Summary
A Mailgun 'Too Old' delivery status message signals that the system attempted to deliver an email for a certain period, typically 72 hours, but the recipient server didn't accept it. This can be caused by various factors, including: too many delivery attempts, reputation-based throttling, connection issues with the recipient server, internal Mailgun failures, the message exceeding its maximum queue time, or temporary issues on the recipient's side such as a full inbox or server downtime. It can also result from blocklisting or DNS issues. Troubleshooting involves checking Mailgun logs, assessing sender reputation, validating recipient email addresses, ensuring email content avoids spam filters, implementing proper email authentication, cleaning subscriber lists, monitoring bounce rates, and verifying DNS configurations. It's important to distinguish between permanent and temporary failures and to understand SMTP error codes.
Key findings
- Delivery Attempt Limit: 'Too Old' indicates the system exhausted its delivery attempts within a specific timeframe.
- Multiple Potential Causes: Numerous factors can contribute, including reputation, server availability, connection issues, internal errors, and queue timeouts.
- Reputation Impact: Sender reputation and email authentication play a crucial role in preventing delivery delays and 'Too Old' statuses.
- Recipient Issues: Temporary issues on the recipient's side, like full inboxes or server outages, are common contributors.
- Blocklisting/DNS problems: IP or domain blocklisting or misconfigured DNS can also lead to 'Too Old' errors.
Key considerations
- Check Mailgun Logs: Regularly review Mailgun logs for detailed bounce information and potential clues.
- Assess Sender Reputation: Proactively monitor and improve sender reputation to avoid throttling.
- Validate Email Addresses: Ensure the accuracy of recipient email addresses through validation processes.
- Optimize Email Content: Craft email content that avoids triggering spam filters.
- Implement Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability.
- Manage Subscriber List: Maintain a clean and up-to-date subscriber list.
- Monitor Bounce Rates: Track bounce rates to identify and address deliverability issues quickly.
- Verify DNS Configuration: Ensure that DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are properly configured.
- Address Server Issues: If all other issues have been excluded and there are signs of internal failures contact Mailgun support for more support.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
A 'Too Old' delivery status message in Mailgun indicates that the system attempted to deliver the email for a certain period, but the recipient server didn't accept it. This can be due to various reasons including: too many delivery attempts, reputation-based throttling, inability to establish a connection with the recipient server, internal failures within Mailgun, or the message exceeding its maximum time in the queue. Troubleshooting involves checking Mailgun logs, assessing sender reputation, ensuring email content isn't flagged as spam, validating recipient email addresses, reducing email size, checking DNS records, ensuring proper authentication, confirming permission to send emails, updating subscriber lists, and monitoring bounce rates. Temporary email issues (full inbox, server down, large message size) on the receiving end can also contribute to this status.
Key opinions
- Too Many Attempts: 'Too old' often signals that the system has exhausted its delivery attempts.
- Reputation Impact: Reputation-based throttling can lead to 'Too Old' messages; checking Mailgun logs is recommended.
- Connection Issues: Failure to connect with the recipient server can cause messages to be dropped from the queue and marked 'Too Old'.
- Internal Failures: If temporary failures are absent from Mailgun logs, internal platform issues might be the cause; contacting support is advised.
- Timeout: 'Too Old' may indicate that the message exceeded its time in the queue.
Key considerations
- Check Reputation: Assess your sender reputation to prevent throttling issues.
- Validate Content: Ensure email content avoids triggering spam filters.
- Verify Addresses: Confirm the validity of recipient email addresses.
- Monitor Logs: Regularly examine Mailgun logs for bounce patterns and temporary failures.
- Email Authentication: Implement proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve deliverability.
- Manage List: Regularly clean your email list and use double opt-in to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
- Server Problems: Recognise that problems with the recipients email server could also be the cause.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that he often sees these when there are reputation-based throttling issues and suggests checking Mailgun logs for the original bounce.
30 May 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit user, EmailNoob, answers that to troubleshoot 'Too Old' bounces, check your sending reputation, ensure your email content isn't triggering spam filters, and verify the recipient's email address is valid.
2 Jul 2024 - Reddit
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
The 'Too Old' delivery status message in Mailgun can occur when messages are temporarily undeliverable (deferred) due to the recipient's server being unavailable or too busy. After a period of attempted delivery, if the message still fails to deliver, it is returned with the 'Too Old' status. Additionally, blocking problems like IP or domain blocklisting, or misconfigured DNS can cause delays that lead to this status.
Key opinions
- Deferred Messages: 'Too Old' status often results from deferred messages that could not be delivered within the allowed timeframe.
- Server Unavailability: Recipient server being unavailable or too busy is a common cause of deferred messages.
- Blocking Problems: IP or domain blocklisting can prevent message delivery, leading to 'Too Old' status.
- DNS Issues: Misconfigured DNS settings can cause delays in message delivery, potentially resulting in a 'Too Old' status.
Key considerations
- Monitor Server Status: Continuously monitor the availability of recipient servers to minimize deferred messages.
- Check Blocklists: Regularly check if your IP or domain is blocklisted and take corrective actions if needed.
- Verify DNS Configuration: Ensure your DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are properly configured to avoid delivery delays.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that deferred messages are temporarily undeliverable. The server will attempt to deliver the message for a period, after which it may be returned to the sender with a 'Too Old' status if delivery fails. Common causes include the recipient's server being unavailable or too busy.
3 Oct 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise answers blocking problems that lead to bounces, these could be caused by your IP or domain being blocklisted, or your DNS may not be configured properly, which causes delays and can result in 'Too Old' messages.
2 Nov 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
The 'Too Old' delivery status message in Mailgun indicates that the system attempted delivery for a defined period (e.g., 72 hours), but the recipient server didn't accept the message. This can stem from temporary issues on the recipient's side or a problem with the email itself. Permanent failures suggest a bad email address or server rejection, while temporary failures indicate server unavailability. Repeated soft bounces, or temporary issues, can ultimately result in a 'Too Old' status. Although a specific 'Too Old' SMTP error code doesn't exist, understanding temporary (4xx) and permanent (5xx) failure codes is vital for diagnosing deliverability issues.
Key findings
- Defined Delivery Window: Mailgun attempts delivery for a specific period before marking as 'Too Old' (e.g., 72 hours).
- Temporary vs. Permanent Failures: Distinguish between permanent failures (bad address, rejection) and temporary failures (server unavailable).
- Soft Bounce Progression: Repeated soft bounces can lead to a 'Too Old' status if temporary issues persist.
- SMTP Codes Insight: Understanding SMTP 4xx and 5xx error codes provides insight into the root cause of delivery problems.
Key considerations
- Recipient-Side Issues: Investigate temporary issues on the recipient's side (e.g., server downtime).
- Email Problems: Examine the email itself for potential issues causing rejection (e.g., content, formatting).
- Bounce Monitoring: Monitor bounce rates (both hard and soft) to identify and address deliverability problems promptly.
- SMTP Code Analysis: Analyze SMTP error codes to pinpoint the reasons for delivery failures.
Technical article
Documentation from RFC covers Standard SMTP Enhanced Status Codes. While there isn't a specific 'Too Old' code, it explains codes related to temporary failures (4xx) and permanent failures (5xx) which are useful to understand why a message might bounce or become 'Too Old'.
21 Apr 2022 - RFC
Technical article
Documentation from Mailgun explains that the 'Too Old' status indicates that Mailgun attempted to deliver the message for a certain period (usually 72 hours), but the recipient server didn't accept it. This can be due to temporary issues on the recipient's side or a problem with the email itself.
23 Jan 2023 - Mailgun
Can 'invalid recipient' bounce messages be false positives and what should I do about it?
How are email bounce rates calculated and what is considered a good bounce rate?
How can I troubleshoot email bounce issues effectively in Email Geeks?
How do I troubleshoot email bounce messages?
What are common email bounce messages and what do they mean?
What causes "too old" bounce messages and how to fix high bounce rates from Verizon (Yahoo, AOL)?
