Mail working between Workspace colleagues does not prove that the public internet can deliver to the domain or that external recipients accept outgoing messages. Identify the failing direction before changing DNS or routing.
Separate inbound and outbound tests
Use harmless messages to test external sender to Workspace user and Workspace user to external recipient. Record the sender, recipient, time and time zone, message identifier, and any SMTP rejection.
Also check whether the fault affects every user, one address, one external domain, or a particular application. Internal mail can follow a different route from messages entering through public MX records or leaving through an outbound gateway.
Trace the appropriate path
For inbound failures, verify the publicly published MX records, recipient assignment, Gmail activation, and any inbound gateway. For outbound failures, inspect the rejection and the sending route, authentication, applicable limits, and any outbound gateway.
An authorized administrator can use Email Log Search to determine which events Google recorded. Interpret the tool’s search limits carefully. A missing result from an incorrect query is not proof that a remote server never attempted delivery.
Change only the demonstrated cause
Review routing rule scope, inherited settings, address lists, and internal versus external message types. Save the current configuration before a narrow correction and test both directions afterward.
Do not remove all MX records, bypass spam filtering, or enable an unrestricted relay to see whether mail starts flowing. Those changes can create a larger outage or an abuse route. If a remote domain rejects mail, preserve its exact response and work with its administrator through approved channels. Confirm that any delayed test was delivered only once before resending real business mail. A successful internal test remains useful, but it verifies only that internal path.
Browse Gmail & Google Account help
References
- Set up MX records for Google Workspace | Domain management | Google Workspace Help
- Add Gmail routing settings | Google Workspace Help
- Find messages with Email Log Search | Support & troubleshooting | Google Workspace Help
- About SMTP error messages | Support & troubleshooting | Google Workspace Help
Reviewed against the linked product guidance, standards, and identified vendor or public-authority guidance on October 29, 2026. Available options and screen labels can vary by account, device, region, and organization policy.