WooCommerce admin email error
WooCommerce new order email not sending.
The New order email is an admin notification. Debug its recipient list, template state, and order creation event separately from customer confirmation emails.
Failure stage
Order creation: WooCommerce creates a new order from checkout or manual entry.
Admin template: New order template must be enabled.
Recipient list: admin recipient field must contain valid mailbox addresses.
Likely failure: empty admin recipient, disabled New order template, or SMTP provider rejection.
Not the same as: customer processing/completed order email delivery.
Evidence-to-cause matrix
| Evidence | Likely cause | First check |
|---|---|---|
| Customer email sends, admin email does not | New order template or admin recipient issue | Open the New order email settings, not customer templates. |
| Recipient field is blank | No admin mailbox resolved | Add one valid admin mailbox and resend. |
| Multiple comma-separated recipients | Malformed recipient list | Check comma spacing and each mailbox shape. |
| Admin recipient uses Gmail while From is store domain | Recipient filtering or forwarding policy | Check provider logs and spam/quarantine for the admin mailbox. |
| No SMTP log at checkout time | WooCommerce did not call mail path | Check order creation hook and New order template state. |
SMTP connect() failed | Transport failed after WooCommerce | Fix SMTP before editing recipients again. |
WooCommerce path
| Stage | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Order event | Checkout or manual order creation happened and created an order record. |
| Email template | New order admin notification is enabled. |
| Recipient | Admin recipient list contains valid mailbox addresses. |
| wp_mail | WooCommerce handed the admin notification into WordPress mail. |
| SMTP | Provider log has one event for the admin recipient. |
| Inbox | Admin mailbox spam/quarantine is only checked after provider acceptance. |
Do this first / do not do this yet
Do this first
- Open WooCommerce > Settings > Emails > New order.
- Confirm the template is enabled.
- Verify the recipient field contains a valid admin mailbox.
- Place a low-value test order and check provider logs for the admin recipient.
Do not do this yet
- Do not debug customer email templates first; this is an admin template.
- Do not change payment gateway settings unless orders are not being created.
- Do not add many recipients until one admin mailbox works.
- Do not assume SMTP is broken if customer emails are already logged as delivered.
Bad current pattern
New order email: enabled unknown
Recipient(s): admin@example.com, sales
Customer email: received
SMTP provider log: no event for sales
Assumption: WooCommerce email is globally brokenCorrected pattern
New order email: enabled
Recipient(s): orders@example.com
Test: low-value order
Provider log: accepted message to orders@example.com
Next test: add second admin recipient only after first recipient works