Why Is My PHP Email\'s \'From\' Header Incorrect?

Troubleshooting the 'From' Header Issue in PHP Mail

When sending emails using PHP's mail function, you may encounter instances where the 'From' header appears differently from the specified value. Let's delve into the potential causes and solutions for this issue.

In the provided code, you have specified the 'From' header as "[email protected]", but the email arrives with the 'From' header as "[email protected]". This discrepancy is likely due to server configurations or limitations imposed by your hosting provider.

The Reply-To Header

The 'Reply-To' header is used to specify the email address to which replies should be sent. It is typically different from the 'From' header, which indicates the sender of the original email. In your case, you have set 'Reply-To' to "[email protected]", and this value appears correctly in the received email.

Gmail Restrictions

One important factor to consider is that many ISPs, including Gmail, restrict the use of external email addresses as the 'From' header. When using Gmail, the 'From' header must match an email address hosted by the same domain. This security measure prevents spammers from spoofing email addresses. Therefore, you cannot specify an external address like "[email protected]" as the 'From' header when sending emails using Gmail's SMTP server.

Workaround for Valid Sender Addresses

If you are using a valid email address as the 'From' header and the server still overwrites it, you can try adding a fifth parameter to the mail() function:

mail($to, $subject, $message, $headers, "-f [email protected]");

This parameter specifies the envelope sender, which is used by some ISPs to determine the 'From' header. By setting this parameter to the desired 'From' address, you can often override the server's default settings.

Additional Considerations

• Ensure that the 'From' email address is a verified and authorized sender in your email provider.
• Check if any server-side filtering or anti-spam measures are causing the issue.
• Contact your hosting provider for assistance with configuring email headers.

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