugin: CJBlog
      • Plugin: com_contact
      • Plugin: Community Builder
      • Plugin: Easy Profile
      • Plugin: EasySocial
      • Plugin: ExtendedReg Profile Information
      • Plugin: Grumpy Contacts
      • Plugin: Ja Job Board
      • Plugin: JomSocial
      • Plugin: JUGA
      • Plugin: K2 Users
      • Plugin: MightyMembership
      • AlphaUserPoints plugin
    • Content management
      • Plugin : AdsManager
      • Plugin: AdsManager (by Heigho)
      • Plugin : Dj-Catalog 2
      • Plugin : Kunena
      • Plugin: AdAgency
      • Plugin: CiviCRM
      • Plugin: Cobalt
      • plugin: Dj-Classifieds
      • plugin: EasyBlog
      • plugin: EasyDiscuss
      • Plugin: Emerald
      • Plugin: EZautos
      • plugin: FLEXIcontent
      • Plugin: Form2Content
      • Plugin: GMapFP
      • plugin: JoomBlog
      • plugin: Joomla! Estate Agency (JEA)
      • plugin: K2 items
      • Plugin: ListBingo
      • plugin: Lyften Bloggie
      • Plugin: MightyResources
      • Plugin: MosetsTree
      • Plugin: Newsfeeds
      • plugin: SEBLOD 3
      • Plugin: Sobi2
      • Plugin: SobiPro
    • Events
      • plugin: !Cagenda
      • Plugin: DPCalendar
      • Plugin: EventList
      • plugin: Event Booking
      • Plugin: jCalPro Events
      • Plugin: jEvents
      • Plugin: Matukio
      • plugin: MijoEvents
      • Plugin: Ohanah
      • Plugin: redEvent
      • Plugin: RsEvents
      • plugin: RSEvents Pro
    • E-commerce
      • Plugin: Awo Affiliate
      • Plugin: HikaShop
      • plugin: JoomShopping
      • plugin: K2Store
      • Plugin: redSHOP
      • Plugin: MijoShop
      • Plugin: VirtueMart Coupons
      • Plugin: VirtueMart
      • AwoCoupon plugin
    • Subscription system
      • Plugin: AEC
      • Plugin : CBSubs
      • Plugin: Membership Pro
      • Plugin: MightyRegistration
      • Plugin: OSE Membership Control Manager
      • Plugin: Payplans
      • Plugin: AkeebaSubs
      • AEC AcyMailing micro-integration
    • Files management
      • Plugin : RokDownloads
      • Plugin: DOCman
      • plugin: DOCman 2
      • Plugin: Document Media Manager
      • Plugin: jDownloads
      • Plugin: Joomdoc
      • Plugin: PhocaDownload
      • Plugin: Remository
    • Other
      • Module: Statistics dashboard
      • module: Quick icon for J1.5
      • Plugin : Module Article
      • plugin: AcyMailing toolbox
      • plugin: Auto-create a list on user registration
      • plugin: Add CC
      • Plugin: Create Joomla user
      • Plugin: Autotweet NG
      • plugin: Edit notification
      • plugin: Export users in mass action
      • plugin: List owner notification
      • Plugin: Modify user group
      • plugin: Quick icon for J2.5 and J3.X
      • plugin: Search
      • Plugin: Smart Search
      • Plugin: Squeeze Page
      • plugin: Stop Smart-Newsletter during weekend
      • Universal tag plugin
      • Universal filter plugin
      • Birthday Newsletter
  • Developers
    • AcyMailing 5 Developer Documentation
    • Customize the way the content inserted in emails by plugins
    • Conditional display
    • Multiple queue system
    • External subscription form
    • Subscription via URL
      • Fabrik Form and AcyMailing
      • ChronoForm and AcyMailing
      • RSForm!Pro and AcyMailing
      • BreezingForms and AcyMailing
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On this page
  • You are on a local server (using WAMP for example)
  • Your receiver e-mail address is not valid
  • You included a special character in the subject line
  • You included a special character in the sender/receiver information
  • Your subject line is too long
  • The bounce address you specified is not accepted by your server
  • You should specify a bounce e-mail address
  • You already sent too many e-mails!
  • You send multiple parts... and your host does not like it!
  • Your host does not allow attachments
  1. FAQ

Could not instantiate mail function

This is definitely the most common error message you will get if you have trouble sending e-mails using your server and unfortunately, this error message does not tell you how you can solve the issue.

Technically, the phpMailer library (a famous php library to send e-mails... used by AcyMailing and Joomla) tried to send a message using the php mail() function and the php mail() function returned "false".

You are on a local server (using WAMP for example)

This kind of web server does not have a mail server so you can't send e-mails from your local server.

What's the solution? Well, you should configure AcyMailing to use an external SMTP server instead of using the php Mail function to test Acy but you can consider it will work on your live server

Your receiver e-mail address is not valid

Your mail server may refuse to deliver your message if the receiver e-mail address is not a valid one... So if you have this "could not instantiate mail function" for only a few of your subscribers, it may just be because their e-mail address is not valid!

You included a special character in the subject line

Some mail servers will refuse to deliver your message if it contains special characters in the subject such as a quote or a comma or any other kind of special character (ùïä)...

Please create a new Newsletter, specify a standard subject line ("test" for example) and give it a new try.

You included a special character in the sender/receiver information

The same way, some mail server will refuse to deliver your message if the sender information contain special characters.

Please go on the AcyMailing configuration page, turn OFF the option "add Names" and give it a new try.

Add Names option turned OFF

Your subject line is too long

Some mail server may not authorize you to deliver your message if the subject line is too long...

Change your subject line to a single word to make sure it's not a problem of subjet length.

The bounce address you specified is not accepted by your server

Some servers won't accept to deliver your message if you specify a bounce e-mail address. Others will force you to apply a bounce address which belongs to your own domain...

Please go on the AcyMailing configuration page and leave the bounce address field empty.

Bounce empty

You should specify a bounce e-mail address

Just like the previous point, some servers will only deliver messages if you specified a bounce e-mail address belonging to your own domain.

If removing the bounce e-mail address didn't work, you should try to add it again and make sure it's a valid e-mail address belonging to your own domain.

You already sent too many e-mails!

You send multiple parts... and your host does not like it!

Some hosts won't enable you to send multiple parts... That definitely a parameter we recommend you to keep enabled but you should try to turn it OFF to see if that solves the "could not instantiate mail function" issue. You will find this option under the "Mail Configuration" tab on the AcyMailing configuration page.

Your host does not allow attachments

Some hosts will not allow you to send a message with an attachment... so if you have this issue only on Newsletter with attachments, you could turn OFF the option "embed attachments" on the Acy configuration page to make sure Acy will add the file as a link in your message and not as a real attachment.

Last updated 4 years ago

Most of hosting company will allow you send X e-mails per hour. If you go over that limitation, the mail server will refuse to deliver more e-mails and will display this error message. So for example if you successfully sent 480 e-mails and you can't send e-mails any more, then it's probably what happened and you should first wait one hour to deliver more e-mails and also make sure .

AcyMailing is configured to stay below your sending limitations