diff --git a/public/userportal/api/_mail.php b/public/userportal/api/_mail.php
index bead994..a268f08 100644
--- a/public/userportal/api/_mail.php
+++ b/public/userportal/api/_mail.php
@@ -18,29 +18,44 @@ function mail_env(string $key, string $default = ''): string
     return ($value === '' || $value === 'null') ? $default : $value;
 }
 
+function mail_encryption(int $port): string
+{
+    $enc = strtolower(mail_env('MAIL_ENCRYPTION'));
+    if ($enc === 'ssl' || $enc === 'tls') {
+        return $enc;
+    }
+    if ($enc === 'none') {
+        return '';
+    }
+
+    return in_array($port, [465, 2465], true) ? 'ssl' : 'tls';
+}
+
 /** Never surfaces the SMTP error to the caller: it can leak host and credentials. */
 function send_mail(string $to, string $subject, string $html): bool
 {
+    $port = (int) mail_env('MAIL_PORT', '587');
+    $enc  = mail_encryption($port);
     $where = sprintf(
         '%s@%s:%s (%s)',
         mail_env('MAIL_USERNAME'),
         mail_env('MAIL_HOST', 'localhost'),
-        mail_env('MAIL_PORT', '587'),
-        mail_env('MAIL_ENCRYPTION', 'none')
+        $port,
+        $enc ?: 'none'
     );
 
     $mail = new PHPMailer(true);
     try {
         $mail->isSMTP();
         $mail->Host       = mail_env('MAIL_HOST', 'localhost');
-        $mail->Port       = (int) mail_env('MAIL_PORT', '587');
+        $mail->Port       = $port;
         $mail->SMTPAuth   = true;
         $mail->Username   = mail_env('MAIL_USERNAME');
         $mail->Password   = mail_env('MAIL_PASSWORD');
-        $mail->SMTPSecure = mail_env('MAIL_ENCRYPTION', PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_STARTTLS);
+        $mail->SMTPSecure = $enc;
         $mail->CharSet    = 'UTF-8';
-        // Default is 300s: an unreachable SMTP would otherwise stall registration.
-        $mail->Timeout    = 10;
+        $mail->Timeout = 10;
+        $mail->getSMTPInstance()->Timelimit = 15;
 
         $from = mail_env('MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS', 'noreply@casadoc.app');
         // Without this the Message-ID is generated as <...@localhost>, which some