This article explains how LiveAgent handles failed email sending attempts from the mail outbox — including how many retries are made, the timing between attempts, and what happens if all retries are exhausted.
Overview
When LiveAgent fails to send an email on the first attempt, it does not simply discard the message. Instead, it automatically retries sending the email multiple times over an extended period before marking it with a permanent error status.
Retry Schedule
The retry process works as follows:
- 1st attempt: LiveAgent tries to send the email for the first time.
- 2nd attempt: If the first attempt fails, LiveAgent retries after 30 minutes.
- 3rd attempt: If the second attempt also fails, LiveAgent retries again after another 30 minutes.
- Attempts 4–20: If sending continues to fail, LiveAgent makes up to 17 additional retry attempts, each spaced 4 hours apart.
Summary
- Total attempts: 20 (1 initial + 19 retries)
- First two retries: 30 minutes apart
- Subsequent retries: Every 4 hours (up to 17 more attempts)
- Total retry window: Approximately 3 days
Permanent Error Status
If the email still cannot be sent after all 20 attempts, LiveAgent assigns the email a permanent error status. At this point, no further automatic retries will be made. You should investigate the underlying cause of the delivery failure (e.g., incorrect SMTP settings, recipient server issues) and manually resend the email if needed.
Where to Check Failed Emails
You can monitor the status of outgoing emails in LiveAgent Tools > Mail Outbox. Emails that have failed will be visible there along with their current status.
Understanding Email Sending Retries and Failure Handling in LiveAgent Mail Outbox