What should I do if Microsoft blocks my IP address during IP warming?

Summary

If Microsoft blocks your IP during IP warming, the consensus is to immediately cease sending to Microsoft domains and thoroughly investigate the root cause. This involves analyzing bounce messages (not relying solely on ESP classifications), checking blocklist status, and evaluating your sender reputation. Contact Microsoft support with comprehensive details about your sending practices, list acquisition methods, and adherence to their policies. Proactive measures are crucial, including requesting pre-emptive accommodation for new IPs, diligently managing your list quality by removing spam traps and unengaged users, and maintaining a strong sender reputation through proactive engagement monitoring and responsible sending habits. Finally, ensure your ESP contacts Microsoft for mitigation assistance.

Key findings

  • Immediate Cessation of Sending: Immediately stop sending emails to Microsoft domains upon detection of a block to prevent further reputation damage.
  • Thorough Investigation: Conduct a comprehensive investigation to identify the cause of the block, examining bounce messages, blocklists, and sender reputation.
  • Direct Communication with Microsoft: Contact Microsoft support directly, providing detailed information about your sending practices and list acquisition.
  • List Quality Management: Prioritize list quality by regularly removing spam traps, invalid addresses, and unengaged subscribers.
  • Proactive Reputation Management: Actively manage and monitor your sender reputation through engagement monitoring, feedback loops, and adherence to best practices.
  • Preemptive accommodation: Request Microsoft to perform pre-emptive accommodation, this can help prevent your block in the first place

Key considerations

  • Compliance with Policies: Ensure strict compliance with Microsoft's email sending policies and guidelines.
  • Review and Adjustment of Practices: Be prepared to review and adjust your email sending practices based on feedback from Microsoft and your own analysis.
  • Engagement-Based Segmentation: Segment your email list based on engagement levels to improve deliverability and sender reputation.
  • Full Rejection Message: ESP bounce classifications are often incorrect so ensure you get the full rejection message from Microsoft before contacting them.
  • High Engagement: Its very important to maintain high engagement to avoid blocks, clean your list of old emails and unengaged users.
  • ESP involvement: Ensure the Email Service Provider contacts Microsoft for mitigation assistance rather than you directly.

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

If Microsoft blocks your IP during IP warming, the immediate action is to stop sending to Microsoft domains and investigate the cause. This includes checking bounce messages, sender reputation, and list quality. Contact Microsoft support with details of your sending practices and be prepared to address any identified issues. Proactive measures, such as pre-emptive accommodation requests and managing IP reputation through engagement-based list segmentation, are also crucial.

Key opinions

  • Immediate Stop: Immediately cease sending emails to Microsoft domains to avoid further damaging your reputation.
  • Root Cause Analysis: Thoroughly investigate the reason for the block, including checking bounce messages, blocklists, and sender reputation using third-party tools.
  • Contact Microsoft: Reach out to Microsoft support with detailed information about your sending practices, list acquisition methods, and compliance with their policies.
  • List Quality: Assess and clean your email list, removing spam traps, invalid addresses, and unengaged subscribers to improve deliverability.
  • Pre-emptive Accommodation: Before starting IP warming, submit a request for pre-emptive accommodation to Microsoft to inform them of your plans.

Key considerations

  • Engagement Monitoring: Actively monitor engagement metrics and segment your list accordingly to ensure high engagement from recipients.
  • Bounce Message Analysis: Carefully analyze bounce messages to understand the specific reasons for delivery failures and tailor your remediation efforts.
  • Proactive Reputation Management: Proactively manage your IP reputation by monitoring feedback loops, handling unsubscribes promptly, and following email marketing best practices.
  • Specific Bounce Resolution: If Microsoft shares a specific type of bounce e.g. S3140, S3150, or S775 then find specific fixes for this and provide it to microsoft.
  • Third-Party reputation tools: Check sender reputation via third party tools to see if there are any blacklistings.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora states that if Microsoft blocks you during IP warming, you should verify the block isn't due to list contamination. She suggests running your email list through a cleaning service to remove spam traps and invalid addresses before contacting Microsoft support.

February 2022 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares that it's important to identify deliverability problems, which is to check blocklists and bounce logs for specific error codes. Knowing the exact reason for the block helps you tailor your remediation steps when contacting Microsoft.

April 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Microsoft can be finicky during IP warmups, even with proactive communication. Recommends finding the full rejection response and contacting Microsoft directly for false-negatives. Also, advises reviewing Microsoft-specific spam complaints and recipient engagement history.

August 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum says that the most common reason for being blocked by Hotmail is having low engagement and says its critical to clean your list of old emails.

April 2024 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackExchange recommends to immediately stop all sending to Microsoft, investigate the cause by carefully reviewing your sending practices and then contact Microsoft's support channels with all relevant data

October 2021 - StackExchange
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that sudden blocks during IP warming can happen. Check your list quality and review the bounce messages. If the block is due to reputation, contact Microsoft's support with details of your warming schedule and list acquisition practices.

August 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that if your IP is blocked due to a bad reputation, fix the root causes. Check for spam complaints and fix your sending practices.

September 2023 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that the best way to avoid blocks during IP warming is to proactively manage your IP reputation. This includes monitoring feedback loops, handling unsubscribes promptly, and segmenting your list based on engagement.

January 2023 - EmailOnAcid
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailGeeks shares that getting blocked by Microsoft during IP warming is common. He suggests the immediate action should be to stop sending to Microsoft domains and to fill out Microsoft's sender support form. He then recommends checking sender reputation via third party tools to see if there are any blacklistings. Then he goes on to recommend reviewing your list for spam traps, complainers and unengaged users.

August 2023 - EmailGeeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares common Microsoft bounce messages and suggests the owner of the IP (SFMC) will need to resolve it if a block of IPs got listed.

September 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that before warming, you should submit a Microsoft support form for pre-emptive accommodation. If this wasn't done, stop sends and file a support ticket to resolve the issue. Include a ramp-up plan specific to Microsoft domains. Stresses the importance of getting the exact bounce response.

January 2023 - Email Geeks

What the experts say
4Expert opinions

If Microsoft blocks your IP address during IP warming, experts recommend stopping sending immediately. It's crucial to identify the cause by obtaining the real rejection message, reviewing blocklist status, and sender reputation. Contact Microsoft support with details about your sending practices, list acquisition, and compliance. Additionally, requesting pre-emptive accommodation for new IP addresses can help prevent blocks.

Key opinions

  • Stop Sending Immediately: If blocked, halt sending to prevent further damage to your reputation.
  • Get Real Rejection Message: Don't rely solely on ESP bounce classifications; obtain the actual rejection message for accurate troubleshooting.
  • Identify the Cause: Review bounce messages, blocklist status, and sender reputation to determine the reason for the block.
  • Contact Microsoft Support: Provide detailed information about your sending practices, list acquisition, and compliance with policies when contacting support.
  • Pre-emptive Accommodation: Request pre-emptive accommodation for new IP addresses to inform providers like Microsoft about your warming plans.

Key considerations

  • Adjust Sending Practices: Be prepared to adjust your sending practices based on feedback from Microsoft.
  • Mitigation Help: ESPs should contact Microsoft for mitigation help and not just rely on the sender directly.
  • Action on Bounces: Adjustments to fix the problem will be different based on the specific bounce messages you receive.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that if Microsoft blocks your IP address during warm-up, the first step is to stop sending mail immediately. Identify the cause by reviewing bounce messages, blocklist status, and sender reputation. Contact Microsoft support, providing detailed information about your sending practices, list acquisition, and compliance with their policies. Be prepared to adjust your sending practices based on their feedback.

October 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that you should request preemptive accommodation for new IP addresses. Some mailbox providers, like Microsoft, offer a process to register new IPs and inform them of your warming plans. Doing so can help avoid blocks during the initial phases of your warm-up.

January 2025 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states that the next course of action is to find the bounces to make adjustments based on the errors. ESP should message Microsoft for mitigation help.

June 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks doesn't trust ESP bounce classification and suggests getting the real rejection message before planning next steps.

October 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

If your IP address is blocked during IP warming, documentation from multiple sources emphasizes the importance of pausing sending immediately. Review your sending practices, ensure compliance with policies (Microsoft's policies and Google's bulk sending guidelines), and investigate potential issues such as reputation problems, spam complaints, sending volume, and list quality. Contact the recipient domain's postmaster or support team, providing details about your sending practices and demonstrating adherence to best practices. Utilize tools like Microsoft's Sender Support form and Google's Postmaster Tools to identify and address deliverability issues.

Key findings

  • Pause Sending: Immediately stop sending emails upon encountering a block.
  • Review Sending Practices: Thoroughly examine your email sending practices for compliance with relevant guidelines.
  • Address Reputation: Actively work to improve your IP's reputation, addressing issues such as spam complaints and list quality.
  • Provide Details: Be prepared to provide detailed information about your sending practices to support teams.
  • Utilize Tools: Make use of provided tools like Sender Support forms and Postmaster Tools to identify problems.

Key considerations

  • Compliance: Ensure adherence to specific policies and guidelines of email providers like Microsoft and Google.
  • Investigation: Thoroughly investigate the root causes of the block before resuming sending activities.
  • Proactive Monitoring: Continuously monitor your IP's reputation and deliverability metrics to prevent future blocks.
  • Adherence to Best Practices: Always adhere to well-established email marketing best practices, including permission-based sending and easy unsubscribe options.
Technical article

Documentation from Google explains to monitor your IP's reputation and ensure it remains high. If you are suddenly blocked, check compliance with bulk sending guidelines. Google recommends using their Postmaster Tools to identify any deliverability issues.

March 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost answers that if you get blocked, immediately pause sending, investigate the cause, and contact the recipient domain's postmaster or support team. Be prepared to provide details about your sending practices and demonstrate that you are following best practices.

March 2025 - SparkPost
Technical article

Documentation from ReturnPath explains that sender reputation is influenced by spam complaints, sending volume, and list quality. If your IP is blocked, analyze these factors and address any issues before resuming your warm-up plan.

July 2023 - ReturnPath
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that if your IP address is blocked, it's often due to reputation issues. Review your sending practices to ensure compliance with Microsoft's policies. Use the Sender Support form to request remediation, providing detailed information about your sending practices and confirming adherence to best practices.

November 2022 - Microsoft