I can send email, but I can't receive

The first thing you want to consider is whether your email is based on a registered domain name you own, or if your email address is on one of our shared domains (Personal Name Email service).
If your email is on a shared domain, you can skip to STEP 3

If your email is on a registered domain you own, check these two things first:

Is your domain name suspended pending ICANN verification?
Please see this guide on how to remove the suspension.

Is your domain name expired?
Please see this guide on how to renew your services.

If neither of those are the problem, you can continue to the next step.

There are a few different scenarios that you may have set up and this is where it can become confusing, but rest assured, checking your name servers and DNS settings is not such a daunting thing to do.

The important thing to remember here is that if you're using Hover's name severs, then your DNS records are being managed here and that is where they must be checked or modified. If you're using your own servers, or those belonging to your hosting provider (third party), that is where your DNS is being managed and the records in your Hover account will have no effect on your domain.

To see what name servers you are using, look to the Overview tab of that particular domain in your account.

Here are the three possible scenarios you might have set up:

Scenario 1:  Using Hover's name servers and Hover email
Scenario 2:  Using Hover's name servers and third party email (such as Google Apps)
Scenario 3:  Using your hosting(3rd party) servers and Hover email

Scenario 1
If you are using Hover for email, and the Hover servers, the mail exchange record (MX record) should be: Priority 10, Hostname: mx.hover.com.cust.hostedemail.com
You can check for this on the DNS tab for your domain. Check for typos.

If this is right, please move on to Step 3.

Scenario 2
If you are using Hover's name servers and a third party email service, such as Google Apps, or any another email provider, you may want to check with them first to make sure you are using the correct MX record(s). We have a guide about the Google Apps MX records, but if you're using another email provider, it's best to call them to obtain the correct MX records. Once you get those, cross check them with what you have set up in your Hover account.

If they are correct, please move on to Step 3.

Scenario 3
Your domain is not using Hover's name servers, but you are using Hover for email. In this case, your records are not managed by us so you will have to check the DNS at the place where you manage those name servers. The mail record for Hover that you should have updated on those servers is: Priority 10, Hostname: mx.hover.com.cust.hostedemail.com

If that's updated, please move on to Step 3.

In all of these scenarios, please note:

• Name server changes can take up to 48 hours to fully update and take effect.
• DNS changes on the Hover servers take 15 mins (as long as your servers have been ours for more than 48 hours)
• DNS changes on other servers may take longer. If you have edited records (as mentioned above), and your email is still not working, please contact the place where those name servers are managed and ask how long it may take.

If your DNS settings are correct, then email should be sending and receiving fine. If it's not, you should check the settings in your email software.

What is email software (A.K.A. email client)?

• Outlook
• Thunderbird
• Mail (Mac)
• Default email app on your phone or mobile device (iphone, android, tablets)
• Webmail: Hover webmail, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.

If you're using an email client, such as Outlook, Thunderbird, Mac Mail or a mobile device app, check your Email Server Settings.

Check these articles for how to set up hover mail on your email software.

If you are unsure of your password, test it by logging in to webmail.
If you previously saved your password in your browser, don't use the saved settings. Manually type in your password for this test.

If you can't login, then your password is probably wrong. You can chose a new password in your Hover account on the Email tab.

If you have checked all these settings, and they are all correct, please move on to Step 4.

This is where it gets a little bit more technical, so if you need us to help you out with any of this, please get in touch with support.

Here are a few things to check:

• Are you not receiving any mail at all, or just from some senders?
• Do those senders receive any bounce back emails when they try to send to you? If so, what does the bounce back message say? Most of the time, the reason for the inability to send to your email address will be stated in the bounce back email.
• Are there any common elements? What this means: lets say you are not receiving email from five of your contacts. Are they all using the same email provider? Are they all "comcast.net" email addresses, or based off another Internet Service Provider? This could be an indication that there is a particular mail service being blocked by a blacklist. We can check that for you.

If you've done all this, and are still unable to resolve the issue, send the details to us and we can help.

Here's some things you could send us:

1. Is domain expired or suspended? Yes or no.
2. What mail record (MX) do you see on your name servers?
3. If you're using email software, what are the email server settings? What version of the email client are you using?
4. Send us a screen shot of the error message you're getting, if any.
5. Are the senders getting bounce back emails? Do you have one you can send us?