ENGAGE Support

The 'Deferred' status in ENGAGE appears when the system attempts to deliver an email communication, but the recipient's email domain (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) temporarily delays the message instead of accepting it immediately.

Deferred messages are not rejected or marked as spam — they are simply delayed for technical reasons on the receiving end.

Why Emails Are Deferred

Common causes include:

• The recipient's email service is temporarily overloaded or experiencing a delay.
• The domain’s mail server is performing temporary throttling due to high inbound volume.
• The recipient’s email provider is validating the sender before full acceptance.

ENGAGE Delivery Process

When an email is deferred:

1. Initial Attempt: ENGAGE sends the message to the recipient’s email domain.
2. Temporary Delay: The receiving domain delays acceptance.

3. Re-Queue Process: ENGAGE automatically re-queues the message for redelivery.

   Retries: The system attempts redelivery up to three times within 72 hours.

   Final Outcome:

   • ✅ If delivery succeeds on retry — status changes to Delivered.
   • ❌ If all retries fail — the address is marked as Invalid in the Recipients List.

Key Points to Remember

• 'Deferred' does not mean failed — it indicates a temporary delay.
• Most deferred emails are successfully delivered on a subsequent attempt.
• No manual intervention is required unless the address repeatedly fails or is later marked as Invalid.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you see several deferred emails:

• Verify that recipient domains (e.g., gmail.com, yahoo.com) are functioning normally.
• Ensure your sender domain and email authentication (SPF/DKIM) are properly configured.
• If specific addresses consistently defer or fail, consider contacting those recipients to confirm their email server is not blocking or throttling external mail.

Example Scenario

A member’s email address appears as Deferred in the recipient list. ENGAGE attempted delivery, but the recipient’s domain temporarily delayed the message. ENGAGE will retry up to three times within 72 hours. If all attempts fail, the address will automatically be marked as Invalid.

Summary Table

Note: Deferred messages are part of normal email delivery behavior and often resolve automatically without user action.