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9504 - SmarterMail Service not starting
Problem reported by Millennium Systems - 1/8/2026 at 5:49 PM
Submitted
No time to properly troubleshoot right now, but we encountered trouble updating from 9483 to 9504. The mail service refused to start after install due to insufficient permissions.

Followed the usual procedure, stopped the service, wait for it to disappear from Task Manager and uninstall.

- Installed 9504, service didn't start, cancelled
- Ran install as admin (never needed to but just trouble shooting), service didn't start, cancelled
- Tried to install 9483, got error during install complaining about permission on MailService.dll, cancelled install
- Rebooted, tried installing 9504 again, no dll issue, but service refused to start again, cancelled
- Rebooted, installed 9483 and we are back up and running

Luckily just an SMTP server for web forms... holding of on our primary mail server until we get some feedback or can do more testing.

Just FYI... perhaps just an issue with this server but exercise caution.
echoDreamz Replied
1/8/2026 at 10:20 PM
Updated ours, no issues thus far. Started up, did a little "upgrade" process, and then fully started.
Gabriele Maoret - SERSIS Replied
1/9/2026 at 1:31 AM
Here all working OK, no issue on service start...
Gabriele Maoret - Head of SysAdmins and CISO at SERSIS Currently manages 6 SmarterMail installations (1 in the cloud for SERSIS which provides services to a few hundred third-party email domains + 5 on-premise for customers who prefer to have their mail server in-house)
Neil Harvey Replied
1/9/2026 at 1:39 AM
Failed update here,

Followed the same process with same results, 

back to 9483.
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Renato Mucciarelli Replied
1/9/2026 at 3:11 AM
Same experience here, installation failed service could not be started (1053). Canceled the installation -> it removed the service. Did start the installation again and this time after a real long time the service could be started and everything does work. Restarted my computer, everything does work.
Gabriele Maoret - SERSIS Replied
1/9/2026 at 4:09 AM
mmmhhh....

Just to clarify, I normally use this procedure to upgrade, and it's always worked (even with the new 9504), I don't know if this can help you...:

1 - Stop Smartermail service
2 - Check TaskManager and wait for the MailService.exe process to close completely
3 - Uninstall Smartermail
4 - Reboot
5 - Install the new release of SmarterMail
Gabriele Maoret - Head of SysAdmins and CISO at SERSIS Currently manages 6 SmarterMail installations (1 in the cloud for SERSIS which provides services to a few hundred third-party email domains + 5 on-premise for customers who prefer to have their mail server in-house)
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Nathan Replied
1/9/2026 at 6:21 AM
Has anyone upgraded the Linux version yet and if so did it upgrade smoothly?
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George To Replied
1/9/2026 at 8:09 AM
F.Y.I. - We've just completed 2 SmarterMail updates from 9434 to 9504 inside Windows Server 2019. 

- We stop SmarterMail service.  
- Wait SmarterMail process disappear in Task Manager.
- Uninstall SmarterMail 9434.  (During uninstall, it said it needs to reboot)

- Reboot

- Install SmarterMail 9504
- During install process, it will auto-install .NET 10.  Then, continue SmarterMail 9504 installation process, it takes around 5 mins.
- Then, it looks OK.

(It looks it will uninstall .NET 9 automatically)
Neil Harvey Replied
1/9/2026 at 8:12 AM
Hi,

I tried Gabriele's method with the same result, cannot start the service with insufficient permissions.

Rollback to 9483 worked OK.


 
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Chris Danks Replied
1/9/2026 at 8:20 AM
we get this error everytime we upgrade.  when you see the error open process manager and you'll see MailService.exe is still running, right click > end task.  

go back to installer and click retry, it'll then successfully start it and continue.
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Nick Jansen Replied
1/9/2026 at 8:38 AM
@Nathan
Has anyone upgraded the Linux version yet and if so did it upgrade smoothly?
I updated from 9483 to 9504 on Ubuntu Server 24.04.3. The update went smoothly for me and the service is running normally.
Richard Laliberte Replied
1/9/2026 at 8:49 AM
Ok, so other than some install issues, has anyone had any actual issues with this version? is it safe to install?
echoDreamz Replied
1/9/2026 at 11:16 AM
Would def. not recommend force ending the process unless you are sure it is hung... Stop the service, then depending on your server size etc. it may take a moment or 2 for the process to stop everything and close down.

Our server takes a few minutes for the MailService.exe process to fully wind down and close.
Millennium Systems Replied
1/9/2026 at 11:41 AM
@Chris Danks
Not seeing a process to end after the installer service start fails. We wait for the process to go away before starting install.

Attempted one more time today including a reboot after a uninstall. Still no go, rolled back to 9483 again. Anybody know what to look for in the install log for clues as to what is going wrong?
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Reto Replied
1/10/2026 at 5:14 AM
Perhaps it's related to the problem that mailservice.dll of 9504 is detected by some AV (including defender) as malware and get removed automatically.
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Comcentrica Replied
1/10/2026 at 1:00 PM
I think this is completely unacceptable.

We offer professional services through this platform, for which we pay substantial fees, yet every upgrade introduces major issues. I'm literally terrified whenever I need to upgrade to a new release because I know I'll spend several stressful hours checking the forum to see if others have encountered critical bugs—all to avoid complaints from hundreds of users.
This is not a sustainable way to run a business. I'm done.

P.S. I suspect this post (or the entire thread) will be removed as soon as someone at ST reads it, as has happened in the past when negative feedback is shared.
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Renato Mucciarelli Replied
1/11/2026 at 5:08 AM
Found out that it was AV related on my installation problem (see my previous post).  Noticed now that my backup-script (stop service, pack all related data/config files, start service) always can not start the service again (same error, 1503 timed out). I have investigated it deeper and found out that my "host AV"  does prevent the start, excluded it from real-time scanning and it works now without a problem. Never had a problem with it, but yeah saw also other post about a AV problem......
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Duarte Replied
1/11/2026 at 5:50 AM
Hi,

For those having issues with 9504, are you following the official antivirus exclusion recommendations?
https://portal.smartertools.com/kb/a3249/microsoft-defender-antivirus-and-virus-scanner-exceptions.aspx
This applies to any AV software, not just Defender.

Given what's happening with the security bug, do you think it's still advisable to exclude the installation folder, or would you use a different approach?
Neil Harvey Replied
1/11/2026 at 7:48 AM
Hi,

After further testing it is definatly an Antivirus issue for me. Bitdefender detects the following in the service MailService.dll
Dump:Generic.Trojan.Hound.Marte.A.43F8B487

I have never had an issue with this before but will now exlude the folder, but will roll back to 9483 for now until ST advise.
Derek Curtis Replied
1/11/2026 at 10:40 AM
Employee Post
Thanks for telling us it's Bitdefender. There is another thread related to this specific issue (the DLL getting flagged). That's where we'll focus that discussion: https://portal.smartertools.com/community/a97667/mailservice_dll-being-flagged-as-a-virus.aspx
Derek Curtis CCO SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com
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