Mail troubleshooting

Start at Mail → Activity. Every message Pawabase tried to send is there, with its status, its content and what the mail server answered. Find the message, then follow the row for its status below.

The message isn’t in Activity at all

It was never sent. Something earlier didn’t happen.

Cause	How to check	Fix
The flow didn’t run	Activity → Flow runs	Check the trigger: is the event subscription or schedule enabled and matching?
The flow ran but failed before Send email	Open the run’s trace	Fix the failing block
The send is still queued or retrying	Activity → Jobs	Wait, or read the job’s error
A sign-in email wasn’t requested	Sign-in activity	Check the person really asked for it
You’re looking in the wrong environment	The environment picker	Mail is per environment

Status: suppressed

Delivery is paused in this environment. Turn Pause delivery off in Mail → Delivery, then Retry any messages that should have gone out.

Status: failed

Read the error on the message. The common ones:

Error says something like	Cause	Fix
Authentication failed, 535, invalid credentials	Wrong or expired password or API key, or the key lacks SMTP permission	Edit the provider in Delivery, paste a new key, Test connection
Could not connect, timed out, connection refused	Wrong host or port	Use your provider’s SMTP host; port 465 (SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS)
SSL, TLS, wrong version number	Port and encryption don’t match	465 for SSL, 587 for STARTTLS
Sender not verified, domain not verified, 550 from address	Your provider doesn’t allow that sending address	Verify the address or domain with your provider; check the sender
Rate limit, too many messages, 421 or 450	Your provider is throttling you	Send less at once; ask your provider to raise the limit
Recipient address rejected	The address is invalid	Fix the address; consider validating emails at sign-up
Daily quota exceeded	Your provider account’s limit	Upgrade with the provider

Once fixed, Retry the failed messages. If messages fail because your Pawabase plan’s monthly emails are used up, see Plans and limits.

The send was refused before it was logged

When sending over HTTP or from Compose, some problems stop the send immediately:

Response	Cause	Fix
`404` no mail template	The name is wrong	Check the template name (it’s case-sensitive)
`404` has not been published yet	The template is a draft	Publish it
`422` template: …	A syntax error, an unknown filter, or reading inside a value that doesn’t exist	See Template language
`422` attachment is not base64	The attachment content isn’t base64-encoded	Encode the file’s bytes in base64
`502`	Your provider refused or couldn’t be reached	As for failed, above

From a flow, the same problems fail the background job; read the error under Activity → Jobs.

Status: sent, but it never arrived

Your provider accepted it, so what happened next is on the provider’s side.

Ask them to check spam, and the Promotions or Updates tabs in Gmail.
Look the message up in your provider’s dashboard using the message id shown in Activity: it says whether it was delivered, bounced or marked as spam.
Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Send yourself a copy and use Gmail’s Show original. Anything other than PASS hurts delivery. See Deliverability.
Check the address. A typo gets a bounce at the provider.
Check suppression lists. Most providers stop sending to an address that bounced or complained before.

The email looks wrong

Problem	Cause	Fix
A value is blank	It wasn’t passed, or the path is wrong (`user.firstName` vs `user.first_name`)	Compare the template’s Values with the data sent (shown on the message)
`&` or `<` in the subject or plain text	Values are escaped everywhere	Use `\| safe` on that value in the subject and text only. See Escaping
HTML shows as text	A trusted HTML value was escaped	Use `\| safe` on it, and only if you trust its source
It’s the old wording	The template wasn’t published, or a scheduled message was rendered before you changed it	Publish; for scheduled mail, cancel and reschedule
Fonts or rounded corners differ	Some clients don’t support them	Expected. See Brand kit fonts
Gmail shows View entire message	The HTML is over 102 KB	Remove heavy markup or images
Images don’t show	Served over http, blocked by the client, or the address is wrong	Use https; add alt text

Replies go to the wrong place

Replies go to the message’s reply-to, then the Delivery reply-to, then the Support email in Settings → App details. Set the one you want.

Test emails reach real people

In development, turn on Pause delivery, or point delivery at a test inbox service, so nothing reaches real addresses.

Still stuck

Collect the message id from Activity, the time, the environment, and the provider’s message id, and contact support or your provider.

Getting started

Templates

Send and track

Production

Mail troubleshooting

The message isn’t in Activity at all

Status: suppressed

Status: failed

The send was refused before it was logged

Status: sent, but it never arrived

The email looks wrong

Replies go to the wrong place

Test emails reach real people

Still stuck

​The message isn’t in Activity at all

​Status: suppressed

​Status: failed

​The send was refused before it was logged

​Status: sent, but it never arrived

​The email looks wrong

​Replies go to the wrong place

​Test emails reach real people

​Still stuck

The message isn’t in Activity at all

Status: suppressed

Status: failed

The send was refused before it was logged

Status: sent, but it never arrived

The email looks wrong

Replies go to the wrong place

Test emails reach real people

Still stuck