Email is not arriving or sending
Work down this page in order. Most email problems are solved by one of the first few checks.
1. Check the status page
Section titled “1. Check the status page”Open status.sheernox.com. If email is listed with a known problem, there is nothing to change on your side: the status page is updated until it is fixed.
2. Test in webmail
Section titled “2. Test in webmail”Sign in to webmail with the full email address and its password.
- Webmail works and the mail is there: the server is fine, and the problem is in your mail app or phone. Check its settings against Set up email in Thunderbird and Outlook or Set up email on iPhone, iPad and Android.
- Webmail does not sign you in: see Can’t sign in.
- Webmail works but the mail is not there: carry on below.
Mail you expect is not arriving
Section titled “Mail you expect is not arriving”| Check | What to do |
|---|---|
| The Spam folder | Look in Spam in webmail. If the message is there, move it to your inbox and add the sender to the Allow list. See A real message went to Spam. |
| A blocked sender | Check that the sender is not on your Block list. See Always allow or block a sender. |
| A full mailbox | When a mailbox is full, new mail is refused and the sender gets a bounce. Check the storage bar in webmail and free up space. See Check your storage. |
| A forwarder | If the address forwards mail elsewhere, the message may have gone there. See Forward an address. |
| The domain does not point to Sheernox yet | Mail goes wherever the domain points. After a nameserver change, allow up to 24 to 48 hours. See How long it takes. |
| Your email is with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace | Mail is delivered there, not to a Sheernox mailbox. If website form notifications go missing, check the domain’s mail routing. See Switch mail routing to remote. |
If one sender’s mail is always missing, ask them for the bounce message they received. It names the reason, and support needs it to investigate.
Your mail is bouncing or landing in spam
Section titled “Your mail is bouncing or landing in spam”When the people you write to see your messages in their spam folder, or receive nothing:
- Check your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Sheernox creates them for you when your DNS is on Sheernox nameservers. If your DNS is somewhere else, ask support for the records and add them there. See Understand SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- Keep only one SPF record. Two
v=spf1records make SPF fail for every message. See Use only one SPF record. - Do not send newsletters from a mailbox. Bulk mail from a normal mailbox gets it treated as spam. Use a mailing list service.
- Read the bounce message. It usually states the reason, such as an unknown address or a full mailbox at the other end.
Your mail app will not send
Section titled “Your mail app will not send”- Outgoing server needs a password. The outgoing (SMTP) server must use authentication with the same email address and password as the incoming server.
- Port and security must match. Use the port and security pair from the settings table. A mismatch shows as a time-out.
- Server name. It is
mail.followed by your domain, or the name shown in your control panel. A certificate warning usually means the name is wrong.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”Open a ticket with the sending and receiving addresses, the date and time of a message that went missing, and any bounce message you received.