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Why did my campaign pause or stop sending? (all reasons in one place)

A campaign that is not sending is either paused (status shows paused, nothing goes out until you resume) or waiting (status is active but a limit, schedule or mailbox is blocking sends). Work throu…

Draft — written from product facts + domain knowledge; UI labels to be verified before publishing.

A campaign that is not sending is either paused (status shows paused, nothing goes out until you resume) or waiting (status is active but a limit, schedule or mailbox is blocking sends). Work through the checks below in order; the first five cover almost every case.

Quick checklist

  1. Campaign status is Active, not Paused or Draft.
  2. Today is inside the sending schedule (day, hours, time zone, not a skipped holiday).
  3. Start date is today or earlier.
  4. The daily new-contacts limit has not been reached.
  5. Attached mailboxes are connected and under their daily limits.

Reasons the campaign is paused

**Cause****How to tell****Fix**
**You edited the campaign and did not resume**Status paused right after you opened **Edit Campaign**Open the campaign and click **Resume Campaign**
**Bounce protection triggered**Status paused; **Contacts** → **Bounced** shows a rise; bounce rate at or above the threshold set under **Show advanced configurations**Clean the list, verify remaining leads, then **Resume Campaign**
**Added leads without resuming**Paused after **Upload Contacts** in the campaignClick **Resume Campaign**
**Paused manually**A teammate paused itResume, and check with the team first

Reasons an active campaign is not sending

**Cause****How to tell****Fix**
**Outside the send window**Current time in the schedule's zone is outside the window, or today is unselected or a holidayWait, or edit the schedule under **Campaign Settings** → **Sending Schedules**
**Start date in the future****Settings** shows a later start dateChange or clear the date, **Save**, **Resume Campaign**
**Daily new contacts limit reached**New leads stay **Not contacted**; follow-ups still goRaise the limit or wait for the reset
**Mailbox daily limits reached**Sends stop at the same time each dayAdd mailboxes or raise limits gradually under **Mailbox**
**Mailbox disconnected**Mailbox shows an error on the **Mailbox** page (password changed, OAuth revoked, SMTP/IMAP disabled by the admin)Reconnect via **Mailbox** → **Connect Mailbox**
**No mailboxes attached**Sender accounts step is emptyAttach mailboxes and resume
**No leads left to contact**All leads are **Completed**, **Replied**, **Bounced** or **Unsubscribed**Add leads
**Sequence has no saved step**Sequence editor shows an unsaved or empty stepSave the sequence
**Lead-level time zones**Leads are in zones whose windows have not opened yetWait or review lead time zones

Reasons a mailbox specifically stopped

  • Provider blocked sending (Google or Microsoft "sending limit exceeded" or "suspicious activity"). Pause that mailbox for 24–48 hours and reduce its limit.
  • Domain authentication broke (SPF, DKIM or DMARC record changed). Check under Domain.
  • The mailbox was deleted or replaced in Icemail. Import the replacement under Mailbox → Connect Mailbox → Import from Icemail and attach it to the campaign.

Tips

  • After any edit to a live campaign, the last click must be Resume Campaign. Make it a habit.
  • Check the Mailbox page every morning; one disconnected mailbox in a pool of ten silently cuts capacity by 10%.
  • Set bounce protection at 3% so a pause caused by a bad list happens early, while it is cheap.

Related articles

  • Bounce protection: auto-pause a campaign at a bounce-rate threshold
  • Daily sending limits: mailbox limit vs campaign limit
  • Manage multiple sending schedules and apply one to a campaign
  • Schedule a campaign start date
  • Lead statuses explained

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More in Campaigns: Schedule & Options

Create a sending schedule (time zone, holidays, days, send windows)→Manage multiple sending schedules and apply one to a campaign→Set the daily new-contacts limit for a campaign→Choose a sending strategy: follow-ups first, balanced, or new leads first→Schedule a campaign start date→Auto-match ESP: send from a mailbox that matches the recipient's provider→Bounce protection: auto-pause a campaign at a bounce-rate threshold→Campaign time zone and lead-level time zones→Daily sending limits: mailbox limit vs campaign limit→Inbox rotation: how OutreachFox spreads sends across mailboxes→Open tracking and link tracking (and when to turn them off)→CC and BCC on campaign emails→