Email failure... Now What?

Email Failure. Two simple words; yet, when you combine these words can really add to your day - and not in a good way. I am always surprised when this happens. As a consultant and a technician and former Exchange administrator, there are many reasons why this can happen.

From experience, my initial "gut" reaction is to panic. Please, please, please do not do this. The first thing I can tell you is to please "read the reason", the message failed.

Temporary errors

Temporary error messages can include the following:

• Can't connect to remote server/message expired

• No adequate servers

• Connection timed out

• Resources temporarily unavailable

• Out of memory

Even an error, such as the one that prompted me to write this article, like this one: A problem occurred during the delivery of this message. Please try to resend the message later.

No need to panic. I need to Re-send. As an advisor to companies, I can go through a message and usually find the information and this will provide a resolution. As a good consultant, I will let you know, "This happens to all of us."

Try this fix:    These types of errors should fix themselves over time. If your error message says that the recipient's email provider will keep trying to deliver your message, you don't need to take any further action. Otherwise, wait a short time and then resend the message.

Keep in mind, we can go into the terms: SMTP, Process checking, Tracert, etc. but this is just too technical for most folks, and I would advise you to speak with your Mail provider. This is what you do for physical mail, why not here? You call the Postmaster at your local Post Office and they begin to trace and find as much information as they can. You could follow the local delivery person, but WHY? Is that the best use of your time? If you have a consultant or IT person - that is what we are here for!

Undeliverable

If you receive an error that a message is undeliverable, this could be due to the sending server trying to deliver the message but the action didn't complete before the message expired.

This error typically indicates a problem on the receiving server.

Try these fixes:    Make sure the recipient address is valid. Reduce the number of recipients in the message. Is there an attachment? Perhaps that is the cause. Remove the attachment and send a link from Google or Office 365 OneDrive.

There are many reasons emails fail to send to a group. My favorite failure is what we refer to as "fat fingering". This is when JOHN cannot type. I have transposed or forgotten something within the address. I always shrink back in horror when I find, "IT WAS ME"!!!! ARGH!

Mailbox not found, Invalid mailbox, or User unknown

If you receive one of these messages, the address you used doesn't exist. This could be because the recipient's address has changed or the recipient's email account has moved.

Try this fix:    Check the recipient's email address for typos. If you have another way to get in touch with the recipient, see if they have a new email address.

This happens to the best of us. When this happens, I need to usually place a call and then I ask the person on the other end to send me an email and just reply to that new message. Sometimes I have to find and older message from them and try a reply to let them know I am trying to communicate, I am just having a delay. B2B can be a bit tricky, I have worked with Government and other Institutions, where they prohibit certain size attachments or certain keywords have been flagged as Spam or Quarantine.

Mailbox full or Quota exceeded

This message means that the recipient has too many messages in their inbox. Many email systems prevent users from receiving any new mail until they reduce their mailbox size.

Try this fix:    If you have another way to contact the recipient, let them know that their mailbox is full.

Speak with your consultant, Like myself, or your email provider.

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