My Email Is Not Sending or Receiving

Email Delivery Problems

Email issues are among the most common hosting support requests. Whether your emails are not sending, not being received, or landing in spam, this guide covers the main causes and fixes.

Emails Not Sending

• SMTP authentication – Make sure your email client is configured to use SMTP authentication. Without it, the server will reject outgoing mail.
• Incorrect outgoing server settings – Use mail.yourdomain.com as your SMTP server, port 465 for SSL or port 587 for TLS.
• Sending limits – Shared hosting accounts have hourly email sending limits (typically 200-500 per hour). If you exceed this, outgoing mail will be queued or rejected.
• Blacklisted IP – If the server's IP is on a spam blacklist, recipients' mail servers may reject your messages. Contact support to request a delisting.

Emails Not Being Received

• MX records – Verify that your domain's MX records point to the correct mail server. In cPanel, check Zone Editor to confirm.
• Mailbox quota – If your mailbox is full, new messages will bounce. Check your usage in Email Accounts and increase the quota or delete old emails.
• Spam filters – Legitimate emails may be caught by SpamAssassin. Check your spam or junk folder and whitelist the sender if needed.
• DNS propagation – If you recently changed your MX records, allow up to 24-48 hours for propagation.

Emails Landing in Spam

1. Set up SPF – Add an SPF record to your DNS: v=spf1 +a +mx +ip4:YOUR_SERVER_IP ~all.
2. Set up DKIM – Enable DKIM signing in cPanel under Email > Email Deliverability.
3. Set up DMARC – Add a DMARC record to tell receiving servers how to handle unauthenticated mail from your domain.
4. Avoid spammy content – Do not use all caps, excessive exclamation marks, or spam trigger words in your subject lines.

If email problems persist after following these steps, contact support with the full bounce-back message so we can investigate further.