Learn / Troubleshooting / Email problems
Email problems
Email going to spam
Usually: Missing or broken SPF, DKIM or DMARC, no matching reverse DNS, a poor IP reputation, or content that looks suspicious.
- Send a test to an email-testing service and read the report.
- Publish all three authentication records.
- Check blocklists for your sending IP.
- Review the message for tracking links and attachments that look spammy.
Emails bounce
Usually: Wrong MX records, full mailbox, or the recipient refusing your server.
- Read the bounce message. The code and text usually identify the problem.
- Check MX and PTR records.
- Check that the account is not over quota or suspended.
Email works from the website but not from my mail client
Usually: Wrong server names, ports or encryption settings in the client, or authentication failing.
- Use the settings the host publishes for IMAP and SMTP.
- Try ports 993 and 587 with encryption.
- Check the username is the full email address.
Replies from customers never arrive
Usually: Wrong or missing MX records, a mailbox over quota, or a spam filter discarding them.
- Check MX records with dig.
- Look at mailbox usage.
- Ask the sender for the bounce text and check the spam filter log.
Contact form emails vanish
Usually: The web server's mail function is blocked or the message fails authentication and is silently dropped.
- Use authenticated SMTP instead of the default mail function.
- Send from an address on your own domain.
- Look at the mail log for rejections.
Messages say they are from my domain but I did not send them
Usually: Spoofing, or a compromised account or form sending spam.
- Check your mail logs for outgoing volume.
- Change the passwords of affected accounts.
- Publish a DMARC policy and review reports.
I get a certificate warning in my mail program
Usually: The mail server presents a certificate for a different name, or it has expired.
- Connect to the server hostname the certificate was issued for.
- Renew or replace the mail server certificate.
- Do not just click through on every device.