Fix Smartlead delivery when it is paused

Smartlead delivery pauses when Smartlead answers with something another attempt cannot fix. The reason shows at the top of the Smartlead page under Integrations in the sidebar (/integrations/smartlead), in a Needs attention card, beside the button that fixes it. A key problem reads “Delivery to Smartlead is paused”; a campaign problem is named after the configuration, as in “Founders Q4 is paused”, and that configuration’s row reads Paused.

A Smartlead pause never stops Instantly. The two email tools are separate connections on one workspace, and each pauses on its own.

The four pause reasons

A rejected key means Smartlead refused the stored key. Smartlead keys have no scopes, so the usual cause is a key that was regenerated or deleted in Smartlead after you saved it.

A missing target means the campaign the configuration sends to was deleted in Smartlead. Your other configurations keep sending.

Exhausted retries means timeouts, Smartlead outages, or rate limits lasted through the first attempt plus seven more, from 30 seconds out to about 6.3 days. Check Smartlead’s status before you resume.

A campaign that is not running pauses its configuration only when it is Stopped or Completed. Smartlead would take the lead there but never email it, so Embers checks the status before each push and refuses it, and Needs attention warns Campaign is Stopped. Smartlead does not send to new leads in it, so delivery pauses. Choose a running campaign. A Paused or Draft campaign never pauses anything: it holds the leads, and Needs attention warns Campaign is not running (Paused). Smartlead holds the leads until you start it. with the current status in the brackets and Open Smartlead.

Fix and resume

1. Fix the cause

   For a missing target, choose Edit on the configuration and pick a campaign that exists. For a Stopped or Completed campaign, pick a running one, or restart it in Smartlead. For a rejected key, copy the current key in Smartlead under Settings, then API key. Choose Replace API key on the Connection card, paste the key, and choose Save new key. Your configurations and delivery history stay, and the connection resumes.

2. Check the campaign

   From the configuration’s … menu, choose Check readiness. It checks the key and the campaign’s status and never pushes a test lead, because Smartlead has no lists to hold one safely.

3. Choose Resume

   Beside the item in Needs attention, or from the configuration’s … menu. Leads that were waiting are sent.

4. Retry what failed

   The Activity card lists 30 days of pushes, each problem with its reason; Failed and Held back narrow it. Choose Retry on a failed or blocked row. A lead Embers already pushed to that campaign is held back as already pushed, and one Smartlead already holds there counts as delivered, so a retry never adds anyone twice.

Held back, not failed

Some leads never reach Smartlead and nothing is wrong. They read Held back on the Activity card, with the reason on the row. They are never retried on their own and never pause delivery.

The email reasons stand even when you choose Send anyway, because Smartlead cannot take a lead without an address.

Troubleshooting

• The key pause returns right after replacing the key. The key was regenerated again in Smartlead after you saved it. Copy the current one and replace it again.
• Nothing arrives and nothing is paused. Read the Held back rows on the Activity card. Most are delivery rules, Smartlead’s lists, or the email reasons above.
• One lead failed and the rest kept flowing. Smartlead refused that lead alone, for example a malformed address. A single refusal never pauses delivery.
• Resume is missing. Nothing is paused at that level, or you are not an account administrator.

Send the pause reason and the time to viraj@useembers.com if it does not clear.

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