[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #39110: Better error handling when emails cannot be sent (specifically during password reset)

[WordPress Trac]

#39110: Better error handling when emails cannot be sent (specifically during
password reset)
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 Reporter:  johnbillion  |      Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Mail         |    Version:
 Severity:  normal       |   Keywords:  needs-patch ux-feedback
  Focuses:               |
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 If an email cannot be sent during a password reset (due to server
 misconfiguration etc), this is potentially a blocker for the user.
 Currently the user is presented with the message:

 > The email could not be sent.
 > Possible reason: your host may have disabled the mail() function.

 This is a dead end and there's no suggested next action for the user.
 There's a good chance that this is the first time the user has been made
 aware that their server is unable to send emails.

 A few things could be done to make this situation less painful, or avoid
 arriving at this situation in the first place.

 1. During installation, if the `New WordPress Site` email fails to send
 then a flag should be set which triggers a dismissable notification in the
 admin area stating that outgoing emails don't appear to be working, with a
 link to some documentation on the subject.
 2. During password reset, the `The email could not be sent` error message
 should be presented in a nicer format (possibly returning a `WP_Error`
 from `retrieve_password()` instead of triggering a `wp_die()`) and should
 have some more helpful information, including a link to external
 documentation.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/39110>
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