View bounces, complaints, and unsubscribes
Bounces, complaint feedback, and unsubscribes all affect whether you can continue sending email, but they are three different types of events.
Distinguish between events
| Event | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bounce | The sending method receives a response indicating that the email was not delivered |
| Complaint | The mailbox provider returns complaint feedback, including a spam or abuse type when available |
| Unsubscribe | The recipient asks to stop receiving emails from the List |
| Failed | The sending attempt encountered an error; this does not mean that a bounce was received |
Unsubscribe does not delete the Subscriber record. Bounce and Complaint are not data-deletion actions either.
View bounces
Open the Campaign, then select Sending logs → Bounce log. The list displays the Subscriber, bounce type, reason, and time.
Mailix may display hard, soft, or another value returned by the sending method. Do not manually change the status or retry sending based only on the type name; the accompanying reason identifies the recorded response.
The overview card counts one bounce for each unique Subscriber. The bounce rate divides this number by Delivered. A bounce may arrive after sending, so the Delivered count does not automatically decrease.
Important: Some bounce responses cause an address to be blocked to protect future sends. Do not attempt to send around a blocked status.
View feedback and spam complaints
Select Sending logs → Feedback log. The log displays the Subscriber, feedback type, recorded feedback content, and time.
Spam- or abuse-type feedback is counted in the complaint report. When feedback is associated with a Subscriber, the address may be blocked from future sends.
Feedback is not a bounce: a bounce concerns message delivery, while feedback concerns a complaint after the message has been processed for sending.
View unsubscribes
Select Sending logs → Unsubscribe log. You can view the Subscriber, network address, and unsubscribe time.
Unsubscribing updates the Subscriber's status in the relevant List. The record and report history are retained; Mailix does not treat an unsubscribe as deleting the Subscriber.
Someone who has unsubscribed is not eligible for subsequent emails that require a Subscribed status, including sends from Automations that apply this sending rule.
Interpret the rates
The overview report uses:
- Bounce rate = Unique Subscribers with a bounce ÷ Delivered;
- Complaint rate = Unique Subscribers with feedback ÷ Delivered;
- Unsubscribe rate = Unique Subscribers who unsubscribed ÷ Delivered.
When there are no Delivered sends, these rates are 0.
Why might the figures appear late?
Bounces and feedback depend on events returned after sending. The logs may update before the overview cards. Check the update time on Overview and refresh the aggregate section when needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bounce the same as a failed send?
No. A failed send is an error during the attempt; a bounce is a recorded message-delivery response.
Does unsubscribing delete the Subscriber?
No. The record remains, but its subscription status changes.
Does Delivered decrease when a bounce occurs?
No. In this report, bounces are tracked separately and do not reduce the recorded Delivered count.
Next steps
View and download Sending Logs