How to troubleshoot undelivered email messages from GoDaddy?

Key findings

• Initial status: A user reported 100% email undelivery specifically when sending to GoDaddy domains.
• Diagnosis clarity: A generic 'undelivered' status is not helpful; specific bounce messages or rejection codes are crucial for effective troubleshooting.
• Root cause: The problem was ultimately identified as hard bounce messages originating from GoDaddy.com, discovered after a detailed review by a support team.
• Support engagement: While seeking direct support from GoDaddy is an option, internal investigation to gather precise error details is recommended beforehand.

Key considerations

• Specific error messages: Always prioritize finding the exact bounce message or SMTP error code to understand the nature of the delivery failure.
• Authentication issues: Verify your domain's SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly configured and aligned.
• DNS health: Ensure that your MX records, A records, and CNAMEs are accurately set up and have propagated.
• Recipient-side factors: Recognize that issues might reside on the recipient's mail server, domain settings, or their spam filtering policies. For more information, you can refer to the GoDaddy Blog on understanding undeliverable emails.

Key opinions

• Prioritize self-assessment: It's crucial to investigate internal systems and logs for specific error details before seeking external support.
• Domain-specific problems: Delivery issues can be isolated to particular recipient domains, even if other domains receive emails successfully.
• Clarity of errors: A vague 'undelivered' message is uninformative; understanding the exact rejection reason is paramount.
• DNS implications: Incorrect MX record configurations, especially after domain or nameserver changes, can severely impact email reception.
• Client-side considerations: Issues with email not sending from clients like Outlook may stem from local client settings rather than server-side problems.

Key considerations

• Review internal logs: Always start by checking your own email server or sending service logs for detailed bounce codes.
• Address common errors: Verify recipient email addresses for typos, which are a frequent cause of undeliverable messages.
• Nameserver verification: If you've changed nameservers, confirm that your email's DNS records are correctly updated to point to the right mail servers. For more details, consider resources like this article on GoDaddy email not sending in Outlook.
• Email ID validation: Before retrying, always re-validate the recipient's email address to ensure it is still active and correctly spelled.

Key opinions

• Specificity is key: Generic 'undelivered' messages are unhelpful; detailed rejection reasons are essential for troubleshooting.
• Authentication focus: Correct SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations are critical for successful email delivery.
• Reputation matters: A compromised sender reputation can lead to emails being rejected or blacklisted by recipient mail servers.
• DNS accuracy: Misconfigured DNS records are a common cause of delivery failures and should be among the first items checked.
• Hard bounce meaning: Hard bounces indicate permanent delivery failures, often due to invalid or non-existent recipient addresses.

Key considerations

• Thorough log analysis: Always examine mail server logs for detailed bounce codes and SMTP responses to pinpoint issues.
• DNS record audit: Routinely verify the accuracy of all relevant DNS entries, including MX, SPF, and DKIM records.
• Blocklist checks: Regularly check your sending IP and domain against major email blocklists. You may also find resources at Mailop.org helpful.
• Recipient policy awareness: Be aware that recipient domains (like GoDaddy) may implement specific, sometimes stricter, email receiving policies.

Key findings

• Frequent causes: Typographical errors and incorrect email addresses are consistently identified as primary reasons for undeliverable messages.
• DNS configuration: Accurate MX record setup is crucial, particularly after domain transfers or nameserver modifications.
• Authentication errors: Specific rejection codes, such as '550 5.7.26', often indicate problems with SPF record configuration.
• Webmail troubleshooting: Simple steps like re-verifying the email ID are often recommended for resolving GoDaddy webmail receiving issues.
• Client software impact: Email delivery problems can sometimes be traced to outdated or improperly configured email client software.

Key considerations

• Official GoDaddy resources: Leverage GoDaddy's own guides and support documentation for platform-specific troubleshooting steps.
• DNS propagation time: Allow sufficient time for any DNS changes to fully propagate across the internet before retesting.
• SMTP error code interpretation: Familiarize yourself with common SMTP error codes to quickly diagnose the nature of delivery failures. For instance, the Spiceworks Community provides insights into 550 errors.
• Sender IP authorization: Ensure that the IP address of your sending server is correctly authorized within your SPF record to prevent rejections.