Connectivity · Oct 2026 · 2 min read

Emails not arriving? How to narrow down the cause

Missing email usually has a simple explanation. Work from the closest cause outwards.

Check the spam or junk folder first, and then any other folders your mail app sorts messages into. Many apps also have filters or rules that move messages automatically, and a rule created months ago is easy to forget.

Check whether your mailbox is full. A full mailbox rejects new messages, and the senders, not you, receive the error.

Ask the sender whether they received a bounce message. A bounce contains the exact reason the message was rejected, and that text is the most useful clue you can get.

If you use your own domain for email, its DNS records matter. SPF, DKIM and DMARC records tell other mail servers that your messages are genuine. Missing or wrong records are a common reason for mail going to spam or being rejected, especially after a change of email provider.

If mail is forwarded from one address to another, test each step separately. Forwarding can fail quietly, and the receiving provider may treat forwarded messages as suspicious.