Why can’t I send email?

There are some common reasons why you might be having problems sending email:

  • Incorrect email settings: See the settings you need to use here

  • Wrong username: when you set up you email client or log into webmail, the username in this context is the full email address.

  • Typo in the password: Check this by trying to log into the webmail. If it rejects your password, your password is wrong and you need to update it from your GandiMail mailbox admin.

  • The domain name has expired: Email only works if the domain is active. You can check this from the domain’s admin on our website, and renew from there if necessary.

If you have an error message see our detailed break down of error messages.

If you have checked all of the above, and continue to have problems, please contact Gandi Support for help with your problem.

So that we can examine your case more efficiently, please also be sure to include:

  • The domain(s) concerned

  • E-mail application used, or whether the question is about Webmail

  • Settings you are using (do not divulge your password)

  • Whether your are using POP or IMAP

  • Context of the problem

  • Any error messages encountered

Issues when sending emails to Gmail addresses

If you encounter issues when sending emails to @gmail.com email addresses, and receive an error message like the one below, there are some things you can try.

This is the mail system at host relay7-d.mail.gandi.net.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not
be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.

For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster.

If you do so, please include this problem report. You can
delete your own text from the attached returned message.

                The mail system

<recipient@gmail.com>: host gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[REDACTED]
 said: 550-5.7.26 This mail is unauthenticated, which poses a security risk
 to the 550-5.7.26 sender and Gmail users, and has been blocked. The sender
 must 550-5.7.26 authenticate with at least one of SPF or DKIM. For this
 message, 550-5.7.26 DKIM checks did not pass and SPF check for [exemple.com]
 did not pass 550-5.7.26 with ip: [REDACTED]. The sender should visit
 550-5.7.26  https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126#authentication for
 550 5.7.26 instructions on setting up authentication.
 a8-20020a056000100800b0031ad48cddd7si4471147wrx.473 - gsmtp (in reply to
 end of DATA command)
Reporting-MTA: dns; relay7-d.mail.gandi.net
X-Postfix-Queue-ID: 07CCF2000E
X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; sender@example.com
Arrival-Date: Mon,  4 Sep 2023 15:35:42 +0000 (UTC)

SPF Record

You can find more information on SPF or on the DNS records management in our documentation.

Check that you have the SPF record related to the usage of Gandi mail servers and that you use ~all and not ?all. Refer to the link provided above if you need to update the record.

Note

The “all” instruction is provided in the SPF record to specify the action the receiving mail server should initiate in accordance with the SPF test results. Gmail prefers a more strict action on potential spam on bad SPF results, so the usage of ~all may help the situation.

Use DKIM

DKIM is an additional method to validate the identification of a sending mail server related to your emails. Please refer to our documentation about DKIM and email protection for more information, and to activate it if necessary.

Mail Forwarding to Gmail

Gmail filters email that has been forwarded, so emails coming from an automatic email forwarding have more risk of being considered as spam.

If you have email from and Gandi account being forwarded to gmail addresses you should follow the “best practices” provided by Gmail to reduce this risk: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/175365?hl=en