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1.8. Troubleshooting Custom IMAP Mailboxes

This document provides troubleshooting guidance for HelpSpot Email Mailboxes connected to email accounts via IMAP/POP3 (on-prem Exchange, SendGrid, etc.). If you're experiencing trouble with mailflow or if you received an email error notification in HelpSpot, the tips below can help you identify and correct many common problems. 

Connectivity

To begin with, the Admin > Email Mailboxes page displays each mailbox's Last Successful Check timestamp. If this reflects the current time, it means connectivity to the email account is working. If the Last Successful Check reflects any timestamp more than 1-2 minutes old, it means that was the last time that HelpSpot was able to successfully connect to the email account. Stale Last Check times sometimes offer clues to the cause of such issues (new firewall rules applied at a known time, network changes affecting on-prem HelpSpot servers, etc.)

If you see stale Last Check times, the first recommendation for restoring connectivity is to verify all of the mail connection settings. To verify connectivity:

1. Navigate to Admin > Email Mailboxes.
2. Select the mailbox that has issues.
3. Click on the test mailbox button to test connectivity.
4. If an error is shown when testing connectivity follow the directions below. If no error is shown most likely the queue worker services are the issue.

If you have a connectivity error after testing the connection confirm the hostname, port numbers, and correct SSL/auth-type settings with your email/network administrator. For external/third-party email providers, search their documentation for IMAP/POP configuration information. If you have webmail access to the affected account, confirm you can log in using the username and password.

Queue Worker Services

• Troubleshooting HelpSpot Cloud Queue Worker Services
• Troubleshooting On-Premise Queue Worker Services

Other Issues

Lastly, if the services are running and you're still not getting incoming mail, you can temporarily bump up your logging output to include the details of each mail check action. Follow these directions to enable debug logging.

Contact Support

If none of the above tips resolves your email issue, reach out to HelpSpot Support for further troubleshooting assistance. You can include your helpspot.log file (or email-related stack trace excerpts from it if it's very large) when you submit your request.