Could not instantiate mail function phpmailer 2019

A classic issue!

The error "Could not instantiate mail function" with PHPMailer in 2019 is likely due to one of the following reasons:

  1. Outdated PHP version: PHPMailer requires PHP 5.5 or higher. If you're using an older version, upgrade to a supported version.
  2. Missing or incorrect PHPMailer installation: Make sure you've installed PHPMailer correctly. You can check the installation by running composer require phpmailer/phpmailer in your terminal.
  3. Incorrect PHPMailer configuration: Double-check your PHPMailer configuration file (usually phpmailer.php or class.phpmailer.php) and ensure that the isSMTP() method is set to true.
  4. SMTP settings not configured: PHPMailer needs SMTP settings to work. Ensure that you've configured your SMTP settings correctly, including the host, port, username, and password.
  5. Firewall or antivirus software blocking the connection: Firewalls or antivirus software might be blocking the connection to the SMTP server. Check your firewall and antivirus settings to ensure they're not blocking the connection.
  6. SMTP server issues: The SMTP server might be down or experiencing issues. Try sending an email using a different SMTP server or contact your email provider to check if there are any issues on their end.

To troubleshoot the issue, you can try the following:

  1. Enable PHPMailer debugging by setting SMTPDebug to 3 in your PHPMailer configuration file. This will provide more detailed error messages.
  2. Check the PHPMailer error log to see if there are any error messages.
  3. Use a tool like telnet or nc to test the connection to the SMTP server.
  4. Try sending an email using a different PHPMailer configuration or a different SMTP server.

Here's an example of a basic PHPMailer configuration:

<?php
require 'phpmailer/PHPMailer.php';
require 'phpmailer/SMTP.php';

$mail = new PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer();
$mail->isSMTP();
$mail->Host = 'smtp.example.com';
$mail->Port = 587;
$mail->SMTPAuth = true;
$mail->Username = '[email protected]';
$mail->Password = 'your_password';
$mail->setFrom('[email protected]', 'Your Name');
$mail->addAddress('[email protected]', 'Recipient Name');
$mail->Subject = 'Test Email';
$mail->Body = 'This is a test email';

if (!$mail->send()) {
    echo 'Error: '. $mail->ErrorInfo;
} else {
    echo 'Email sent successfully!';
}

Make sure to replace the placeholders with your actual SMTP settings and email addresses.