One single recipient does not receive certain emails through Gmail via TB - compatibility problem? upgrade problem?
Hi!
Relatively new user here.
Today I discovered that one single recipient does not receive certain mails sent by me through Gmail via TB. (I received no error message from TB, maybe TB does not send error messages?)
I have a Gmail account which has worked perfectly for over six months.
Problem started on or around Jan. 15, 2021, when I sent a message which is confirmed not received by recipient. Recipient´s platform unknown to me. Emails through TB to and from other recipients with the same platform has worked fine through TB for over six months. All recipients work at the same workplace, a public authority.
Some notes on my problem:
1/ If there is text only in the Subject box, sending and receiving a new email through TB works fine.
2/ Sending and receiving emails, with text in body of email, in an ongoing mail thread works fine through TB.
3/ I can email my own Gmail account through TB, with text in Subject and body of email.
4/ Recipient can receive and reply to my emails sent directly through my Gmail platform. Tested this today. This conversation (message + answer) also shows up in my TB. I sent a third message in the same thread, and TB did not signal any error or problem.
5/ I noticed your article about checking SMTP settings for outgoing mail server. Checked my Gmail site, did not find relevant settings. My local PC service provider says I cannot find and/or change Gmail SMTP settings online. Advises me to bypass TB and use Gmail directly.
6/ In TB, my outgoing server is set to Gmail (Standard).
7/ Earlier this month, I responded to Gmail/Google emails by accepting certain new settings, the specific ones escape my memory right now (not a heavy user of Gmail settings other than email settings).
8/ Synchronization between TB, Gmail, my stationary PC and my smartphone generally works fine.
Is this a compatibility problem between Gmail and TB? My local PC servide provider suggests this. Or is it related to upgrades within TB and/or Gmail? Will a reinstallation of TB be necessary?
Many thanks in advance for all help you can give me!
Modified by stefan.andersson14
All Replies (4)
Lets see... you email two people both as To: in an email... one get it the other does not. Clearly the problem is with the recipient end of the equation or neither would get it.
The most probable cause is the recipient has a poor spam setup and may perhaps be only getting mail from folks in their address book. I would check their spam settings and folder for the missing mail. (that is where about 90% of missing mail is usually found)
When you check your sent folder on gmail, the mail will be there saying it was sent. That leaves Thunderbird out of the sending equation as Google say they sent it. There is no evidence to indicate it was not sent. Only that the recipient can't find it. At this point we do not know if the email was delivered by their mail provider or they treated it as spam.
BTW if your ISP is suggesting incompatibility you might want to look for a better provider. All internet connections are covered by standards. Google is not all that compliant, but what they are telling you is about the same as if you ring them at say googles web site does not render in chrome and they suggest an incompatibility
BTW if your ISP is suggesting incompatibility you might want to look for a better provider. All internet connections are covered by standards. Google is not all that compliant, but what they are telling you is about the same as if you ring them at say googles web site does not render in chrome and they suggest an incompatibility </blockquote>
Hi Matt!
Thank you very much for your reply! Very interesting and easy to understand!
Re: the above quote -- please forgive me, I was unclear in my initial choice of words. It was a technician at my local PC repair shop that suggested incompatibility, not my Internet service provider (ISP). By ISP, do you mean broadband provider or email provider?
At this point I am inclined to agree with you, it could very well be a spam problem at the recipient end. Maybe my recipient, a busy person, did not check the spam folder thoroughly. I´ll try sending another test email and see what happens.
I also spoke to the recipient´s workplace IT service desk. They had no indications about email problems.
Further re: item 4/ in my initial post. The recipient receives emails sent directly from my Gmail outbox, and I received the answer in my Gmail inbox, but not emails via TB-through-Gmail. Is it common for spam filters to treat emails sent through TB as spam, regardless of which internet provider it is?
You did not comment on 5/ above, so as a TB layperson I´ll refrain from touching the Gmail SMTP settings (if indeed they are available to Gmail users).
Again, many thanks for your help!
Modified by stefan.andersson14
When you send the email, do you send the email in both plain text and html ? Suggest this is worth checking.
- Menu app icon > Options
- select 'Composition'
- Scroll to 'HTML Style' section
- click on 'Send Options'
When sending messages in html format.....
- from drop down select 'Send the mesage in both plain text and html'
- click on OK.
Then try sending the email.
Hi Toad-Hall!
Thank you very much for your reply!
To reply to your question -- I usually send emails only in plain text. But I really appreciate that you direct me to the option of sending emails in both plain text and html format. Seems very useful indeed!
An update to my original question -- on Jan. 22, I sent another test email, in plain text, to recipient. Email was sent without any error message. Today, I received a reply from the recipient, with no indication of problems at recipient´s end. I replied in turn and did not get any error message.
Another question -- are spam filters especially sensitive to emails sent via TB through Gmail or any other email provider?
Thank you very much in advance for any additional info!