Troubleshooting email delivery issues

If users aren’t receiving email notifications (e.g., for absence requests, calendar invites, or activation links), this guide will help identify potential issues and provide solutions.

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Checking email history in absentify

absentify provides an Email history tab to help diagnose delivery issues. Steps to check email history:

1. Navigate to Settings > Users.
2. Select the user experiencing the issue and open their profile.
3. Select the Email history tab.

Here, you’ll see:

• Status: Delivered, Bounced, or Failed (and other delivery states such as Pending).
• Timestamp: When the email was sent.
• Delivery details: For example, why a message bounced or failed.

Address any issues based on the logged reason (e.g., update the email address or whitelist absentify’s domain).

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Common reasons for email delivery issues

If no issues are visible in the Email history or if emails are still not being received despite a Delivered status, consider the following possible reasons:

1. Outlook calendar synchronization is enabled
   Direct Outlook entries normally skip personal iCal invitations. A missing invitation can still arrive if that new entry could not be delivered.
2. Calendar invitation emails were not sent The invitation setting, request timing, delayed calendar sync, or gradual delivery may explain the missing mail.
3. User accounts are inactive
   Notifications are not sent to inactive accounts.
4. Email filters or spam rules are blocking absentify notifications
   Emails might be routed to spam or blocked by IT policies.

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Outlook calendar synchronization

When Outlook calendar synchronization is enabled, absences are normally added directly to users’ calendars, so personal iCal invitations are not also sent. If a new direct entry cannot be delivered, absentify can still send an iCal invitation once calendar sync catches up. How to check and adjust:

1. Navigate to Settings > Microsoft.
2. Disable the Outlook calendar synchronization toggle if you prefer email invitations (iCal events).

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Calendar invitation emails not sent

First confirm that the missing message is a calendar invitation rather than the invitation to join the absentify workspace. For an iCal calendar invitation:

1. Check whether the entry was added directly to Outlook. Direct Outlook entries normally do not also send personal iCal mail. If a newly intended direct entry cannot be delivered, absentify can send an iCal invitation instead once calendar sync catches up; see Outlook calendar synchronization.
2. Ask the user to check Your Preferences > Notification settings > Calendar invitations. Turning this on allows a new request, approval, or meaningful date, time, or status change to send the first invitation. Absentify does not send a first invitation for an absence that has already ended unless calendar delivery for that request was authorized while the absence was still current or future; repair-only sync passes do not mass-mail old absences. Turning it on does not by itself send first invitations for existing absences.
3. Check the leave type’s Calendar Synchronization timing. On approval - Entry is created after approval sends only after approval. Disabled - No calendar entry creates no new calendar entry.
4. Allow time for delivery. absentify sends no more than 10 calendar emails per minute to the same address, and delivery can be slower. Necessary updates and cancellations are processed before batches of new invitations.
5. Check Email history and the absence details for a calendar warning. Then check quarantine, message trace, and mail rules as described below.

Expect a late first invitation after calendar sync catches up when Calendar invitations is on, the leave type allows an entry, and calendar delivery for that request was authorized while the absence was still current or future. Repair-only sync passes do not mass-mail old absences. Changing profile details, language, leave-type names, event subjects, or a user’s email address does not by itself resend all existing calendar invitations. A delivered invitation can still receive a necessary date, status, privacy, representative, or cancellation update. If the missing message is the invitation to join the workspace, share https://app.absentify.com/login and ask the user to sign in and select Join existing team.

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Account not activated

To start receiving notifications, users must activate their account by signing in at least once with Login with your Microsoft account. What to check:

• Confirm whether the user has signed in at all
• Ensure they used Login with your Microsoft account, as notifications are not sent to magic link accounts
• If not activated, resend the invitation or share the login link

For step-by-step instructions, see our guide on activating users.

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Email filters or rules blocking absentify notifications

If emails still aren’t arriving, they may be blocked by company-wide email rules or spam filters.

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How to whitelist absentify emails in Microsoft 365

1. Add absentify to Safe Senders List:
   • Log in to the Microsoft 365 Defender Portal (https://security.microsoft.com).
   • Navigate to Policies & rules > Threat policies > Anti-spam policies.
   • Add notifications@mails.absentify.com to the Safe Senders List.
2. Set up mail flow rules in Exchange:
   • Log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
   • Navigate to Exchange > Mail flow > Rules.
   • Create a new rule with the following settings:
     • Name: Allow absentify emails.
     • Condition: Apply this rule if... > The sender > Domain is > mails.absentify.com.
     • Action: Do the following > Modify the message properties > Set spam confidence level (SCL) to -1.
     Save the rule to allow emails from absentify to bypass spam filters.

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Advanced troubleshooting options

1. Check quarantine settings:
   • Log in to the Microsoft 365 Defender Portal (https://security.microsoft.com).
   • Go to Review > Quarantine.
   • Search for emails from notifications@mails.absentify.com and release them if needed.
2. Enable detailed email tracking:
   • Navigate to the Exchange Admin Center.
   • Select Mail flow > Message trace.
   • Search for the user or email domain to identify any delivery issues.
3. Review Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) policies:
   • If ATP is enabled, add mails.absentify.com as a trusted domain in your anti-phishing and Safe Links policies.
4. Domain configuration:
   • Ensure your organization’s email security policies support the domain mails.absentify.com.

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Need assistance?

If you’re still experiencing issues, contact our support team. We’re here to help resolve any email delivery problems.