# Troubleshooting Email Not Arriving

Source: https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-nz/email-not-receiving

If emails sent to your KapsuleHost address are not arriving, there are several places to check. Work through these steps in order to identify and resolve the issue.

### Step 1: Check Your Spam and Junk Folder

Before investigating further, check your spam or junk folder in both your email client and the KPanel webmail interface. If the messages are arriving there, mark them as "not spam" to train the filter.

To access KPanel webmail: log in to KPanel and go to **Mailboxes**, then click **Webmail** next to the affected mailbox.

### Step 2: Confirm the Mailbox Exists

Make sure the mailbox you are expecting email at actually exists:

1. Log in to KPanel at [kpanel.kapsulehost.com](https://kpanel.kapsulehost.com)
2. Go to **Mailboxes**
3. Confirm the address is listed

If it is not listed, the mailbox does not exist and the sender may have received a bounce message.

### Step 3: Check Your MX Records

Incorrect MX records are one of the most common causes of email delivery failure. Your domain's [MX records](https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-nz/mx-records) must point to KapsuleHost's mail server:

1. Go to **Domains** in KPanel and select your domain
2. Click **DNS Records** and look for the MX record
3. Confirm it points to `mail.kapsulehost.com`

You can verify the current MX records using [MXToolbox](https://mxtoolbox.com).

> **Note:** If you recently changed your MX records, propagation can take up to 48 hours. During this window, some email may still be directed to the old server.

### Step 4: Check Your Mailbox Storage

A [full mailbox](https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-nz/email-mailbox-full) will reject incoming email. To check storage:

1. Go to **Mailboxes** in KPanel
2. Look at the storage usage bar for the affected mailbox

If the mailbox is at or near its limit, delete old emails (particularly those with large attachments) and empty the trash and spam folders.

### Step 5: Check for Forwarding Rules

If you have email forwarding set up, messages may be arriving in a different inbox:

1. In KPanel, go to **Email > Forwarders**
2. Look for a forwarder on this address
3. Confirm where it is sending messages

If a forwarder does not keep a copy in this mailbox, forwarded messages will not appear in the KapsuleHost mailbox.

### Step 6: Ask the Sender for a Bounce Message

Ask the sender to share any bounce (non-delivery report) message they received. Bounce messages contain specific error codes (see [Understanding Bounce Messages and SMTP Codes](https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-nz/email-bounce-codes)):

| Code | Likely Cause |
|------|-------------|
| 550 | Mailbox does not exist or rejected |
| 552 | Mailbox full |
| 421 | Temporary server issue, sender should retry |
| 553 | SPF or domain authentication failure |

### Still Not Receiving Email?

If you have worked through all of the above and email is still not arriving, open a support ticket in KPanel under **Support**. Include the affected email address, the domain's current MX records, any bounce messages, and the approximate time email last arrived normally.