If you are not receiving email notifications from BoldDesk, the issue can be caused by notification settings, email configuration, domain authentication, recipient mail server restrictions, or email delivery policies. This article provides a comprehensive set of troubleshooting steps to help you identify and resolve common email notification issues, including recipient-side email rejections and email deliverability challenges.

Troubleshooting Steps

If you do not receive email notifications from BoldDesk, check the following things to determine the causes:

1. Ensure that you have enabled email notifications for the tested event. To ensure this, navigate to Admin > Email Notifications.

2. To replicate an email-like experience in BoldDesk, emails are not sent to agents for their own updates. Customers, on the other hand, will receive emails in response to their own updates.

3. Make sure you have at least one valid support email address in your BoldDesk Portal that is Verified.
   

   
   
   

4. If you have added your own custom email address, make sure it is verified. If it is not verified, it cannot be used to send email.

5. To avoid spam emails, email providers validate all incoming emails’ identities to determine whether they are spam or not. Configure DKIM Keys for your Custom Emails to avoid spam filters and improve email deliverability. Learn more about How to Setup DKIM for BoldDesk.

6. If your emails are still not delivered after configuring DKIM keys, try using outside emails like Gmail or Outlook to ensure that they are not delivered to your organizational emails alone, such as [email protected]. If you are receiving the emails in your outside organization emails, this means that your organization’s email firewalls are restricting the BoldDesk emails. Please contact your network administrator and request to allow the BoldDesk emails.

7. If emails are received for all email addresses but not for a specific email address, it must be blocked. BoldDesk keeps a blacklisted email list based on previous email bounce or complaint logs to maintain a high email reputation. You can contact the BoldDesk team to unblock these emails.

8. If a user is listed as both a CC and a watcher, BoldDesk is designed to suppress email notifications for actions performed by that same user. In other words, you will not receive email alerts for updates you make yourself.

If you are still having issues and cannot figure out the reasons for not receiving email notifications, please contact us via our Support portal or via email at [email protected].

Understanding Common Recipient-Side Email Rejections

Email delivery may fail when the recipient’s mail server rejects the message before it reaches the recipient’s inbox. These rejections are generated by the recipient’s email environment and typically require action from the recipient’s email or network administrator.

Invalid Recipient

The following error indicates that the recipient’s mail server did not accept the recipient email address:

550 Invalid Recipient

This can occur when the email address is invalid, misspelled, inactive, or not recognized by the recipient’s mail system.

Recommendation: Contact the recipient and ask them to coordinate with their email or network administrator to verify that the email address is valid and configured to receive messages.

Junk Mail or Real-time Block Lists Rejection

The following error indicates that the recipient’s mail server rejected the message due to its spam-filtering or blocklist checks:

550 JunkMail rejected - a9-13.smtp-out.amazonses.com [54.240.9.13] is in an RBL

This can occur when the recipient’s mail server uses Real-time Block Lists (RBLs) or other anti-spam filters to evaluate incoming messages. For example, a mail server may reject an email if the outbound mail server used by the sender, such as Amazon SES, is temporarily listed on an RBL. Such listings are often temporary and may clear automatically, resulting in isolated delivery failures.

Recommendation: Contact the recipient and ask them to coordinate with their email or network administrator to review their Junk Mail filtering, RBL policies, and email security settings. They may need to allow the sending server or adjust their filtering rules to permit email delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is DKIM and why does BoldDesk recommend it?
   DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) helps recipient mail systems verify that the message is authorized by the sending domain. Configuring DKIM for custom email domains reduces spam filtering and improves deliverability.

2. Why am I not receiving notifications for updates I made myself?
   BoldDesk suppresses notifications for a user’s own actions to avoid redundant email. This is especially relevant for agent self-updates and for users who are both CC and watcher.

3. Why does BoldDesk require a verified support email address?
   BoldDesk requires a Verified support email to ensure it can send email using a validated sender identity. Unverified addresses cannot be used for outbound email.

4. How can I confirm whether my organization is blocking BoldDesk emails?
   Send tests to an external mailbox (Gmail/Outlook). If external delivery works but your company domain does not, your organization’s firewall or mail security policies are likely blocking the messages.

5. What does “550 Invalid Recipient” mean?
   It means the recipient mail server rejected the recipient address. The mailbox may be invalid, inactive, misspelled, or not recognized by that mail system.

6. What does an RBL rejection mean, and is it permanent?
   An RBL rejection means the recipient mail server blocked the sending server due to blocklist policy. It can be temporary. The recipient’s email administrator typically needs to adjust filtering or allowlisting rules.

7. Why would only one user stop receiving emails when others still get them?
   The specific address may be blocked due to earlier bounce events or complaint logs. Contact BoldDesk support to request unblocking for that address.

8. When should I contact BoldDesk support?
   Contact BoldDesk support when:

   • A specific recipient address appears blocked/blacklisted.
   • BoldDesk configuration is correct (events enabled, verified support email), but delivery still fails across multiple recipient environments.

Related Articles

1. Why Emails Aren’t Creating Tickets in BoldDesk
2. How to Troubleshoot Email Notification Delivery in BoldDesk