What causes '5.7.1 Email rejected due to transformation error' bounces from Apple's privaterelay.appleid.com and how to fix it?

Summary

The '5.7.1 Email rejected due to transformation error' when sending to Apple's privaterelay.appleid.com addresses has multiple potential causes. A primary factor is the necessity for senders to register their domains with Apple. Compliance with Apple's program rules, sending from registered email addresses, and ensuring valid user IDs are crucial. The transformation failure can also stem from Apple's private email relay service experiencing server-side issues, revoked or disabled relay addresses, or simply sending to invalid addresses. Best practices include validating email addresses before sending, regularly cleaning mailing lists to remove invalid addresses, adhering to Apple's guidelines, maintaining a good sender reputation, and monitoring Apple's service status. In some cases, manual verification of affected users' relay addresses and contacting Apple support may be necessary. Ultimately, issues could also stem from your domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

Key findings

  • Domain Registration: Sending domains *must* be registered with Apple to avoid these bounces.
  • Validity of Addresses: Transformation errors often arise from sending to invalid, revoked, or disabled Apple relay addresses.
  • Apple's Infrastructure: Problems within Apple's Private Email Relay infrastructure can cause widespread transformation errors.
  • Authentication: Proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication is a core requirement

Key considerations

  • Proactive Validation: Implement robust email validation processes *before* sending to minimize bounces.
  • Mailing List Hygiene: Regularly clean your mailing lists, removing invalid or deactivated Apple relay addresses.
  • Adherence to Apple's Guidelines: Strictly adhere to Apple's specific guidelines for sending to their private relay addresses, including sender reputation and content.
  • Monitoring: Monitor Apple's service status for any known issues. If there are wider problems at Apples end there may not be a fix you can implement yourself.
  • Manual Checks: Consider manually checking with affected users to confirm the status of their relay addresses.
  • Contact Support: If problems persist, contact Apple support and provide them with a sample of the failures.

What email marketers say
9Marketer opinions

The '5.7.1 Email rejected due to transformation error' when sending to Apple's privaterelay.appleid.com addresses can stem from several issues. Primarily, it's crucial to ensure your sending domain is registered and properly authenticated with Apple, including correct SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. The error can also arise when Apple users revoke or disable their private relay addresses, necessitating regular list cleaning. In some instances, the issue is on Apple's end, stemming from internal server problems or an inability to transform the relay address; in such cases, contacting Apple support or monitoring the situation is advised. Adhering to Apple's sending guidelines, maintaining a good sender reputation, and manually verifying the status of affected user's relay addresses can also mitigate these bounces.

Key opinions

  • Domain Registration: Ensure your sending domain is registered and authenticated with Apple.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly check for and remove revoked or disabled Apple relay addresses.
  • Apple-Side Issues: Transformation errors can be caused by issues on Apple's servers.
  • Domain Authentication: Properly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are essential for sending to Apple private relay addresses.

Key considerations

  • Apple Guidelines: Adhere to Apple's specific guidelines for sending to private relay addresses.
  • Sender Reputation: Maintain a good sender reputation to avoid being flagged by Apple's systems.
  • Manual Verification: Manually check with affected users to confirm the status of their private relay addresses.
  • Contact Apple: If the issue persists and you have followed domain authenication steps and keep getting the error then contact Apple support to assist.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora shares that these bounces can result from Apple having internal server issues. If you've checked your domain registration and email practices, the issue may be on Apple's side and resolve itself in time.

May 2022 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from LinkedIn explains that to avoid 'transformation error' bounces, ensure you adhere to Apple's guidelines for sending to private relay addresses, including maintaining good sender reputation and avoiding spam triggers in your email content.

September 2022 - LinkedIn
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow suggests that the 'transformation error' indicates that Apple's system is unable to convert the private relay address into a valid email address for delivery. This might be due to changes on Apple's end or issues with the recipient's Apple ID. Contact Apple support for assistance if the problem persists.

October 2021 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailMarketingForum says to ensure your sending domain is properly authenticated with Apple's private relay service. This involves setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records correctly, as Apple is strict about domain authentication.

May 2021 - EmailMarketingForum
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks confirms that you need to register all your sending domains to your appleid account; otherwise, the private relay IDs will not work.

April 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid Blog shares that to avoid 'transformation error' bounces, it's essential to register your sending domain with Apple. Apple's private email relay service requires authenticated domains to ensure the legitimacy of the sender.

September 2023 - EmailOnAcid Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that the bounce error often occurs when an Apple user revokes or disables their private relay address. Implement a process to regularly check for and remove these inactive addresses from your mailing lists.

May 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that the sending domain may need to be registered with Apple before sending to applerelay.appleid.com addresses, based on a similar issue with a loyalty card provider.

November 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus Community explains that to help resolve the transformation bounces you may need to manually check with the users affected to check their private relay has not expired or been disabled.

August 2023 - Litmus Community

What the experts say
4Expert opinions

The '5.7.1 Email rejected due to transformation error' when sending to Apple's privaterelay.appleid.com addresses is caused by a few factors. Primarily, sender addresses may not be registered with Apple. Additionally, the issue might stem from an invalid user ID or a failure in the encrypted ID's transformation into a valid email. In some cases, Apple's Private Email Relay service itself experiences server-side problems, which are often widespread and require monitoring rather than direct intervention by the sender. Ensuring compliance with Apple's program rules and sending from registered email addresses are key preventative measures.

Key opinions

  • Registration Required: Sender addresses must be registered with Apple to avoid rejections.
  • Invalid User IDs: Transformation errors may occur if the user ID is not currently valid or if the encrypted ID fails to transform.
  • Server-Side Issues: Apple's Private Email Relay service can experience server-side problems leading to widespread bounces.

Key considerations

  • Compliance with Rules: Ensure compliance with Apple's program rules for sending emails.
  • Registered Addresses: Always send emails from addresses registered with Apple for this purpose.
  • Monitoring is key: When wide spread monitoring is key, If the error is wide spread the problem is most likely at apples end and there is no remediation you can perform.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks clarifies that the sender addresses need to be registered to prevent bounces.

December 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains there was a problem a few days ago causing rejections from the privaterelay.appleid.com servers and Apple is aware and working on a fix.

May 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Apple's Private Email Relay service sometimes has issues with email addresses which is server side. They explain to monitor for wider issues by seeing if other senders are reporting similar bounces and if this is the case there is not much you can do to fix the issue yourself.

October 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests confirming compliance with Apple's program rules and sending from the email address registered with Apple for mail to those addresses. It may also mean the userID is not currently valid, and the transformation failure is the failure of the encrypted ID to transform into a valid email address.

November 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
3Technical articles

The '5.7.1 Email rejected due to transformation error' bounces from Apple's privaterelay.appleid.com are often linked to issues with Apple's private email relay service or the validity of the relay addresses themselves. Specifically, these errors can occur when users have revoked or disabled their Apple ID email relay addresses or are trying to send to invalid or deactivated addresses. Best practices to mitigate these issues involve checking the validity of email addresses before sending, regularly validating email addresses, and removing invalid ones from mailing lists. Monitoring Apple's service status for known issues is also advisable.

Key findings

  • Relay Service Issues: Problems within Apple's private email relay service can cause transformation errors.
  • Revoked/Disabled Addresses: Users revoking or disabling their Apple ID email relay addresses is a common cause.
  • Invalid Addresses: Sending to invalid or deactivated Apple relay email addresses contributes to the errors.

Key considerations

  • Address Validation: Implement robust email address validation processes before sending.
  • Regular List Cleaning: Regularly remove invalid or deactivated Apple relay email addresses from mailing lists.
  • Service Monitoring: Monitor Apple's service status for any known issues affecting the private email relay.
Technical article

Documentation from Apple Developer Documentation explains that the 'transformation error' can occur if there are issues with the private email relay service, especially when users have revoked or disabled their Apple ID email relay addresses. Ensure your application properly handles these scenarios by checking the validity of the email address before sending.

July 2024 - Apple Developer Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost Documentation highlights that the '5.7.1 transformation error' is often seen when sending to Apple's private relay addresses. This could be because the user has disabled the address, or there is an issue with Apple's service. Check the user's email validity and monitor Apple's service status for any known issues.

May 2023 - SparkPost Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from Mailjet Documentation mentions that one cause of the transformation error is trying to send to invalid or deactivated Apple relay email addresses. Regularly validate email addresses and remove invalid ones from your lists to prevent bounces.

December 2021 - Mailjet Documentation

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