Fixing Sending and Delivery Problems

Start here: is sending enabled?

Most "my email won't go out" reports come down to one thing: outbound sending isn't active yet on the workspace. Check the Engine card on the Dashboard.

• If it shows Setup, sending and/or inbound routing is still being provisioned. Your campaigns and replies queue safely and deliver the moment sending is switched on — nothing is lost.
• If it shows sending as ready, the problem is elsewhere (keep reading).

When sending is disabled, the Queued counter climbs and per-recipient sends stay queued. That's expected — contact your workspace administrator to finish enabling delivery.

Problem: campaign stuck in "queued"

Symptoms: the campaign shows queued, the send log shows recipients as queued, nothing marked sent.

Fixes:
1. Confirm sending is enabled (Engine card).
2. Confirm your sending domain is verified (active) — mail from an unverified domain can't go out cleanly.
3. Give it time — delivery is processed in the background; large sends resolve over minutes.
4. If it stays stuck with sending enabled, contact your administrator.

Problem: "No subscribed (non-suppressed) contacts in the list"

Cause: the attached list has no subscribed contacts, or everyone on it is unsubscribed or on the suppression list.

Fixes:
1. Open Audience and confirm the list has contacts with status subscribed.
2. Check Subscribers to see who's actually mailable.
3. Add or re-subscribe contacts (only where you have permission), then re-send.

Problem: campaign won't save or send

Problem: domain won't verify

Symptoms: records stay pending; domain never goes active.

Fixes:
1. Check host names. Records go on _stretchmail, stretchmail._domainkey, _dmarc, mail, and the root. Some DNS hosts append your domain automatically — make sure you didn't create _stretchmail.yourcompany.com.yourcompany.com.
2. One SPF record only. Two SPF records make SPF fail — merge StretchMail's include/ip4 into your existing record.
3. Paste DKIM without line breaks. The public key must be one continuous value.
4. Wait for propagation, then click Verify again — it re-checks live DNS each time.

Problem: no inbound mail arriving

Fixes:
1. Confirm the domain has a live MX record and is active.
2. Confirm at least one mailbox exists with inbound enabled.
3. Check the Spam and Archive folders and use search — the message may have arrived but been filtered or triaged.

Problem: replies from the inbox won't send

Fixes:
1. Confirm the mailbox's outbound switch is on.
2. Confirm workspace sending is enabled (Engine card) — if not, the reply is queued and will go out later.
3. Confirm the domain is verified.

Problem: mail sends but lands in spam

Fixes:
1. Confirm all DNS records — verification, SPF, DKIM, DMARC — read active.
2. Clean your list — remove failed/bounced addresses from the Reports send log.
3. Don't send from a cold domain too fast — warm up gradually (see Email deliverability best practices).
4. Write honest subject lines and keep one clear call to action.
5. Never mail purchased lists — complaints poison your domain reputation.

Problem: reports show failed sends

Cause: an address bounced or couldn't be queued; the send log shows the error.

Fixes:
1. Open the campaign's send log and read the error per recipient.
2. Delete hard-bounced addresses from the list — repeated bounces hurt deliverability.
3. Re-check the address for typos if it's one you expected to be valid.

When to escalate

Contact your workspace administrator if:

• the Engine card shows Setup and you need sending enabled,
• a domain reads all-active in your DNS host but still won't verify after propagation, or
• campaigns stay queued indefinitely with sending shown as enabled.

Include the campaign subject, the domain, and what the Engine card and send log show — that's everything needed to diagnose it quickly.