If you use Shentel (or other Mail2World) email, you might notice that you can’t get an email to go through to someone’s Gmail address. Or maybe a Gmail user is telling you that they can’t send email to you at your Shentel.net address. I’ve seen Mail2World ↔ Gmail Problems off and on for many years now. Here are Too Many Words™ about why that is:
Email Authentication
As email flies around the globe, it runs through many checks and authentication. Mail servers scan email for legitimacy, spam content and other safety concerns. These authorization methods are a bit above my paygrade to discuss in detail, but the main ones are called SPF, DKIM and DMARC. You can look them up and read about them, if that’s your cup of tea.
Google takes security seriously. They are very strict with their email authentication, and they frequently improve their server security. Due to Google’s size, when they raise the bar for email authentication, it affects the entire world. Other providers take notice and follow suit whenever Google makes a change to their email protocols. If email providers don’t update their email security to match Google, some legitimate email may be marked as spam. Other email may simply not get through.
The Email Block
And here we get to a problem I frequently see with Shentel email and other Mail2World-offered email addresses. It goes both ways:
- Gmail user sends a message to a Shentel address, and receives an Undeliverable message in response.
- Shentel mail user sends a message to a Gmail address, and receives an Failed_Precondition message in response.
You can always try sending your email in a different way. Log into a different browser or a different email app. Try using the webmail site, if you haven’t already. Go to a different computer or device. If the problem persists across multiple pieces of technology, then the problem is not yours and it’s out of your hands.
What to Do About It
If you’ve got Mail2World ↔ Gmail Problems, it is Mail2World’s fault. M2W needs to update & fix their email security. For anyone impacted by this, please consider these options:
- Call Shentel tech support at 1-800-SHENTEL and report the details of your email error messages.
- Email Mail2World tech support at support@mail2world.com
- Consider creating/switching to another email address
I really do need you to consider that last one, if you suffer from this problem. Shentel can only report your trouble to Mail2World. Mail2World may or may not respond to your direct queries. They do respond to emails… sometimes. They have fixed this kind of problem before… but it took weeks or even months. Please know that Gmail/Outlook/AOL/Yahoo/ProtonMail/Apple email addresses typically do NOT have this problem! There are more reliable email products out there for you!
Thank you! I may not have Mail2World but this is helpful anyway to know that your provider may be the problem. Your diligence and incredible knowledge is really appreciated.