cPanel sends important alerts - a nearly full disk, a mailbox over quota, an SSL problem, a new login - to the contact email address saved in your Instant Access Internet Services hosting account. It also uses that address for password resets. This guide shows how to update your contact email in cPanel and pick which notifications you want.
Choose the right contact address
Use an address that is not hosted on this same account. If your site or mail ever has a problem, alerts sent to you@example.com could get stuck on the very server that's having trouble. A Gmail, Outlook.com or other outside address is the safest choice.
This cPanel contact email is separate from the email address on your Instant Access billing account. To change the billing address, log in to the client area and edit your profile there.
How to update your contact email in cPanel
- Log in to cPanel.
- Go to Preferences > Contact Information.
- Enter your address in the contact email address box.
- Optionally add a second contact address - a good idea if you share the account with a web designer or colleague.
- Click Save.
cPanel may email your old and new addresses to confirm the change. That's normal and is a security feature.
How to choose your cPanel notifications
On the same Contact Information page, the Contact Preferences section lists the events cPanel can email you about. Tick the ones you want and click Save.
| Notification | Our advice |
|---|---|
| My contact email address changes | Keep on - warns you if someone changes it |
| My account approaches its disk quota | Keep on - a full disk stops email and uploads |
| My account approaches its bandwidth usage limit | Keep on |
| SSL certificate expiry | Keep on |
| Any of my account's email accounts approaches or is over quota | Keep on - full mailboxes bounce new mail |
| My account's password changes | Keep on - an important security alert |
| Someone logs in to my account | Recommended - you'll know about every cPanel login |
| An external account links to my account for authentication | Keep on |
If login alerts become too frequent, you can leave them on but untick the option that sends them even from IP addresses you've logged in from before. You'll then only hear about logins from new locations.
AutoSSL notifications
Your site gets free SSL certificates automatically through AutoSSL. Under AutoSSL Notifications, choose how much you want to hear:
- All AutoSSL events - failures, deferrals and every successful renewal (can be chatty).
- AutoSSL failures and deferrals only - the default, and the best choice for most people.
- AutoSSL failures only.
- Disable AutoSSL event notifications - not recommended.
Troubleshooting
I'm not receiving any cPanel notifications
- Check your spam or junk folder and mark the message as "not spam".
- Make sure the contact email address in Preferences > Contact Information is spelled correctly.
- Confirm the notification you expect is ticked in Contact Preferences.
The Reset Password link on the login page didn't send me a code
The reset code only goes to the contact email saved here. If that address is out of date, log in through the client area's Log in to cPanel button and fix it.
Can I stop all emails from cPanel?
You can untick every option, but we don't recommend it. Disk and mailbox quota warnings in particular give you time to act before email starts bouncing.
Related guides
- How to Change Your cPanel Password
- How to Log In to cPanel Directly and Reset a Forgotten Password
- Understanding cPanel Statistics: Disk Space, Bandwidth and Databases
- Free SSL Certificates: How AutoSSL and SSL/TLS Status Work
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and the Instant Access Internet Services team will help.
