Email troubleshooting

The issues that come up most often when connecting email, and what to check for each.

"Access restricted" when you create the inbox#

If you see an Access restricted banner, our team needs to review your account before you can add an email inbox with Standard setup. See Access restricted when adding an email inbox.

Inbox shows Connected but no email arrives#

The Connected badge in Settings → Inboxes tells you the inbox is set up and its DNS records are verified. It doesn't check whether your email provider forwards mail to Commslayer, so an inbox can show Connected while nothing comes in.

Standard setup has two separate parts:

• DNS records (DKIM and Return-Path) let Commslayer send email from your address.
• Forwarding at your email provider brings email in. Verified DNS records don't deliver any mail.

To get mail flowing:

1. Go to Settings → Inboxes and click Manage on the inbox
2. In the Configuration card, copy the address under Forward to Email
3. Add that address as a forward or redirect at your email provider. Pick your provider's guide in Connect your email
4. Click the confirmation link your provider sends (see the next section)
5. Send a test email from a different address, then look in the inbox, the AI agent view and the Spam view

Good to know:

• Don't change your MX records. Commslayer doesn't receive mail through MX. Your mail keeps arriving at your email provider, which passes it on.
• The button reads Resume, not Manage? The DNS records aren't verified yet. Click Resume, verify the records and click Continue. The next step, Forward your email, shows the address.
• The inbox can receive as soon as mail is forwarded to it. Receiving doesn't depend on the last step of the setup wizard (Voila!).
• No Forward to Email in the inbox settings? The inbox uses Gmail quick setup. It reads mail straight from Google and needs no forwarding.
• There is no forwarding status per inbox. A test email is the way to check.
• Don't delete and re-create the inbox to fix this. Deleting an inbox removes all of its conversations.

Forwarding isn't working#

Find the confirmation email in Commslayer. Most providers send a confirmation link to the forwarding address before they start forwarding. That address belongs to Commslayer, so the email shows up as a new conversation in your Commslayer inbox, not in your own mailbox. Forwarding stays inactive until you click the link.

If you can't see it:

• Open the AI agent view in the sidebar. When the AI agent is enabled on the inbox, the confirmation can be assigned to it and leave your default list.
• Check the Spam view.
• Ask your provider to send the confirmation again.
• Still nothing? Contact support from the chat inside the app. Tell us your email provider and the time you requested the confirmation.

Then check:

• Forwarding is enabled, not only added. In Gmail it's a separate radio button.
• You used forward or redirect, not "send as" or "reply to". In Outlook and Microsoft 365, use Redirect to.
• The address your customers write to is the inbox address, or an alias added to the inbox. Commslayer files each email by the address it was sent to. Forwarding everything works, and so does a filter on one address (Gmail alias setup, Microsoft 365 alias setup).

DNS records aren't verifying#

• Give it time. Usually a few minutes, up to 48 hours.
• Check propagation at whatsmydns.net
• Make sure your domain isn't in the Name field twice. Most hosts append it for you
• Copy the values exactly, with no trailing spaces
• On Cloudflare, set the proxy to "DNS only" (the grey cloud)
• Each record shows Verified or Inactive. After fixing a record, click Verify again. You'll find the records and the button by clicking Manage on the inbox in Settings → Inboxes (Resume if setup isn't finished). The button stays until both records are verified.
• A second inbox on a domain you've already verified needs no new records.

An Inactive record doesn't stop email from coming in. It affects sending. The inbox shows Incomplete, a banner warns that "Email deliverability is degraded", and your replies may land in spam until the records verify.

Emails aren't appearing in Commslayer#

• Confirm forwarding is active at your provider
• Copy the forwarding address fresh from Commslayer and check it matches
• Look for filters or rules catching messages before they forward
• Check which address the missing email was sent to. Mail sent to an address no inbox knows (an alias that isn't added, a catch-all, a second domain) doesn't create a conversation.
• If the AI agent is enabled on the inbox, look in the AI agent view. Conversations it is handling sit there.
• Send your test from an address other than the inbox's own.

Replies aren't reaching your customers#

If a customer says your reply went to their spam folder or never arrived, or a reply shows a red alert icon, that has its own checklist: your domain's email records, a free deliverability test you run from Commslayer, and the reasons a reply can fail.

Customers aren't receiving your replies →

Your provider blocks external forwarding#

Some providers block forwarding to outside addresses by default. Microsoft 365 does this, so enable external forwarding first. Other providers may need the same change, or a request to their support.

A Failed or Drop status in a Microsoft 365 message trace points to a Microsoft setting that stops the message before it leaves your organisation. For GoDaddy domains on Microsoft 365, a second setting is involved. See Standard email setup for GoDaddy domains with Microsoft 365 / Outlook.

Sent emails don't show in Gmail or Outlook#

This is expected. With Standard setup, Commslayer sends through our servers, so your replies won't appear in your old Sent folder. Incoming mail still shows in both places because it's forwarded.

Old emails didn't come across#

Forwarding only moves new mail. To bring conversation history over, use the migration tool.

Inbox shows Disconnected#

Gmail quick setup and Meta inboxes can lose their connection. Reconnect from the inbox settings. Your conversations stay in place, and there's no need to delete the inbox.

Still stuck?#

Contact support from the chat inside the app. It's the chat bubble in the bottom right corner. Tell us:

• Your email provider and the inbox address
• Whether the inbox uses Standard setup or Gmail quick setup
• The sender and time of a test email that didn't arrive

For Microsoft 365, add a screenshot of the message trace.