Summary
Responding to email delivery outages at Internet Service Providers like Orange requires a multi-faceted approach, balancing patience with proactive investigation and communication. During a notable incident at Orange, many email marketers paused their sending queues, recognizing the widespread impact. However, some senders with lower traffic volumes reported no issues, highlighting varied effects. The incident ultimately resolved on the ISP's end within hours, leading to a resumption of normal service. For senders experiencing similar outages or blocks, it is crucial to continuously monitor email metrics and bounce logs for specific error codes. Maintaining a robust sender reputation through consistent list hygiene, proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and focusing on engaged subscribers is a preventative measure. When an outage occurs, strategic adjustments, such as temporarily pausing sending to the affected domain, are often recommended. Engaging with the ISP's postmaster or abuse desk with detailed logs and evidence of legitimate sending is necessary for persistent issues, although direct intervention may require patience. Additionally, communicating with subscribers through alternative channels for critical information and utilizing ESP status pages for platform-wide issues are important steps.
Key findings
- Outage Resolution: Major ISP delivery incidents, like the Orange outage, can impact a wide range of senders, but they often resolve internally within hours, with official guidance provided to resume sending. Senders observed improved connection rates once the issue was resolved.
- Varied Impact: The impact of an ISP outage can vary significantly among senders; some may experience complete disruption and advise pausing queues, while others, particularly those with very low traffic volume, might report no issues or successful delivery during the incident.
- ISP-Side vs. Sender-Side: Email delivery outages can stem from either ISP internal problems, such as server outages or sudden filtering changes, or sender-specific issues related to reputation, authentication, or content. Differentiating between these is crucial for an effective response.
Key considerations
- Monitor and Analyze: Continuously monitor email metrics, including bounce logs, connection rates, and feedback loops, to identify specific error codes and understand rejection reasons. Utilize tools like Google Postmaster and ISP feedback loops for ongoing reputation tracking and error insight.
- Maintain Sender Reputation: Prioritize maintaining a strong sender reputation through consistent list hygiene, avoiding spam traps, authenticating emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and sending valuable content to engaged subscribers. This proactive approach can help mitigate impact during outages or blocks.
- Strategic Sending Adjustments: During widespread ISP outages, it is often advisable to pause sending to the affected domain to prevent excessive bounces or blocks. Once the issue begins to resolve, gradually resume sending, observing connection rates and delivery. If a block occurs, investigate recent sending changes and consider IP warming for gradual volume increase.
- ISP Communication: When facing persistent blocks or issues, proactively engage with the ISP's postmaster or abuse desk. Provide precise details, including full bounce messages, corresponding mail logs, evidence of legitimate sending, and DMARC reports. Be prepared for patience and persistence, as direct intervention is not always immediately effective.
- Subscriber Communication: For time-sensitive or critical messages, proactively communicate delivery issues to subscribers through alternative channels, such as social media or website announcements, while working to resolve email delivery problems.
- Platform Checks: If using an ESP or cloud service, check their status pages (e.g., SendGrid, AWS SES) for known platform-wide issues, and review sender-specific quotas or rates within your dashboard before escalating to support.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Navigating email delivery outages at ISPs like Orange demands a robust and adaptable strategy. While the immediate response for widespread incidents often involves pausing sending queues until the ISP confirms resolution, some senders with low traffic or excellent reputations might continue delivering successfully. Proactive measures are paramount: consistent monitoring of email metrics, prompt analysis of bounce codes, and unwavering adherence to sender best practices are fundamental. This includes meticulous list hygiene, robust email authentication via SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and ensuring content remains valuable to engaged subscribers. For persistent blocks, a deep dive into DMARC reports and external blacklists is necessary, alongside a willingness to engage directly and persistently with the ISP's abuse desk, providing comprehensive diagnostic evidence. Furthermore, if a block is linked to sudden volume changes, a gradual IP or domain re-warming process is often key to recovery, while critical communications should always leverage alternative channels to reach subscribers.
Key opinions
- Varying Outage Impact: ISP outages affect senders differently; some may pause sending, while others with low volume or strong reputations experience no disruption or successful delivery.
- Proactive Deliverability is Key: Strong sender reputation built on list hygiene, authentication, and engaged content is crucial for resilience during and recovery from delivery incidents.
- Diagnosis and Re-warming: Pinpointing the issue through DMARC reports and bounce codes, and employing gradual IP or domain re-warming, are vital steps for resolving blocks and restoring trust.
- Direct ISP Engagement: For persistent blocks, direct, persistent communication with ISP abuse desks, supported by detailed logs and evidence, is often required, but patience is essential.
Key considerations
- Strategic Pausing & Resumption: During widespread outages, pause queues to prevent further issues, resuming gradually based on ISP confirmation and improved connection rates.
- Reputation Safeguarding: Continuously uphold sender reputation by cleaning lists, avoiding spam traps, segmenting, and fully implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Metric Monitoring & Analysis: Proactively monitor email metrics, analyze bounce codes and DMARC reports, and check external blacklists to understand and diagnose delivery failures.
- Structured ISP Communication: When contacting ISPs about blocks, provide clear, concise information including full headers, bounce messages, and proof of legitimate sending, and be prepared for a sustained dialogue.
- Alternative Communication: For time-sensitive messages, use non-email channels like social media or website announcements to inform subscribers during email delivery problems.
- Gradual Volume Adjustments: Investigate recent sending volume or content changes, and if a block occurred, implement a gradual re-warming process for the IP or domain to regain ISP trust.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks alerts about a serious email delivery incident at Orange that started around 3 AM Paris time, advising to pause queues. He later confirms the issue began resolving shortly after 10 AM, receiving official word to gradually resume sending, and observes improved connection rates after resuming.
15 Aug 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks reports that their company continued delivering emails to Orange during the incident, with approximately 600,000 mails processed successfully within the hour.
29 May 2025 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
When an ISP like Orange experiences email delivery outages or significant localized issues, experts advise a strategic pause rather than continuous sending. These incidents often indicate a problem on the ISP's end, such as server disruptions or sudden filtering adjustments. Senders should prioritize monitoring their bounce rates and inbox placement, while also collecting relevant data like specific bounce messages. The most recommended action is to temporarily halt email transmission to the affected domain, allowing the ISP time to resolve their internal issues. While some ISPs provide postmaster contacts, direct intervention often proves ineffective, making a patient, data-driven approach the most prudent course of action.
Key opinions
- ISP-Driven Issues: Localized email delivery problems at an ISP frequently stem from their internal system failures or changes, not necessarily from the sender's reputation.
- Strategic Pause is Key: The most effective immediate response to such outages is to temporarily cease sending email to the affected domain to prevent excessive bounces and blocks.
- Data-Driven Monitoring: Senders must closely monitor bounce rates and inbox placement, collecting specific bounce messages to accurately diagnose the problem.
- Limited Direct Intervention: Attempting to contact the ISP directly, even via postmaster channels, often yields slow or no results, as the resolution typically originates from within the ISP's operations.
Key considerations
- Identify Issue Origin: Ascertain whether the delivery problem is widespread or specific to a single ISP, using bounce codes and delivery reports.
- Temporary Sending Halt: Immediately implement a temporary pause on email sends to the affected domain to conserve resources and avoid further negative impact on sender reputation.
- Continuous Performance Monitoring: Maintain rigorous monitoring of email metrics, particularly bounce rates and deliverability, gathering detailed bounce messages for analysis.
- Patience with ISP Resolution: Understand that ISP-side outages are primarily resolved internally by the ISP, requiring patience from senders rather than aggressive direct outreach.
- Avoid Volume During Outage: Resist the urge to send high volumes of email into an ongoing outage, as this will likely result in wasted sending, increased bounces, and potential long-term deliverability issues.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that when Orange.fr or other ISPs experience outages or deliverability issues, senders should avoid sending large volumes of mail that will likely bounce or be blocked. It is best to pause sending to the affected domain and wait for the ISP to resolve their internal problems, as directly contacting them often yields no response.
27 Sep 2021 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise advises that when facing email delivery outages or significant issues localized to a single ISP, it often indicates a problem on the ISP's end, such as server outages or sudden filtering changes. Senders should monitor bounce rates and inbox placement, gather relevant data like bounce messages, and often the most effective action is to pause sending to the affected domain and wait for the ISP to resolve their internal issues. While some ISPs offer postmaster contacts, direct intervention is not always effective.
23 Mar 2022 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
6 technical articles
Successfully navigating email delivery outages at ISPs, such as Orange, hinges on a combination of diligent monitoring, adherence to industry best practices, and strategic communication. Instead of solely reacting to a problem, senders should proactively leverage tools like Google Postmaster and ESP-specific dashboards, such as SendGrid's status page or AWS SES metrics, to continuously track their sending health. When an issue does arise, the initial step involves a thorough analysis of bounce logs and error codes to understand the precise reason for rejection. Beyond immediate troubleshooting, sustained deliverability relies on fundamental best practices: robust email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), meticulous management of bounce and complaint rates, and ensuring all mail is solicited. For persistent issues, direct and well-prepared engagement with the ISP's postmaster or abuse desk, providing specific details and evidence of compliance, is a crucial step towards resolution.
Key findings
- Proactive Monitoring Tools are Essential: Senders should actively use tools like Google Postmaster and ESP dashboards, for instance SendGrid or AWS SES, to monitor their sending reputation, spam rates, and delivery errors, allowing for early detection and intervention.
- Deep Dive into Bounce Data: Thorough analysis of bounce logs and specific ISP error codes is critical to pinpoint the exact reason for email rejection and guide corrective actions.
- Foundational Deliverability Practices Prevent Outages: Adherence to industry best practices, including strong email authentication, disciplined bounce and complaint rate management, and sending only solicited mail, is fundamental for preventing and mitigating delivery issues.
- Structured ISP Communication is Key to Resolution: Engaging with ISP postmaster teams requires providing precise details, such as full bounce messages, corresponding mail logs, and evidence of compliance with sending policies, to facilitate quicker resolution for persistent blocks.
Key considerations
- Utilize Proactive Monitoring Platforms: Regularly consult tools like Google Postmaster and your Email Service Provider's (ESP) dashboards, such as SendGrid's status page or AWS SES metrics, to gain insights into your IP and domain reputation, spam rates, and potential delivery issues before they escalate.
- Analyze Rejection Reasons Meticulously: Upon encountering delivery problems, meticulously review bounce messages and logs for specific ISP error codes, as this granular data is essential for diagnosing the root cause of the rejection.
- Reinforce Email Authentication: Ensure all outgoing email is properly authenticated using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These standards are foundational for establishing sender legitimacy and are often a prerequisite for reliable delivery.
- Maintain Excellent Sending Hygiene: Actively manage your email list to keep bounce and complaint rates low, and consistently ensure that all emails sent are solicited and desired by the recipients, as these factors directly impact your sender reputation and deliverability.
- Prepare for Direct ISP Engagement: If a persistent block occurs, gather comprehensive evidence, including full bounce messages, relevant mail logs, and proof of adherence to email sending policies, before engaging with the ISP's postmaster or abuse desk to present a clear case for unblocking.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailgun explains that when facing ISP blocking, senders should analyze bounce logs to understand the rejection reason, verify their sending reputation, and proactively engage with the ISP's postmaster or abuse desk with detailed information.
10 Jul 2023 - Mailgun Blog
Technical article
Documentation from SendGrid explains that during email delivery outages, users should first check the SendGrid status page for known issues, thoroughly review bounce messages for specific ISP error codes, and utilize ISP feedback loops to understand subscriber complaints, adjusting sending practices accordingly.
17 Oct 2022 - SendGrid Documentation
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