> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dealtoaster.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Replies, bounces and unsubscribes

> What happens when a contact replies, an email bounces or someone unsubscribes, how notifications work, and why a step did not send.

DealToaster watches your mailbox for what happens after an email goes out and updates the contact and the sequence. This page explains each outcome, what it stops, how you are told, and how to find out why a step did not send. For the numbers over time, see [Reports](https://docs.dealtoaster.io/guides/reports.md).

## Replies

When a contact replies, DealToaster marks the contact **Replied** in that sequence and cancels the emails still scheduled for them, as long as **Stop when the contact replies** is on (it is on by default) and the mailbox can detect replies. You are notified, and you answer from your own mailbox: DealToaster is not an inbox.

* With **Stop when the contact replies** off, nothing stops, but the reply is recorded and you are notified.
* An automatic reply, such as an out-of-office message, only adds an entry to the timeline: "Auto-reply". Other messages show as "Other message".
* A reply to a sequence that already finished, within 30 days of the last email, also marks it **Replied**.
* A short reply that asks to be taken off your list is treated as an unsubscribe instead; see Unsubscribes below.
* A reply stops only the sequence it answers. If the contact is in another sequence, that sequence keeps going and shows **Replied in** followed by the sequence name, with **Stop for this contact** to stop it yourself.

The contact's timeline shows each received message with a label (**Human reply**, **Auto-reply**, **Hard bounce**, **Soft bounce**, **Unsubscribe request** or **Other**; **Unsubscribe request** marks a short reply that asked to be unsubscribed), its subject and the start of the text. For Gmail and Outlook mailboxes, a link opens the message in your inbox. Contacts who replied have a **Replied** badge and appear on the **Replied** tab of **Contacts**.

## Bounces

* A hard bounce means the address does not work. The contact becomes **Bounced**, every sequence they are in ends for them, and they are never emailed again unless you reactivate them.
* A soft bounce, such as a full mailbox or a temporary problem, only adds a "Soft bounce" entry to the timeline. The third soft-bounced email within 14 days counts as a hard bounce.
* If a receiving server refuses a mailbox's mail for a policy or reputation reason, the contact is not marked as bounced. You get a notification that mail from the mailbox is being blocked.
* If many of a mailbox's recent emails bounce, you get a "High bounce rate" notification. Check the contacts of your sequences and do not keep mailing addresses that bounce, because it hurts the mailbox's reputation.

## Unsubscribes

Every email carries an unsubscribe link, and mail apps that show an unsubscribe button use it too. A recipient can unsubscribe in four ways, and the timeline tells which:

* "Through the unsubscribe link": the recipient opens the link, sees their masked address and your mailbox's display name, and selects **Unsubscribe**. Opening the link alone changes nothing. They then see "You are unsubscribed".
* "Through the mail client's unsubscribe button".
* "By email", in two ways. A mail app can send an email with a subject starting with `unsubscribe-` to your mailbox when DealToaster reads that mailbox; it appears in your inbox and you do not need to answer it. Or the contact can write a short reply that asks to be removed, with a phrase such as "unsubscribe", "remove me", "take me off", "opt out", "stop emailing" or "do not contact" (not negated, as in "no need to unsubscribe me", and not alongside words that show interest). DealToaster unsubscribes the contact from every sequence whatever the **Stop when the contact replies** setting, does not treat it as an ordinary reply, and sends no reply notification.

The contact becomes **Unsubscribed** and every open sequence of theirs ends. You can also unsubscribe a contact yourself ("Marked by you"); see [Add and manage contacts](https://docs.dealtoaster.io/guides/contacts.md).

## What each outcome stops

| Outcome | What stops |
| - | - |
| A reply | The sequence it answers, for that contact, if **Stop when the contact replies** is on. |
| A hard bounce | Every sequence the contact is in. The contact becomes **Bounced**. |
| An unsubscribe, including a short reply that asks to be removed | Every sequence the contact is in, whatever the **Stop when the contact replies** setting. The contact becomes **Unsubscribed**. |
| Marking a contact **Do not contact** | Every sequence the contact is in (they show as **Stopped**), and the contact cannot be added to a new one. |
| **Stop for this contact** | That contact in that sequence. |
| Pausing a sequence | All its sending until you resume. |
| Archiving a sequence | All its sending, for good. |

## Notifications

The bell in the app shows what needs you. It checks regularly while the page is open, and **Mark all read** clears it. Something raises a notification when:

* a mailbox needs reconnecting, for example "Reconnect" followed by the address, or "Enter a new app password for" the address (also sent by email);
* a mailbox reached its sending quota, or its replies cannot be read for over an hour;
* contacts need attention in a sequence;
* a contact replied: two or more unread replies are grouped as one entry, "N new replies", that you can expand;
* a mailbox has a high bounce rate or is being blocked (at most one a day for each);
* your data export is ready (also sent by email); it opens **Settings**, then **Data**.

Select a notification to open the sequence, contact or mailbox it is about.

## Why a step did not send

Open the sequence's contacts table, or a contact's timeline, to see the status and the events of each contact.

### Statuses

| Status | Meaning |
| - | - |
| **Active** | The contact is going through the sequence. |
| **Paused** | The sequence is paused. A single contact cannot be paused. |
| **Needs attention** | DealToaster could not send and needs you. See the reasons below. It never expires on its own. |
| **Replied** | The contact replied. |
| **Finished** | The contact received every step. |
| **Bounced** | An email to the contact bounced. |
| **Unsubscribed** | The contact unsubscribed. |
| **Stopped** | You stopped the contact, marked it **Do not contact**, or the sequence was archived. |
| **Failed** | An internal error while sending. It is the only cause of this status. |

### Reasons shown on the timeline

| What you see | What it means and what to do |
| - | - |
| Missing, followed by the variables, for example "Missing first\_name, company" | A variable has no value and no fallback. Fill in the contact, or add a fallback, then **Resume**. |
| Send failed | The provider refused the email. **Resume** tries again. |
| Send outcome unknown: check the mailbox's Sent folder | The provider did not answer in time. Look in the mailbox's Sent folder, then **Resume** or **Skip this step and resume**. |
| The step's template has an error | Fix the step on the **Steps** tab. |
| The condition's rule cannot be checked | Fix the condition's rule on the **Steps** tab. |
| No time left to send within the window and limits | The sending window and limits leave no slot. Widen the window or raise the limits. |
| Mailbox needs reconnecting (shown as a "Failed" entry; the status does not change) | Reconnect the mailbox; scheduled emails then go out. |
| The recipient's server rejected the address | The address is not valid; the contact bounces. |
| Daily limit reached, Sequence daily cap reached | The send waits until the limit allows it. |
| Outside the sending window | The send waits for the window. |
| Provider quota reached, The provider asked to slow down, Retrying after a temporary error | The send is retried later. |
| Reply detection is failing | Follow-up emails wait until DealToaster can read the mailbox again; first emails still go out. |
| Sequence archived | The sequence is read-only and not sending. |
| Contact marked do not contact | The contact was marked **Do not contact**, which stopped them. |
| Internal error while sending | Something went wrong on our side. The contact shows **Failed**. |
| Rescheduled: step delay changed | You changed the delay of the step; the send moved. |
| A step was removed | You deleted a step the contact was waiting at; they move on to the next one. |
| Skipped by you, By you | You skipped a step, stopped the contact, or paused or resumed the sequence. |
| Step N condition, followed by the rule: went to Yes (or No) | The contact reached a condition and took that path. |

When you resume a contact and DealToaster cannot, the message says why, for example "A send is in progress for this contact. Try again in a few seconds.", "The next step misses contact data." or "Resume the sequence first."


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