Unable to send or receive emails

Last updated 21st July 2022

Objective

Is your email account unable to send or receive emails when using webmail or your email software?

Find out how to diagnose sending or receiving errors on your OVHcloud email solution.

Requirements

• an OVHcloud email solution
• access to the OVHcloud Control Panel

Instructions

Are my email service and/or accounts active?

For your emails to work, you need to have an active email service (Web Hosting plan). You can verify this directly in the OVHcloud Control Panel. The corresponding domain name must also be active.

Start by checking that you are up to date with your payments and service renewals.

Follow these steps to ensure that your relevant services are up and running:

• For your domain name, go to the Web Cloud section, click Domain names, then select your domain name. If your domain name has expired, this will be listed at the top of the page.
• For your Web Hosting plan, go to the Web Cloud section, click Hosting plans, then select your Web Hosting plan. The date of expiry or automatic renewal of your hosting will be indicated at the top of the page.
• For your MXplan email solution, go to the Web Cloud section, click Emails, then select the domain name concerned. Click the Email accounts tab. Check the status of the email account in the Status column.

I am unable send emails from my email software

If you use an email client on your computer (Outlook, Mac Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) or smartphone (iOS, Android, etc.), and you experience a sending or receiving technical issue, check the configuration settings according to your email solution and the email client or application you are using.

Go to the Hosted email section in our Web Cloud guides, and check the configuration of your email software in the Configure on computer section, or in the Configure on smartphone section for your smartphone.

Are emails functional from webmail?

To ensure that the malfunction is not linked to a configuration error, send and receive a test email directly via OVHcloud webmail. If everything is working properly, check your software configuration using the guides provided.

From your computer browser or smartphone, go to the address https://www.ovh.com.au/mail/.

I cannot log in to webmail

Make sure you have the right password. If necessary, you can modify it. Please refer to our guide on Changing a password for an MX Plan email address

Is there an incident or maintenance in progress for my service?

You can check the various tasks that are currently in progress on https://web-cloud.status-ovhcloud.com/ in the Emails section.

Is the domain name pointing correctly to my email service?

Check that your domain name points correctly to the OVHcloud email servers. To do this, you will need to configure MX records in your DNS zone.
Please refer to our guide on Adding an MX record to your domain name’s configuration.

After sending an email, I receive a message that my email could not be sent, including a 3-digit code

This is an SMTP error return. This indicates that the exchange between the outgoing server and the incoming email server could not be completed correctly. The code is used to determine the type of error the server encountered. It is usually accompanied by a message detailing this error.

An SMTP response consists of a 3-digit number. The three digits of the answer each have a particular meaning:

• The first number indicates whether the answer is correct, wrong or incomplete. An SMTP client will be able to determine its next action by examining this first digit.
• The second and third digits provide additional information.

There are four possible values for the first digit of the response code:

Code	Description
2 xx	Positive response: the requested action has been completed. A new request can be initiated.
3 xx	Temporary positive response: the request has been accepted, but the requested action is pending receipt of more information. The SMTP client should send another command specifying this information.
4 xx	Persistent transient failure: the command was not accepted and the requested action not fulfilled. However, the error condition is temporary and the action can be requested again.
5 xx	Negative response: the command was not accepted and the requested action not fulfilled. The SMTP client should not repeat the same request.

The majority of SMTP negative response codes used by servers are listed below:

Response codes	Details	Actions
420	Timeout connection problem	This error message is returned only by GroupWise mail servers. Contact the destination mail server administrator.
421	Service not available, transmission channel being closed	Undetermined origin error, make sure that sending to another domain works. If yes, please try sending the original email again later.
432	The recipient’s Exchange Server incoming mail queue has been stopped	This error message is returned only by Microsoft Exchange mail servers. Contact the destination mail server administrator.
449	A routing error	This error message is returned only by Microsoft Exchange mail servers. Microsoft recommends that you run a diagnostic with their WinRoute tool.
450	Requested action not taken – The user’s mailbox is unavailable (for example, mailbox busy or temporarily blocked for security or blacklisting reasons).	Check if the IP address of the mail server is blacklisted (SpamHaus), and also check if your mail contains words referring to SPAM.
451	Requested action aborted – Local error in processing	This may be due to a momentary overload, or an incorrect SPF check of the issuing domain. Refer to the additional message provided by the server, or contact the server administrator if this persists.
452	The command has been aborted because the server has insufficient system storage	The mail server is 'overloaded'. This could also be caused by too many messages trying to be sent at once. Please check your outbox and try again.
455	Server unable to deal with the command at this time.	Wait a while, then try again. If this fails, contact the recipient's email server administrator.
500	A syntax error: the server could not recognise the command (may include errors such as a too long command line)	This is often caused by the sender's antivirus or firewall. Check this and try again.
501	Syntax error in parameters or arguments	This is often caused by an incorrect recipient email address or a sender-side antivirus or firewall problem. Please check the destination address and your antivirus or firewall.
502	Command not implemented	The settings or options used when sending the email with your SMTP server are recognised but disabled in its configuration. Please contact your service provider.
503	Server encountered bad sequence of commands	This is usually due to an authentication problem, make sure you are authenticated on the SMTP server in terms of your email software configuration.
504	Command parameter not implemented	The settings or options used when sending the email with your SMTP server are recognised but disabled in its configuration. Please contact your service provider.
535	Authentication failed	User information/password is incorrect or sending is potentially blocked on your email address. Check the status of your email address in your OVHcloud Control Panel. A password change can unblock the sending if the account has been blocked for spam, see our guide What to do if your account is blocked for spam for more information.
550	Requested action not performed: mailbox unavailable	The destination mail server could not verify the email address used. This is most often caused by an invalid destination email address, but can also mean that the destination email server has firewall or connectivity issues. Check the recipient's email address, and/or try again.
551	User not local or invalid address – Relay denied	This is typically used as a spam prevention strategy. It says that the mail relay is not authorised for any reason to relay your message to another server than yours. Please contact your service provider.
552	Requested mail actions aborted – Exceeded storage allocation	The user you tried to contact no longer has space to receive messages. Unfortunately, the only solution is to contact the recipient via another method.
553	Requested action not taken – Mailbox name invalid	This is usually caused by an incorrect destination email address. Please check that the email address in question is correct.
554	Transaction failed, "No SMTP service here")	This is usually a blacklist problem. Check if your email server IP address is blacklisted (SpamHaus).
555	MAIL FROM / RCPT TO, unrecognised or unimplemented arguments	The outgoing SMTP server cannot recognise the email address used in either your From or To settings. Please check that the email addresses entered are correct, and also check that you have not exceeded the limit set by OVHcloud: 200 mails/hour/account and 300 mails/hour/ip.

Go further

Email FAQ

Join our community of users on https://community.ovh.com/en/.

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