Your business email stopped. Which cause it is, and what to do first
Email problems look alike from the desk and have very different causes: a lapsed domain, a full mailbox, a changed password, a rejected sender. This page tells you how to read the symptom, what you can safely check in ten minutes, what not to do while you panic, and what each fix costs, with prices published.
Three questions tell you most of what you need to know
Start with three questions. Is it one person or everyone? Is it sending, receiving, or both? And did you get a bounce message (a reply from a mail system, usually with a code like 5.1.1) or just silence? One person with a bounce is almost always an address, a mailbox or a licence. Everyone, both directions, and often the website too, is almost always the domain name or its settings.
Everything stopped at once, including the website. The likely cause is the domain: the registration lapsed, the renewal card failed, or the domain was bought by a web designer or an employee who is no longer reachable. Google's help says that if a domain expires you no longer own it, someone else can buy it, and the host or a new owner may reset the settings that route your mail (the MX records). ICANN's policy lets the registered owner renew an expired name and requires the registrar to restore the domain's settings once it is renewed. After a name is deleted, ordinary domains such as .com get a 30-day redemption grace period during which the domain does not resolve, and the registrar must show its renewal and redemption fees on its website. How long an expired name waits before deletion differs by registrar, so read your registrar's own page rather than trusting a number.
A bounce message. Read the code and the line next to it. Microsoft's list says 5.1.1 is a bad destination address: a typo, an address that does not exist, or one that used to be valid and was removed. 5.1.10 means the recipient could not be found, and Microsoft's fix list for it includes checking that the mailbox exists and has an active licence. 5.4.1 "Relay Access Denied" points to a mail server or DNS misconfiguration. 5.7.1 means the sender is not authorized or the sending system did not sign in. 5.7.509 means the sending domain failed DMARC and its policy says reject. A bounce for a message you never sent is called backscatter, and Microsoft says it is harmless in itself.
Mailbox full. Microsoft documents two states when a mailbox reaches its size limit: Prohibit Send, where the person cannot send new mail until enough is deleted, and Prohibit Send/Receive, where Exchange Online rejects incoming mail and the sender gets a bounce. The limit depends on the mailbox type and the licence. The safe move is to free space by archiving or exporting, not by deleting mail you cannot get back.
Your mail goes to spam, or other companies reject it. Codes starting 5.7 on mail you send, or recipients who say they never saw it, usually mean your domain's sender records do not match the systems that send as you. That is a standing configuration problem, covered on the email security page, and it is not an emergency repair. A different warning: Microsoft says a sending limit error (5.1.90 or 5.2.2) "could indicate the account was compromised", and 5.7.501 to 5.7.503 mean the account was banned after spam activity. Treat those as a security event, not a mail glitch.
Outlook keeps asking for a password. First find out whether the mailbox works in a web browser. If it does, the mailbox, the domain and the licence are fine and the problem is on that computer's Outlook profile or stored sign-in. Microsoft publishes a self-diagnostic for this symptom, and the cause can be as ordinary as a password changed on another device. If the web sign-in fails as well, the account itself is the issue: a changed password, an expired licence, or a suspended account. Google says a suspended account makes messages bounce, and that a domain host can disable an account for an expired registration or a payment problem.
Everyone at once means the domain or its settings. One person means their mailbox, licence or computer. A bounce code is a plain-language answer if you read the words next to it.
Mail that lands in spam, or fails DMARC, is a standing configuration problem rather than an emergency, and has its own page: the email security page
Safe checks you can do in ten minutes, and what never to do
These steps only read information. None of them changes a setting, and none needs an administrator account.
Read the whole bounce message
Open it and copy the lines with the code (like 5.1.1 or 5.7.1) and the words after it, plus the address it names. Send a screenshot with the time. The wording of a bounce is the most useful clue you have, and it takes one minute.
Test the mailbox in a web browser
Sign in to webmail (Outlook on the web or Gmail). If webmail works and desktop Outlook does not, the mailbox and the domain are fine and the problem is on that computer. If webmail fails too, the account or the domain is the issue.
One person, or everyone?
Ask a colleague on another computer and phone to try. Everyone failing in both directions, with the website down too, points at the domain. One person failing points at their mailbox, licence or device. Write down who and when.
Look for a renewal or a payment notice
Search your email for the registrar, hosting and Microsoft or Google billing messages from the last three months. Find the company where the domain was bought and the expiry date, in the renewal email or in a public registration lookup. Do not buy anything yet.
Note what changed, then stop
Write down any password change, new person, removed person or new device in the last week. Then stop and gather: the bounce, the registrar name, who bought the domain and who holds the logins. Do not buy a new domain, do not reset every password at once without a plan (it signs everyone out of everything and hides which account was misused), and do not let a caller who says they are "support" take over your screen, whatever they say is wrong. Do not delete mail to make space, and do not re-enable old sign-in methods.
What we do, in the order that protects your mail
We stabilise first, repair second, and write down who holds each login so it cannot happen the same way again.
Get control of the domain and the account
If the domain lapsed, or the registrar login or the Microsoft or Google administrator login is held by someone else, nothing else can be fixed until it is yours. Recovering a registrar login is $195 per registrar, a domain in its recovery period is $95 plus the registry's fee at cost, and recovering a locked-out administrator account is $395, of which $150 is kept if the provider refuses.
Make mail flow again, then make it hold
We read the bounce, check the domain's mail settings and the mailbox licences, and repair what is broken. When the cause is that other servers reject or spam your mail, the fix is $295 per domain, and full protection against anyone sending as you is $695.
Move to a service that you control
Where the old mail host is the problem, we move the mailboxes: $395 for the project plus $110 per mailbox, or a Microsoft 365 setup from $795 for up to 5 people. The licences are bought from Microsoft; we configure and test them (labour only).
The rate card, including what turns up after the job starts
A quote names its assumptions and the row below that applies if one proves false. Nothing extra is done without your written yes. Renewal fees, registry recovery fees and licences are paid by you to the registrar, the registry or the provider; we diagnose, repair, configure and test (labour only).
| Email lands in spam, or other people's servers reject your mail (per domain)One domain, every system that sends mail as it listed, the sender records rewritten so each one passes, and a written list of senders. The standing fix is on the email security page. | $295 |
|---|---|
| Full protection so nobody can send as you (per domain)Monitoring is included for 3 months, then $35 a month. | $695 |
| Nobody can sign in where the domain name is registeredPer registrar (the company the domain was bought from). Recovering the login comes first. | $195 |
| Domain registered in a developer's or former employee's namePlus your cooperation with the registrar's own transfer or dispute process. | $195 |
| Domain expired and is in its recovery periodPlus the registry's recovery fee at cost, which you pay to the registrar. | $95 |
| Domain cleanup, up to 3 domainsEach extra domain $85. | $345 |
| Owner locked out of the Microsoft or Google administrator accountA support case with Microsoft or Google, proof you own the domain, and securing the account once you are back in. $150 is kept if Microsoft or Google refuses, because that decision is theirs. | $395 |
| No access to the registrar eitherPer registrar, added to the recovery above. | $195 |
| Moving mail to a new service (project fee)Plus $110 per mailbox. All mail, folders, contacts and calendars, with Outlook and phones reconnected. | $395 |
| Microsoft 365 set up for up to 5 people$49 for each person beyond that. Licences are bought from Microsoft. | $795 |
| Other diagnosis and repair (mail flow, connectors, clients)Remote. $155 an hour when the work is engineering. The work is quoted in writing before it starts. | $125 an hour |
| A person needs to be at the computerVisits in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples only. In Cape Coral and Fort Myers the minimum is 1 hour and there is no travel charge. Visits in Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples have a 2-hour minimum, which covers the drive. Time past the minimum is billed in 30-minute steps. Everywhere else the fix is remote. | $150 an hour |
The remote hourly rate is $125 an hour, the desk-side rate is $150 an hour and engineering is $155 an hour. No response time is promised on this page. Nothing here is sold against a date.
Why Appluex for a stopped-email emergency
Fixed prices, published, in English and Spanish
Email out of spam is $295 per domain, domain recovery is $195 per registrar when the login is lost, and a locked-out administrator is $395. Every other row has its price on this page, and the rest is the hourly rate quoted in writing before it starts.
We tell you which problem is whose
The domain belongs to whoever is on the registration; the mailboxes belong to your Microsoft or Google account; the website may belong to a hosting company. We say which is which, and who has to act, before we touch anything.
We end with the logins in the owner's name
The job is finished when the registrar account, the administrator login and the recovery details belong to the business, a second login exists, and the list is written down for you.
Documents you can hand to the next technician
The job ends with written evidence, not a verbal all-clear.
For the domain
- Registrar name, registered owner and expiry date, in the business's name
- Renewal settings checked and a reminder set
- Written list of who holds the registrar login and the recovery email
For the mail
- The bounce or symptom, the cause found and what was changed
- Mailbox and licence status for each person
- Sender list and test messages inside and outside the company, where sender records were repaired
Business email not working. Questions offices ask
Our email stopped for everyone at once. What is the most likely cause?
The domain name or its settings. When every person fails in both directions, and the website is often down too, the likely causes are a lapsed domain registration, a failed renewal payment, or changed mail settings (MX records). Google's help says an expired domain can be bought by someone else and the settings reset. Look for renewal and payment notices from your registrar, find who holds the login, and do not buy a new domain.
We got a bounce message. How do I read it?
Find the code, like 5.1.1, and the words next to it. Microsoft's list says 5.1.1 is a bad destination address, 5.1.10 means the recipient could not be found, 5.4.1 points to mail server or DNS settings, 5.7.1 means the sender is not authorized or did not sign in, and 5.7.509 means the sending domain failed DMARC with a policy of reject. The fix depends on whose side the code is about, so send us the full text.
Webmail works, but Outlook keeps asking for the password. Is the email broken?
No. If you can sign in to webmail, the mailbox, the licence and the domain are working, and the fault is in that computer's Outlook profile or stored sign-in. Microsoft publishes a self-diagnostic for the repeated-prompt symptom. Do not reset every password to fix one computer. If webmail also fails, the account is the problem: a changed password, an expired licence or a suspended account.
One mailbox is full. Will it lose mail?
Microsoft describes two states. In Prohibit Send the person cannot send new mail until enough is deleted. In Prohibit Send/Receive Exchange Online rejects incoming mail and the sender gets a bounce that says so. The sender can try again later. Free space by archiving or exporting rather than deleting mail you may need, and tell us before you delete anything large.
Our domain expired and the web designer held it. What now?
First find the registrar and the registered owner from the renewal email or a public lookup. ICANN's policy lets the registered owner renew after expiry, and after deletion ordinary domains such as .com get a 30-day redemption period during which the domain does not resolve. If you cannot sign in to the registrar it is $195 per registrar, a domain registered in someone else's name is $195, and a domain in its recovery period is $95 plus the registry's fee at cost. We cannot guarantee a registrar will release a name, because that decision is theirs.
A caller says they are from support and asks to connect to our computer. Should we let them?
No. A caller who says your email is broken and asks to control your screen is not someone you invited. Hang up and use a phone number from the provider's own site or your last invoice. If someone already connected, turn off the network connection and call us before changing any password, so the evidence stays intact.
Should we reset everyone's password at once?
Not without a plan. A reset signs people out of phones and computers all at once and does not tell you which account was misused. Reset the one account you believe was affected, and let us check the sign-in history first if you suspect a break-in. If an account is sending spam, Microsoft's bounce codes treat it as a possible compromise, so that account is the priority.
How much does it cost, and do you come to the office?
The published fixed prices are on this page, from $295 per domain for mail that lands in spam. Anything not listed is $125 an hour remote, or $155 an hour when it is engineering, quoted in writing before it starts. A person at the computer is $150 an hour. Visits are in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples only. In Cape Coral and Fort Myers the minimum is 1 hour and there is no travel charge. Visits in Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples have a 2-hour minimum, which covers the drive. Time past the minimum is billed in 30-minute steps. Everywhere else the fix is remote.
Do you promise how quickly you can fix it?
No. We do not promise a response time on this page, because the real delay is often outside our hands: a registrar that must verify identity, Microsoft or Google reviewing an account recovery, or DNS changes that Microsoft says can take up to 72 hours to spread. What we do promise is a written quote before work starts and a plain account of what is waiting on whom.
Other ways we can help
Something isn't working?
Email stopped, a computer will not start, the internet is down at the office: call and tell us what is happening, in English or Spanish. You will know the price before any work starts.
In person in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples. Remote support anywhere.