Email bounce types

A bounce message is also called a Non-Delivery Report/Receipt (NDR). It's an automated message from the recipient's email server with details about the specific problem with the email delivery. Complete details about the bounce type and server response are available in the Recipients tab of sent marketing emails. For one-to-one sales emails, bounce details are available in the email engagement on the contact timeline.

Types of bounces

• Hard bounce: usually indicates a permanent error, but can also be caused by a strict email security filter. To protect your email sender reputation, HubSpot excludes these contacts from future emails.
• Soft bounce: indicates a temporary problem with the recipients server, or another temporary technical problem. Contacts who soft bounce are eligible to receive future emails from you.
• Pending bounce: caused by a temporary technical issue with either the sending or receiving email server. HubSpot continues to try sending the email for up to 72 hours. If the message isn't delivered during that time, it becomes a soft bounce.
• Global bounce: a hard bounce for a permanent reason across three or more HubSpot accounts. Permanent bounces include email address is invalid and mailbox full. Global bounces are dropped from future emails across all HubSpot accounts.
  
  

Hard bounce errors and recommendations

• Recipient's email address is invalid, misspelled, or blocking incoming email: this indicates a permanent error caused by an invalid email address. HubSpot automatically drops contacts from future emails if they bounce for this reason. If a contact bounces for this reason across three HubSpot accounts, the email address is globally bounced.
• Recipient's mailbox was full: this indicates a permanent error caused by an abandoned email inbox.HubSpot automatically drops contacts from future emails if they bounce for this reason. If a contact bounces for this reason across three HubSpot accounts, the email address is globally bounced.

• Rejected by recipient's email security filter: the recipient's mailbox can't be reached. HubSpot drops contacts who bounce for this reason from future marketing emails. To solve the problem, ask the contact to whitelist your sending IP addresses, then unbounce the contact in HubSpot.
  
  

Soft bounce errors and recommendations

• Temporary technical issue with the recipient's email: the recipient's server may be overloaded, timing out, or undergoing some configuration changes that prevented it from accepting the message. Create a clone of the original email and send it to the affected contacts at a later date. For a one-to-one sales email, try sending your message again at a later date.

• Rejected by recipient's email security filter: there's a temporary problem with the recipient's server or HubSpot's sending IP addresses. To solve the problem, ask the contact to whitelist your sending IP addresses. Then create a clone of the original email and send it to the affected contacts at a later date. For a one-to-one sales email, try sending your message again at a later date.

• Your IT team has not authorized HubSpot to send emails on your behalf: your IT team set up a custom DMARC policy that needs to be updated to include HubSpot. Reach out to your IT team to send them documentation about using a DMARC policy with HubSpot.

• Temporary technical issue: there may have been a temporary technical problem with the recipient's email server or HubSpot's email server. Create a clone of the original email and send it to the affected contacts at a later date. For a one-to-one sales email, try sending your message again at a later date.