Common errors

Most problems come down to DNS records, bad addresses, copy or sending too much. Find what you’re seeing in the tables below. If the answer is “message the team”, do it early: pausing a struggling inbox quickly often saves the domain.

Domains and DNS

What you see	Likely cause	What to do
“DNS records not found” or a record check fails	Records were added recently and haven’t spread yet, or one is set wrong	Wait up to 48 hours after setup, then check again with MXToolbox. Still failing? Message the team with the domain name.
“Multiple SPF records”	The domain has two SPF lines; it may only have one	Message the team. Don’t add or delete records yourself, especially during warmup.
“DKIM signature not valid”	A DKIM record points to the wrong value	Message the team. DKIM values are unique to each tenant.
“Domain reputation low”	Too many bounces or spam complaints from that domain	Pause all sending from the domain and message the team. They’ll check whether it can recover or should be replaced.
Warmup emails bouncing	A DNS setting is wrong (usually SPF or MX)	Message the team with the domain name.

Inboxes

What you see	Likely cause	What to do
“Authentication failed” when connecting an inbox to your sequencer	Wrong credentials, or the inbox isn’t fully set up yet	Check your order on the dashboard. If it’s still being set up, wait until it’s complete. If it’s complete and still failing, message the team.
Inboxes don’t appear in your sequencer	Setup isn’t finished yet	Check the dashboard. Once the order is complete and they’re still missing, message the team.
“Inbox suspended by Microsoft”	Too much volume, or copy that tripped Microsoft’s abuse filters	Pause every campaign using that inbox and message the team straight away. Then check your copy against Writing for Outlook.
No warmup activity	The inbox’s connection to your sequencer needs fixing	Message the team with the inbox address.

Delivery

What you see	Likely cause	What to do
Emails landing in spam	Domain reputation, copy, or sending pattern	Work through the checklist below.
High bounce rate	Sending to invalid or outdated addresses	Stop the campaign. Verify the list with EmailShield before sending again. Aim to keep bounces under 5%.
Emails not received at all (not even in spam)	The receiving server is rejecting them	Try a different recipient. If it only happens with one company’s addresses, that company may be blocking you; message the team.
Replies suddenly drop	Copy has gone stale, list is tired, or a deliverability problem	Refresh the copy and the list first. If replies stay very low, check the spam checklist below.

If emails are landing in spam

1. Check the records. Use MXToolbox to confirm SPF, DKIM and DMARC all pass.
2. Turn off tracking. Disable open tracking and link tracking in your sequencer.
3. Simplify the copy. Remove images, links and heavy formatting. On Outlook, keep to about 50 words.
4. Lower the volume. Send fewer emails per inbox per day; see Safe sending limits.
5. Check blacklists. The MXToolbox blacklist check shows if your domain is listed.
6. Check warmup. Make sure you didn’t start cold sending before the inboxes were ready, and that warmup is still running.

When to stop sending from an inbox

Pause straight away if bounces go above 5%, you get several spam complaints from the same domain, the inbox suddenly lands in spam, or Microsoft or Google sends a throttling or suspension notice. Then message the team.

When to message a person

Message the team when:

• an inbox is suspended or a domain’s reputation drops,
• DNS checks still fail 48 hours after setup,
• warmup emails bounce, land in spam or stop,
• you’ve worked through the checklist above and still land in spam,
• anything is about a specific order, a refund, a cancellation or billing.

Where: your private Slack channel with the team (it opens with your first order), or the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner of the app. You can also email help@maildeck.co. Maya, the AI guide in the app, can help with general questions any time.

What to include, so the team can start straight away:

• the domain or inbox address,
• the exact error message (a screenshot is fine),
• what you were doing when it happened.

Never send passwords or API keys in chat

The team won’t ask for them in a message. If something needs new credentials, they’ll tell you how to update them safely.

Related

Getting help All the ways to reach us.

SPF, DKIM and DMARC What the records do.

Safe sending limits Daily numbers per inbox type.

Maya Your AI guide in the app.