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Step-by-step diagnosis for when email isn't arriving at your business email address.

Not receiving email is a serious problem for any business. Before you panic, work through these steps. Most email delivery failures have one of a handful of causes — and most are fixable.

Quick summary

Check your spam folder first, then confirm your mailbox isn't full. If the problem is wider, your MX records (the DNS settings that direct email to your inbox) may be wrong or your domain may have lapsed. Contact us with the details and we'll diagnose it.

Step 1 — Check the obvious places

Many "missing" emails are actually there — just not where you're looking.

Check your spam or junk folder. Email from new contacts often ends up there automatically.

Check any email filters or rules. You or a colleague may have set up a rule that moves certain messages to a folder automatically.

Check the other tabs in your inbox. Gmail (including Google Workspace) can sort incoming email into categories — Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums — so look beyond Primary. Outlook can split your inbox into two tabs, Focused and Other.

Ask the sender to check their sent items. Confirm the email was actually sent to the correct address.

Step 2 — Check if your mailbox is full

Mailboxes have a storage limit. When you hit it, sending and receiving both stop, and messages people send you go back to the sender.

Check your storage. With Gmail or Google Workspace, your storage is shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos, so check your Google Account storage rather than Gmail alone. With Microsoft 365, check your mailbox storage.

Look at how much storage is used. Once you reach the limit, Google's own guidance is blunt: "You can't send or receive emails. Messages sent to you go back to the sender."

Delete large emails, then empty trash and spam to free up space — items sitting in trash and spam still count against your limit until they're permanently removed. Or contact us about upgrading your storage.

Step 3 — Test whether the problem is with one sender or all email

Ask two or three people — ideally on different email providers (e.g., one Gmail user and one Outlook user) — to send you a test email.

If none arrive, this is a broader delivery problem with your domain or hosting.

If one arrives but another doesn't, the sender with the delivery problem may be blocked or their email going to spam.

Step 4 — Check your domain's MX records

MX records (Mail Exchanger records) are the DNS settings that tell the internet where to deliver email for your domain. If these are wrong or missing, no one can email you.

Go to MxToolbox's MX Lookup tool.

Enter your domain name (e.g., yourcompany.com) in the Domain Name box. The tool lists your MX records in priority order.

Check that MX records exist and point to your email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, etc.).

If MX records are missing or incorrect, contact us. We'll update them — but please don't attempt this yourself, as a mistake will stop all email.

Don't change DNS records yourself

A wrong MX record can stop all email delivery for your domain. This is one for us to handle.

Step 5 — Check if the domain has expired

A lapsed domain stops email delivery entirely. See My domain expired if you suspect this is the cause.

Step 6 — Check if this started after a recent change

Did any of the following happen recently?

A hosting migration or server move
A domain transfer
A DNS change (nameservers, MX records, or any other records)
A Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 configuration change

Note what changed and when, and include it when you contact us.

Business-critical email outage?

If email not arriving is causing an immediate business impact, email us at support@chykalophia.com with "URGENT: Email outage" in the subject line. Include your domain name and what you've already checked.

What to send us

Your domain name
Which email address(es) are affected
Whether all email is missing or just from specific senders
Whether you can send email successfully (test this by sending to a Gmail or Outlook.com address)
The results of the MX lookup from Step 4 (a screenshot is fine)
Any recent changes to your domain or hosting

Common questions

I can send email but not receive it.

This is almost always an MX record problem. Your domain is resolving for outgoing mail but not directing incoming mail correctly. Run the MX lookup in Step 4 and share the results.

Email was working and then suddenly stopped.

Something changed. Check for a domain expiry, a DNS change, or a hosting migration. Also check if your mailbox is full. Contact us with the timeline.

Senders are getting a bounce-back. What does the bounce message say?

Bounce messages (automatic error replies when an email can't deliver) contain important diagnostic information. Forward the bounce message to us — it tells us exactly why delivery failed.

I migrated to Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 and now email isn't working.

Email migrations require MX record updates, and Google's own guidance is that new MX records can take up to 72 hours to be recognised across the internet. If it's been longer than that and email still isn't arriving, contact us — there may be a configuration step that wasn't completed.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

I can't receive email