When one alias stops forwarding while the others keep working, the problem is almost always on that alias itself: it was deactivated, its destination was removed or lost its verification, or its custom domain's DNS broke. Go through the checks below in order; the first two fix most cases.
If nothing is arriving on any alias, or a brand-new alias has never forwarded at all, you want Emails Not Arriving. If one specific alias stopped while the others work, you are in the right place.
You will need access to the AliasFleet dashboard. It helps to know which alias went quiet and roughly when its last email came through.
How do I tell which cause is mine?#
Match the symptom to the likely cause, then jump to the matching section:
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| The alias shows as off, greyed out, or "inactive" | Alias deactivated |
| Other aliases forwarding to the same inbox address also stopped | Destination removed or unverified |
| Only aliases on one custom domain stopped | DNS problem on that domain |
| The email arrived, but in spam or junk | Destination mailbox filtering |
| One or two emails are late, the rest arrived | Normal delivery delay |
Is the alias deactivated?#
A deactivated alias takes no mail at all. This is the most common reason a single alias goes silent, and the quickest to fix. It usually happens by accident: an errant click on the toggle while managing aliases, or an alias paused during a spam burst that never got switched back on.
- Open Aliases in the dashboard sidebar and find the alias in the list.
- Check the status toggle. If it is off (grey), the alias is deactivated and every email sent to it is being rejected.
- Toggle it back on. Forwarding picks up again at once; there is nothing else to re-verify.
- Send a test email to the alias from a different account and confirm it arrives.
If the alias is already active, move on to the next check.
Was the destination removed or did it lose verification?#
Every alias forwards into a destination inbox. If that destination was deleted, or its verification lapsed (say, after changing settings with your mailbox provider), the alias has nowhere to send mail. A telltale sign: other aliases pointing at the same destination stopped too.
- Open the alias in the dashboard and note which destination it forwards to.
- Open Destinations in the sidebar and find that inbox. Check two things: is it still there, and does it show as verified?
- If the destination was deleted: edit the alias and point it at a different verified destination. See Verifying a destination if you need to add or re-verify one.
- If the destination shows as unverified: run through verification again, then test the alias.
Forwarding picks up again as soon as the alias points at a valid, verified destination.
Is the custom domain's DNS broken?#
If the quiet alias sits on a custom domain (not an AliasFleet shared domain) and every alias on that domain stopped together, the domain's DNS records are the prime suspect. Without working MX records, incoming mail never reaches AliasFleet at all.
- Open Domains in the dashboard and check the domain's health status.
- Look for MX or DNS warnings. A missing or mispointed MX record stops all mail to that domain.
- Fix the records at your DNS provider. See Domain status and health for what each status means and which records to check.
- Wait for propagation after fixing. DNS changes typically take effect within a few hours, sometimes sooner.
If the alias uses an AliasFleet shared domain rather than a custom one, DNS is managed for you and this cause does not apply.
Did the email forward but land in spam?#
Sometimes forwarding never broke: the message arrived, but the destination mailbox dumped it in spam or junk. Rule this out before assuming a technical fault, especially with aliases used for newsletters or shopping, where senders trip spam filters more often.
- Check the spam or junk folder of the destination inbox, including any tabs or categories your provider sorts mail into (Gmail's Promotions tab swallows more mail than people expect).
- Confirm with Analytics. Go to Analytics > Alias Performance and look at the alias. If it shows activity around the time you expected the email, forwarding worked and the mailbox filtered it.
- Mark the message "Not spam" in your destination inbox. Most providers learn from this and let future mail from that sender through.
To understand what forwarding does (and does not) change about a message, see Email Forwarding vs Aliases. For provider-specific help, see How to Stop Spam Emails in Gmail.
Is it just a delay?#
Forwarding normally takes seconds, but a lag of a few minutes can happen under load or when a sending server retries. If only one or two expected emails are late while everything else comes through, give it time before changing anything: short delays are normal and do not mean the alias is broken. A delay stretching past an hour is not normal and points back to one of the causes above.
How do I confirm forwarding works again?#
Send a test email to the alias from a different email account (not the destination inbox itself) and watch for it:
- Check the destination inbox within a few minutes.
- Check Analytics > Alias Performance for the alias. A new entry confirms AliasFleet received and forwarded the message.
- If the message is missing from the inbox but shows in Analytics, the fault sits at the destination mailbox (spam filtering or a full inbox), not the alias.
Still not forwarding?#
If the alias is active, the destination is verified, DNS is healthy, and nothing shows in Analytics:
- Confirm the problem really is limited to this alias. If nothing is arriving anywhere, switch to Emails Not Arriving.
- If you can receive but not reply through the alias, that is a different fault: see Replies Not Working.
- Otherwise, contact support with the alias address, the destination it forwards to, and roughly when the last email arrived. That detail makes the fault much faster to trace.