Troubleshooting Email Delivery Issues

There are many things that affect whether emails are sent and received. This troubleshooting guide will help you identify and solve email delivery issues.

Trouble Sending

Most of the time sending issues can be traced to spam complaints, but sending can also be affected by domain status/configuration or mail client configuration and more. Here are some things to look for and steps to resolve the issue:

Spam Complaints - Are you getting an "SMTP Error: [554] 5.7.1" error when sending? That could indicate your email has been suspended due to spam complaints or behavior consistent with a spam bot. If you haven't been sending a large number of emails or emails to those who might not want to receive them, then your email may have been compromised and you should scan your computer and update your email password, being sure to use a strong and unique password. Email support@webstarts.com afterwards so we can lift the suspension.

Domain Expired - Is your domain registration expired? You can quickly confirm by querying your domain at who.is. If the domain is expired, contact your domain registrar or head to your account Billing page to renew the domain if it's registered at WebStarts. Most domains have a 40 day grace period and become active within an hour of renewal when renewed during the grace period.

Misconfigured DNS Settings - Have you changed your name servers or DNS settings recently? Sending successfully is dependent on your domain's DNS records being configured correctly, so you may want to check your domain's DNS records to ensure you have an MX record with priority 10 and value mx.yourdomain.com.cust.b.hostedemail.com (replace 'yourdomain.com' with your own domain), and a TXT record with value v=spf1 include:_spf.hostedemail.com ~all.

Misconfigured Mail Client - Are you using a mail client like Outlook, Apple Mail, or the mail app of your smartphone? If you're able to successfully send when logged in via Webmail, but you cannot send when using a mail client, then your mail settings are not correct. Double check your mail client's settings to ensure you've set it up with the correct outgoing server settings as outlined in our help documents on connecting your email to a mail client on your computer, Android or iPhone. Note: the username and password is required to be entered under both the Incoming and Outgoing server settings.

Storage Limit Exceeded - Are you using 100% of your available storage? WebStarts emails include up to 5GB of storage, and emails cannot be sent or received once you hit the limit. You can learn more about how to free up storage here, or contact support@webstarts.com if you'd like to purchase a storage add-on.

Domain Suspended - If everything else appears correct, then it is likely your domain name has been suspended by your domain registrar due to unverified owner contact information. Typically you can tell if a domain is suspended if the domain fails to resolve (loads a blank page) yet the registration is still active and the DNS is still configured correctly. Contact your domain provider to inquire about the status and complete their contact info verification to lift the verification suspension.

Trouble Receiving

Many of the same issues can cause trouble receiving, but there are some different scenarios to keep in mind.

Spam Filters - Have you double checked your spam folder? Spam filters are the most common reason someone would not receive an email. You can reduce the likelihood of a message being blocked or sorted as spam by adding the sending contact to your contact list (click Contacts > Create). If a particular sender is still blocked or filtered to your spam folder, you can add them to your allowed senders list by clicking Settings > Spam Settings or set up a filter by clicking Settings > Filters.

Misconfigured DNS Settings - Have you changed your name servers or DNS settings recently? Just like sending, receiving email is dependent on your domain's DNS records being configured correctly. Check your domain's DNS records to ensure you have an MX record with priority 10 and value mx.yourdomain.com.cust.b.hostedemail.com (replace 'yourdomain.com' with your own domain), and a TXT record with value v=spf1 include:_spf.hostedemail.com ~all.

Misconfigured Mail Client - Are you using a mail client like Outlook, Apple Mail, or the mail app of your smartphone? If you're able to successfully receive when logged in via Webmail, but you cannot receive when using a mail client, then your mail settings are not correct. Double check your mail client's settings to ensure you've set it up with the correct incoming server settings as outlined in our help documents on connecting your email to a mail client on your computer, Android or iPhone. Note: the username and password is required to be entered under both the Incoming and Outgoing server settings.

Storage Limit Exceeded - Are you using 100% of your available storage? WebStarts emails include up to 5GB of storage, and emails cannot be sent or received once you hit the limit. You can learn more about how to free up storage here, or contact support@webstarts.com if you'd like to purchase a storage add-on.

Forwarding Settings - Do you have mail forwarding enabled and set to not keep a local copy? You can double check by clicking Settings > Mail Forwarding. Click the "Keep local copy" toggle switch to ensure a copy of the message is saved to Webmail.