Why is My PHP Email\'s \'From\' Header Incorrect, and How Can I Fix It?

Troubleshooting the 'From' Header Issue in PHP Mail

In website development, sending emails to users upon registration is a common task. However, encountering issues with the "From" header can be frustrating. A developer encountering such a problem sought guidance in sending emails to users upon registration, showcasing his PHP code:

$to = "[email protected]";
$subject = "Test mail";
$message = "Hello! \nThis is a simple email message.";

$headers = "From: [email protected]";
$headers .= "\r\nReply-To: [email protected]";
$headers .= "\r\nX-Mailer: PHP/".phpversion();

mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);

echo "Mail Sent.";

However, the issue arose when the delivered email displayed the "From" header as [email protected], while the "Reply-To" header was correctly set as specified. The crux of the problem lay in the hostname of the server hosting the website, which was box123.bluehost.com.

Upon investigation, it was revealed that the developer was attempting to use a Gmail address as the "From" value. Unfortunately, such an approach is unlikely to succeed. As explained by a solution provider:

"This is not going to work, and the ISP is right in overwriting it. If you want to redirect the replies to your outgoing messages, use reply-to."

To rectify this issue, the developer was advised to use the "Reply-To" header for redirecting replies. Additionally, a workaround for resolving the issue for valid addresses was provided:

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

By adding a fifth parameter to the mail() command, the developer could remedy the "From" header issue and ensure that the email was sent successfully.

The above is the detailed content of Why is My PHP Email\'s \'From\' Header Incorrect, and How Can I Fix It?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!