Email problems feel mysterious, but they follow paths — and each path has a test that isolates it. Work through the checks for your direction: not receiving, not sending, or sending but landing in spam.
First: the isolating test
Log in to Webmail (cPanel → Email Accounts → Check Email) and send a message to an outside address, then reply to it. Webmail bypasses your phone and app settings entirely: if Webmail works both ways, your mailbox is healthy and the fault lives in an app's settings — compare them with the Mobile & Outlook guide.
Not receiving
- Mailbox or disk full: a full mailbox silently rejects new mail — and a full account disk stops everything. Check Email Accounts quotas and cPanel Disk Usage.
- DNS doesn't point here: if the nameservers or MX records live elsewhere, mail goes elsewhere. Changed hosts or DNS recently? That's the prime suspect (see the nameserver guide).
- It arrived — in spam/junk: check Webmail's spam folder before concluding anything is missing.
- A forwarder or filter is diverting it: review Forwarders and Email Filters for rules you — or a helpful colleague — set and forgot.
Not sending
- App settings: sending needs SMTP authentication ON, with port 465 (SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS) — the settings table in the Mobile & Outlook guide is the reference. "Receives fine, can't send" is this, nine times out of ten.
- Bounce messages are answers, not noise: the error text inside a bounce names the reason — a wrong address, a full recipient mailbox, a blocked message. Read it before retrying.
- Suspended account: an overdue invoice suspends email too. Billing → My Invoices tells the truth.
Sending, but landing in spam
That's a reputation and authentication problem — SPF, DKIM and DMARC first (the Deliverability guide), then sending habits (the Spam guide). Both live in the Email category.
✅ Your best diagnostic tool: cPanel → Email → Track Delivery shows the fate of mail — delivered, deferred, or rejected with the receiving server's own reason. Check it before opening a ticket; if you do open one, include what Track Delivery says, the addresses involved, and the time you sent.
Related articles
- How to Fix Email Deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Why Emails Go to Spam — And How to Prevent It
- How to Set Up Your Email on Mobile & Outlook (IMAP/POP3 Settings)