Specific Causes of Email Bouncebacks

Something has occurred to generate an automatic error when sending or receiving email

Email bouncebacks can be generated by the sending or receiving mail servers. This means that the specific phrasing of the bounceback changes depending on source.

If the error message is clearly generated by a non-Wave mail server, refer to that mail host.  

At least one email address must be a Wave-owned domain

The Email Address Can’t Be Found

User unknown; Domain not found; Email does not exist; Host name unknown


The email address no longer exists or the domain is invalid, this is often caused by a typo or by the recipient having closed their email address  


• Verify that the email address has been typed correctly
  
  
• If it has,  something appears to be wrong with that email address and to contact the recipient in some other manner
  
  
• If the Wave email is the email address causing the error, chat with a representative or contact us for help
  
  

The Email Mailbox is Full

Account over Quota; Mailbox full


• The recipient mailbox has used all of its space, this is often caused when an email client remove messages from server or when the recipient has stopped checking that email address
  
  
• If sending to someone else,  the recipient will need to free up space in their mailbox
  
  
• If receiving email, delete emails from webmail to free up space

The Size of the Email Exceeds the Size Limit of the Mail Server

• Email servers, both sending and receiving, have size limitations for individual emails
  
  
• Email clients may also have size limitations
  
  
• Email clients and recipient email servers are usually around 10M limit
  
  
  • Our webmail limits based on the amount of space remaining in the mailbox
    
    
• Split up or compress attachments to send with email

The Spam Filters of Sender or Recipient are Blocking Some Part of the Message

Message Content Not Acceptable; Text Rejected


• Spam filters are blocking some word, phrase, or partial word in the message for resembling spam
  
  
• This can be in the original message content, the email addresses, the subject line, attachment names, or the full header information
  
  
• Chat with a representative or contact us for help 
  
  
• We will want the bounceback message and the original message (including full headers, subject line, and attachment names) for our mail staff
  
  

The Email is On a Third-Party Blacklist

Message rejected for possible spam/virus content; Blocked by X


Reply-to address has been blacklisted

One of our mail server IPs have been temporarily blacklisted, our email domain has been temporarily blacklisted

The recipient only accepts from whitelisted addresses

Of these, our mail server IP address being blacklisted is the most common


• Chat with a representative or contact us for help 
  
  
• Provide the part of the bounceback that lists which blacklist it is on or which IP is blacklisted
  
  
• It may take a 1-2 days to be removed from a list
  
  

Mail Server Administrators Have Blocked Our Domain

Canceled by Server Operator


Most usually this error happens due to high volume of emails, usually spam

This is often an immediate response to stop the mail servers from being swamped

This can be from the recipient or as a result of our actions to stop the spammers


• This is usually a temporary error and will either pass as the mail volume is controlled or turn into blacklist errors
  
  

The Mail Server Is Overloaded and Has a Queue

Message delayed; Message has failed to send. A second attempt will be made soon; mail is in queue


High volumes of mail are being processed at that point in time, usually spam, exceeding what the mail server can handle at once

Mail is often placed in a queue and a second attempt is made later to see if the volume has dropped

The bounceback will stop once mail volume is down again

The Customer Is Using an Email Client and Has It Set Up Wrong

Failed to send using the mail server "X” Bad SMTP prompt at host (sometimes)


The email client could have updated and pulled the wrong information

The wrong information may be configured in SMTP mail client settings

These will often give errors inside the client but can occasionally give bouncebacks

The DNS Host Can’t Be Reached

DNS server failure


The recipient mail server may be down or not exist, there may be a misconfigured server or a typo on setup


• This is usually from the recipient’s side
  
  
• Ensure there are no typos in mail client settings
  
  

Some Unknown Problem Has Occurred

Unknown; Connection Timed out; Bad SMTP prompt at host; No response


The mail server does not generate a code for the failure or generates a vague code

Exact reason for failure is unknown


• Chat with a representative or contact us with the error occurring in webmail