Account verification is a standard security measure used by responsible online platforms to keep student data safe and ensure that only the rightful owner can access an account. Smart Revise is no exception. Like most secure systems, we send a verification email when a new user registers. The student simply clicks the link in that message, and their account becomes verified and ready to use.
However, if the verification email never arrives—or arrives but expires—students may appear “stuck.” This article explains why verification matters, what to do when issues occur, and what not to do, so that teachers can quickly resolve the root cause without needing to involve the Smart Revise support team unnecessarily.
Why verification emails are essential
With education systems used by young people we must ensure that an account truly belongs to the person registering. Verification helps:
- Confirm identity and ownership
Verification ensures the person creating or accessing the account actually controls the email address provided. This reduces impersonation and unauthorised access. - Reduce automated or fraudulent sign‑ups
Requiring users to interact with an email inbox helps block bots and mass fake registrations. - Protect personal and student data
Verification helps ensure progress data is tied to a legitimate, reachable account. - Enable system features
Some features such as password reset rely on a verified email to work correctly.
Without verification, Smart Revise cannot activate the account fully, which is why unverified students may not appear correctly in class lists or may be restricted from certain actions.
The most common reason why a student never receives an email
Students often mistype their email address. A missing character from the school domain name for example. Ask students to take extra care when entering their school email address. Students can register again using a correct email address if they need to. Smart Revise will either prevent a duplicate account or the incorrect/unverified/unused account will be deleted automatically during the annual data deletion process.
Domains your school must whitelist
This step is essential and we cannot do it for you!
If your school filters or blocks external email, the verification message may never reach the student. In these cases, your IT team must whitelist the Smart Revise sending domains.
Schools must whitelist the email (not website) domains:
*.smartrevise.co.uk- Emails are typically sent from
comms2.smartrevise.co.uk, but wildcarding ensures delivery even if a backup sender is used.
If these domains are blocked, students will not receive any verification messages.
Expired links and re-sending verification emails
Verification links expire after 7 days. If a student waits too long before attempting verification, the link may no longer work—especially if the domain was only whitelisted later.
Once domains are whitelisted:
- Students can request a new verification email from their Manage account page.
- If there is no “Send verification email” button, then the account is already verified.
Please do not ask students to email us about verification problems
We kindly ask teachers not to encourage students to contact Smart Revise support because they have not received or cannot click a verification link.
Why not?
- Email delivery issues originate at the school, not with Smart Revise.
If the domain is blocked, we cannot fix this on our end—your IT support team must adjust filtering rules. - We can only see the last five days of attempted email activity.
If a student has not attempted verification recently, we have no way to trace a missing message. - Most cases are solved quickly at school by correcting the email address or updating email filters.
Instead:
- Check that the student used the correct email address during registration.
- Ask your IT team to confirm that
*.smartrevise.co.ukandcomms2.smartrevise.co.ukare whitelisted. - Ask the student request a new verification email after whitelisting.
When Teachers Should Contact Us
Once your school’s IT team has confirmed that the domains are whitelisted and the student has recently attempted to verify their account, you may contact us if the issue persists.
Please include the student’s registered email address, as that is essential for investigation.
(We cannot look up students by name or by class.)
If there is no alternative but for the Smart Revise team to manually verify your student accounts due to email restrictions at the school, we will be happy to assist. In this case, please provide us a full list of student usernames in one communication after all the student accounts have been created.
Alternatively use SSO
Students can also use single-sign-on with Microsoft or Google instead if your school systems support it.