How to Fix “SMTP Connection Refused” on Go54 (WhoGoHost)

Email deliverability shouldn’t be this hard.
Many WordPress users hosted on Go54 (formerly WhoGoHost) struggle to get contact forms, password resets, or order confirmations to send — even after entering the right SMTP credentials.

That’s because most shared hosts block outbound mail ports by default, causing “connection refused” or “could not connect to SMTP host” errors.

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to fix it using Yournotify’s secure HTTPS or PHP SDK integration, so your WordPress emails always get delivered — instantly and reliably.

If your WordPress site is hosted on Go54 (formerly WhoGoHost) or similar shared hosting, and you’re seeing errors like:

SMTP Error: Could not connect to SMTP host.
Failed to connect to server: Connection refused (111)

you’re not alone. This happens because most shared hosts block outbound SMTP ports (25, 465, 587) — even when your credentials are correct.

The good news? You can fix this permanently with Yournotify’s official PHP SDK — no port restrictions, no SMTP setup.

Option 1: Send Emails Over HTTPS with the Yournotify PHP SDK (Recommended)

Instead of connecting over SMTP, Yournotify lets you send emails securely via HTTPS (port 443) using the official SDK.

Step 1: Install the SDK via Composer

composer require yournotify/yournotify-php-sdk

This installs the latest SDK from Packagist.

Step 2: Add your API Key in wp-config.php

define('YOURNOTIFY_API_KEY', 'YN_live_xxx_your_api_key_xxx');
define('YOURNOTIFY_FROM_EMAIL', 'no-reply@yourdomain.com');
define('YOURNOTIFY_FROM_NAME',  'Your Brand');

Step 3: Create a small MU-plugin that routes wp_mail() through the SDK

Create:

/wp-content/mu-plugins/yournotify-mailer.php

Paste in:

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: Yournotify Mailer (SDK)
 * Description: Sends all WordPress emails through Yournotify’s HTTPS API via the official PHP SDK.
 */

if (!defined('ABSPATH')) exit;

require_once ABSPATH . 'vendor/autoload.php';

use Yournotify\Client as YournotifyClient;

add_filter('pre_wp_mail', function ($null, $atts) {
    if (!defined('YOURNOTIFY_API_KEY') || !YOURNOTIFY_API_KEY) return $null;

    $to       = (array)($atts['to'] ?? []);
    $subject  = $atts['subject'] ?? '';
    $message  = $atts['message'] ?? '';
    $fromEmail = defined('YOURNOTIFY_FROM_EMAIL') ? YOURNOTIFY_FROM_EMAIL : get_option('admin_email');
    $fromName  = defined('YOURNOTIFY_FROM_NAME')  ? YOURNOTIFY_FROM_NAME  : get_bloginfo('name');

    try {
        $client = new YournotifyClient(YOURNOTIFY_API_KEY);

        $client->sendEmail([
            'from'    => ['email' => $fromEmail, 'name' => $fromName],
            'to'      => array_map(fn($e) => ['email' => $e], $to),
            'subject' => $subject,
            'html'    => $message,
        ]);

        return true;
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        error_log('[Yournotify SDK Mailer] ' . $e->getMessage());
        return $null;
    }
}, 10, 2);

✅ That’s it! WordPress now sends all emails through Yournotify’s HTTPS API using the official SDK — no SMTP, no blocked ports, and with full API-level tracking.

Option 2: If You Must Keep SMTP

If you still want to use SMTP (for plugins that require it):

Step 1: Ask Go54 Support to Open Outbound SMTP Ports

smtp.yournotify.com:587

Step 2: Force IPv4 Resolution

add_action('phpmailer_init', function ($phpmailer) {
    $phpmailer->isSMTP();
    $phpmailer->Host       = gethostbyname('smtp.yournotify.com'); // Force IPv4
    $phpmailer->Port       = 587;
    $phpmailer->SMTPAuth   = true;
    $phpmailer->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
});

Why This Happens

Go54 and similar shared hosts block SMTP ports to prevent spam. That means your site can’t connect to any external mail server — even legitimate ones. Using the SDK over HTTPS avoids this completely, because port 443 (standard web traffic) is always open.

Bonus:  Official Yournotify WordPress Plugin

• One-click API key authentication
• Email logs & status tracking
• Custom From domains & templates
• Zero SMTP configuration

Never edit PHPMailer again — Yournotify will handle everything behind the scenes.

Summary

Problem	Cause	Fix
“Connection refused (111)”	Go54 blocks SMTP ports 25/465/587	Use Yournotify SDK (HTTPS)
“Could not connect to SMTP host”	IPv6 mismatch / firewall	Force IPv4 or whitelist host
Works elsewhere but not Go54	Host-level network restriction	Send via SDK (443)

Pro Tip

Once you’ve switched to the HTTPS SDK, you can safely disable SMTP plugins like WP Mail SMTP — Yournotify handles everything automatically.

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Still need help? Visit https://yournotify.com/contact or use the in-app chat.