order confirmation emails don't work

Hi sorry if this has been addressed before. I have searched but unable to find the answer. seems like a common issue that has been happening for many years. I think that the confirmation emails have not worked for awhile but didn't really notice because most people pay paypal and they get confirmation that way.. I was testing some things out today with bank transfer and noticed that the confirmation of the orders are not being sent out after completing an order.

I thought it was because the bank transfer setting was set to 'pending' but after changing that I believe that it happens regardless. I am receiving emails through the contact page and I am getting notification sent to admin email. Just the customer is not receiving order confirmation emails. Is changing the mail setting to SMTP the only way of fixing it or is there another way? I'm using opencart 1.5.5.1.

Thanks,
Kirsten Smit

hey
did you know how to solve this problem ?