I hope this email finds you…

March 22, 2023 7:53 AM

My email address (custom domain hosted by gmail) is not receiving emails. What steps do I need to take to diagnose and fix?

I have a .co.uk email address registered with Fasthosts.

I have MX records set up for it to work with Google Workspace. I have not changed a thing but according to my inbox, the email address hasn't received any messages since January.

I discovered the problem today when speaking with Apple. I was told I should expect an email but it did not arrive. They sent the message to a different address – which did work.

I've tested the email address by sharing folders on DropBox, sending files via WeTransfer but none of the emails arrive. The only test that did work was an email sent from an email registered under the same Workspace account. The domain's website works without any trouble. Google Workspace does not show any errors.

Both Gmail and my Mac's Mail App show the same (lack of) emails.

I have used Google's MX checker tool. It tells me that "Check was not possible."

What steps do I need to take to fix the problem?

posted by popcassady to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

I have used Google's MX checker tool. It tells me that "Check was not possible."

I just tried a few different domains with that tool and they all came up as "Check was not possible," so it seems like that tool is either down or doesn't work. Can you try https://mxtoolbox.com/?

Honestly, my first thing to try would be removing the records from Google Workspace and re-adding them. I work in tech support for this kind of thing and the old "turning it off and back on again" trick works 90% of the time!
posted by anotheraccount at 8:32 AM on March 22, 2023

This happened to me, too. From what I gathered in my investigation, Google is now charging some small businesses for email and other apps after more than a decade of free use. I don’t have a “business” email — and my email is a personal one — but I got cut off anyway. I ended up not trying to figure it out — and I did not want to pay — so I moved to mail hosted by my web host, which I know is not an option for many of us.
posted by Lescha at 8:41 AM on March 22, 2023

Response by poster: @Lescha I already pay for using the domain with Google.

@anotheraccount I just used mxtoolbox and everything looks fine. I am going to try removing/adding MX records in GW as soon as I find a way to. Nothing is easy to find on that site.
posted by popcassady at 8:54 AM on March 22, 2023

Response by poster: Note: I can send email from the address. Just not receive any.
posted by popcassady at 8:55 AM on March 22, 2023

Response by poster: Urgh, just on cue Google Console sent me an email relating to another domain to the broken email address. Looks like I can receive email from "within" Google, just not outside it.
posted by popcassady at 8:56 AM on March 22, 2023

Response by poster: I updated the MX records on my registrar's website (using exactly the same records as before) and now it magically works.
posted by popcassady at 9:06 AM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

I have my domain paid for (registered?) with a third party service, my DNS names servers are now with Cloudflare and my website got moved from Google Sites to Github.io. I ditched Hangouts for Telegram. Edge is better than Chrome. (E)Gmail, calendar and search are pretty much the only Google services I still use, and even they nearly got replaced with the GoogleApps legacy bullshit.

Oh, and Android of course.
posted by gible at 10:56 PM on March 22, 2023