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Troubleshoot email bounce-backs when sending to an Ontra inbox

Updated

If you receive a bounce-back message when emailing an Ontra inbox, your Google account may be marked as disabled. This can happen after an organization switches email providers (e.g., from Google Workspace to Outlook or vice versa) and old accounts are not removed. Because Ontra inboxes are Google Groups–based, disabled Google accounts will trigger a bounce. This article explains why this happens and what steps you can take to resolve it.

Why this happens

When an organization transitions between email providers, leftover accounts may remain in the old system. Google retains these accounts and marks them as disabled. Disabled accounts cannot send emails to Google Groups–based inboxes, like Ontra's, and will receive a bounce-back message instead.

This is not an issue on Ontra's end. Ontra is unable to resolve disabled Google accounts on your behalf. You will need to contact Google Support or use one of the workaround options below. 

How to Resolve

Resolve the issue with Google Support

To restore or remove your disabled Google account, submit a request directly with Google Support:

  1. Sign in to your Google account in a browser
  2. Choose one of the following options based on your preference: 
    1. To keep the Google account:
      1. Select Start Appeal to begin the account restoration process
    2. To delete the Google account:
      1. Navigate to the Data & Privacy section of your Google account
      2. Scroll to Your Data & Privacy Options
      3. Select More Options
      4. Select Delete your Google account

Other options

  • Use a different email address to send the email.
  • Send the email directly to the intended recipient.
This behavior is caused by how Google Groups validates sender accounts, rather than by Ontra. Because the disabled Google account exists outside of Ontra’s environment, there is no setting or configuration within Ontra that can prevent or resolve the issue. If you encounter this issue, it will need to be addressed through Google.
If your organization anticipates additional users migrating between Google Workspace and another email provider, we recommend working with your IT team and Google to ensure that any legacy Google accounts associated with those email addresses are either restored or fully removed as part of the migration process.

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