TechMe

Not receiving emails on your own domain

Emails to you@yourdomain stopped arriving, or senders get bounce messages. How domain email routing works, what breaks it, and what you can check.

You might be seeing

  • Customers say their emails to you bounce
  • 'Address not found' or '550 5.1.1 recipient rejected'
  • You can send, but nothing arrives

What it means

When someone emails you@yourdomain.com, their email server looks up your domain’s MX records. These are settings, kept wherever your domain’s DNS is managed, that say which company receives your mail (Google, Microsoft, your host, and so on). If those records are missing, wrong or point to an old provider, mail goes nowhere or bounces.

What usually causes it

  • You changed website host or DNS provider, and the MX records were not copied across. This is the most common cause.
  • You moved email providers (for example from your host’s mail to Google Workspace) but only half the steps were done.
  • The domain expired, or its renewal payment failed. Everything linked to the domain stops, including email.
  • The mailbox is full or the user was removed from the email provider.

What you can check yourself

  1. Is the domain still active? Log in where you bought the domain and check the expiry date and renewal status.
  2. Send yourself a test from a personal Gmail or Outlook address. If it bounces, open the bounce message and keep it. The error code in it tells a lot.
  3. Check your email provider’s admin panel. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both show a warning when your domain’s MX records are not set up correctly.
  4. Remember recent changes: a new website, a new host, someone “cleaning up” DNS settings.

Please do not delete DNS records you do not recognise. Some of them keep other services working, such as your website or email security.

When to ask for help

  • The bounce message mentions MX, DNS or “domain not found”.
  • Email broke right after a website or hosting change.
  • Some senders can reach you and others cannot.

Send me the full bounce message and tell me who provides your email. I can compare your DNS with what your provider expects and fix the difference.

Updated