Why are some domains showing a temp fail in Gmail Postmaster after the Gmail outage?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from SendGrid explains that temporary failures are often part of normal email sending. If a temporary failure occurs, SendGrid automatically retries sending the email based on a predetermined schedule.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that after a Gmail outage, some domains might show temporary failures due to the systems recalibrating and adjusting to the new traffic patterns. They suggest waiting a few days to see if the issue resolves itself before taking drastic action.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that she's not seeing the temp fail issue for a lot of clients but a couple. However, since it’s temp fail and not translating to permanent bounces it’s something she will keep an eye on but not concerned about just yet. Other metrics seem fine as well for her for the clients she spot checked.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that a very small uptick in temp fails is not something to worry about unless there are other signs of problems.
Email marketer from Google Support Forum explains that temporary failures (temp fails) in Gmail Postmaster Tools can occur due to various reasons, including temporary issues with the sending server, authentication problems, or spam-related concerns. They advise monitoring the situation and checking for any changes in sending practices or authentication setup.
Email marketer from Litmus suggests the cause of temporary failures may be related to reputation as a result of the outage, ISP throttling, or other capacity problems. They advocate closely monitoring deliverability metrics and adjusting sending volume if needed.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that he's noticed this issue persistent throughout all of his five products and each one of them on the same day – 27th, and suspects it may be a reporting failure.
Email marketer from Email on Acid details temporary bounces can arise from full mailboxes, server downtime, or anti-spam measures reacting to sudden mail volume changes post-outage. They advise maintaining good sending practices and giving systems time to stabilize.
Email marketer from StackExchange suggests that a temp fail could indicate a DNS issue, a problem with the recipient server being temporarily unavailable, or rate limiting being imposed by Gmail due to increased traffic after the outage. He advises checking DNS records and monitoring server logs.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource suggests that greylisting might cause temporary failures, especially post-outage. Greylisting is when a mail server temporarily rejects an email from an unknown sender, requiring them to retry later. This can happen if the sending server's reputation is temporarily affected by the outage or a surge in email volume.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that temporary failures after an outage can be due to a variety of factors, including IP reputation issues, greylisting by receiving servers, and temporary overloads. She emphasizes the importance of monitoring deliverability metrics and adjusting sending behavior accordingly to identify and address the root cause.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from MXToolbox explains that temporary failures can be diagnosed by checking DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM), verifying the sending IP address against blacklists, and ensuring proper SMTP configuration. They provide tools for diagnosing these issues.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help details that temporary email delays can be caused by issues with the recipient server, DNS problems, or if the sending IP address has a poor reputation. Solutions include verifying DNS settings, checking the recipient server's status, and ensuring the sending IP is not on any blacklists.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that temporary failures (4xx SMTP error codes) indicate that the mail server encountered a temporary problem and the message could not be delivered at that time. The sending server should retry delivery later. Such failures might occur due to resource limitations, temporary unavailability of the receiving server, or network congestion.