Call mail PHP file from Android doesn't work

Question

I have the following function in my Android app:

void sendEmail(String PHPfileUurl, String receiverEmail, String fromEmail) {
        ParseUser currentUser = ParseUser.getCurrentUser();

        StringBuilder messageBuilder = new StringBuilder();
        for (int i=0; i<productsOrdered.size(); i++){
            messageBuilder.append(productsOrdered.get(i)).append("\n");
        }
        String mess = messageBuilder.toString();

        String parameters = "name=" + currentUser.getString(Configurations.USER_FULLNAME) +
                "&fromEmail=" + fromEmail +
                "&receiverEmail=" + receiverEmail +
                "&messageBody=" + mess +
                "&storeName=" + Configurations.MERCHANT_NAME +
                "&shippingAddress=" + currentUser.getString(Configurations.USER_SHIPPING_ADDRESS);

        String strURL = PHPfileUurl + parameters;
        strURL = strURL.replace(" ", "%20");
        strURL = strURL.replace("\n", "%20");

        Log.i(Configurations.TAG, "PHP STRING URL: " + strURL);

        StrictMode.ThreadPolicy policy = new StrictMode.ThreadPolicy.Builder().permitAll().build();
        StrictMode.setThreadPolicy(policy);
        try {
            URL url;
            url = new URL(strURL);
            HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
            conn.setRequestMethod("POST");
            conn.setConnectTimeout(20000);
            conn.setReadTimeout(20000);
            conn.setDoInput(true);
            conn.setDoOutput(true);

            if( conn.getResponseCode() == HttpURLConnection.HTTP_OK ){
                InputStream is = conn.getInputStream();
                Log.i(Configurations.TAG, "EMAIL RESPONSE: " + conn.getResponseMessage());
            } else {
                InputStream err = conn.getErrorStream();
                Log.i(Configurations.TAG, "ERROR ON EMAIL: " + err);
            }
        } catch (IOException e) {e.printStackTrace(); }
    }

When I call that function the Logcat prints out this message:

I/log-: PHP STRING URL: http://example.com/myapp/email-admin.php?name=Mark%20Doe&fromEmail=myemail@gmail.com&receiverEmail=admin@mydomain.com&messageBody=PRODUCT%20ID:%20Q3nQgZdlFG%20---%20PRODUCT:%20Nike%20Sport%20Shoes%20black%20%20---%20QUANTITY:%201%20---%20SIZE:%20L%20&storeName=Z%20Store%20Inc.&shippingAddress=John%20Doe,%20121%20Church%20Avenue,%20ASD123,%20London,%20UK
I/log-: EMAIL RESPONSE: OK

So I assume everything is fine since the RESPONSE = OK. But it's not, because I will not receive any email at admin@mydomain.com (there is another email address, I've posted a fake one just as an example, the Logcat prints out my real email address as receiverEmail).

Here's my mail.php file:

// POST Variables
$name = $_POST['name'];
$fromEmail = $_POST['fromEmail'];
$receiverEmail = $_POST['receiverEmail'];
$messageBody = $_POST['messageBody'];
$storeName = $_POST['storeName'];
$shippingAddress = $_POST['shippingAddress'];
$headers = 'From: ' .$fromEmail;

// SUBJECT 
$subject = "New order from " .$name. " on '" .$storeName. "'";


// COMPOSE MESSAGE 
$message = 
"ORDER DETAILS:\n".
$messageBody.
"\n\nName: " .$name. 
"\nUser Email: " .$fromEmail.
"\nShipping Address: " .$shippingAddress
;

/* Finally send email */
mail($receiverEmail,
    $subject, 
    $message, 
    $headers
);

/* Result */
echo "Email Sent to: " .$receiverEmail. "\n Message: " .$message;

Does my code have something wrong? is there another way to call a mail.php file from my own server? I've also tried this question, but I cannot import the DefaultHttpClient class in my project.

if you are using parse, why not use cloud code and work it with nodejs? sending email with nodejs is way easier, and its more secure than php. just a thought. — letsCode, Oct 05 '18 at 16:25
just because i don’t know how to send emails with cloudcode :) — Frank Eno, Oct 05 '18 at 16:27
i’ve tried with Mailgun and Mandrill, but it’s more complex tgan using a php file, so i always look for the simplest solution ever ;) — Frank Eno, Oct 05 '18 at 17:56

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 05 '18 at 13:50

1

Use $_GET instead of $_POST ,

change all variable from

$name = $_POST['name'];

to

$name = $_GET['name'];

answered Oct 05 '18 at 13:50

Zack Heisenberg

499
6
12

it works, although I had to make a new PHP file with $_GET instances because I have an iOS version of my app that calls the same mail.php file, so I wanted to use the same file, but it seems I can't since my code need $_GET instead of $_POST. Anyway, thanks so much for your help! – Frank Eno Oct 05 '18 at 13:57

Zack Heisenberg · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-05T14:17:34.757

it's would be easier if you change the $_POST to $_GET but the problem in the $_GET method if the message have (&something=) inside it you will receive only half the message as the &something= would be set to an other $_GET , Also you might get some problems if the message is too long ,

so if you want to use the $_POST method instead of the $_GET

you need to change your java code , make sure to import Map and then change it to this

void sendEmail(String PHPfileUurl, String receiverEmail, String fromEmail) {
    ParseUser currentUser = ParseUser.getCurrentUser();

    StringBuilder messageBuilder = new StringBuilder();
    for (int i=0; i<productsOrdered.size(); i++){
        messageBuilder.append(productsOrdered.get(i)).append("\n");
    }
    String mess = messageBuilder.toString();


    Map<String,Object> params = new LinkedHashMap<>();
params.put("name", currentUser.getString(Configurations.USER_FULLNAME));
params.put("fromEmail", fromEmail);
params.put("receiverEmail", receiverEmail);
params.put("messageBody", mess);
 params.put("storeName", Configurations.MERCHANT_NAME);
  params.put("shippingAddress", currentUser.getString(Configurations.USER_SHIPPING_ADDRESS);

StringBuilder postData = new StringBuilder();
for (Map.Entry<String,Object> param : params.entrySet()) {
    if (postData.length() != 0) postData.append('&');
    postData.append(URLEncoder.encode(param.getKey(), "UTF-8"));
    postData.append('=');
    postData.append(URLEncoder.encode(String.valueOf(param.getValue()), "UTF-8"));
}
byte[] postDataBytes = postData.toString().getBytes("UTF-8");


    String strURL = PHPfileUurl;

    StrictMode.ThreadPolicy policy = new StrictMode.ThreadPolicy.Builder().permitAll().build();
    StrictMode.setThreadPolicy(policy);
    try {
        URL url;
        url = new URL(strURL);
        HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
        conn.setRequestMethod("POST");
        conn.setConnectTimeout(20000);
        conn.setReadTimeout(20000);
        conn.setDoInput(true);
        conn.setDoOutput(true);
        conn.getOutputStream().write(postDataBytes);


        if( conn.getResponseCode() == HttpURLConnection.HTTP_OK ){
            InputStream is = conn.getInputStream();
            Log.i(Configurations.TAG, "EMAIL RESPONSE: " + conn.getResponseMessage());
        } else {
            InputStream err = conn.getErrorStream();
            Log.i(Configurations.TAG, "ERROR ON EMAIL: " + err);
        }
    } catch (IOException e) {e.printStackTrace(); }
}

Call mail PHP file from Android doesn't work

2 Answers2