How to fix email tracking not working
Email tracking can fail to fire for many reasons in 2026. Some are structural (recipient's pixel-blocker, scanner pre-fetch contaminating the signal); others are fixable (OAuth expiration, sender-side toggles off, recipient image-loading disabled). This guide walks through the diagnostic order.
Before you start
- Email tracking tool installed
Step-by-step
- 1
Verify tracking is enabled on the send
In your tracker's sidebar, check that the tracking toggle was on when you sent the message. Some trackers default toggling off after one send.
- 2
Check you're still signed in
Outsolvi tracks only while its extension or add-in is signed in, and in Gmail a red ! on its icon means it's signed out or can't track right now. If your tracker is OAuth-based (Yesware, HubSpot), the grant expires periodically. Sign out and back in to your tracker. The sidebar usually shows a 're-authorize' button when expired.
- 3
Check you're using the right add-in for your Outlook
Outlook has two add-ins and they don't swap. Classic Outlook for Windows (File, Home and Send / Receive tabs) tracks only with the desktop add-in. Outlook on the web and the new Outlook track with the web add-in, on a Microsoft 365 work or school account. The web add-in also installs in classic Outlook, where it shows up but never tracks. If you switched Outlook versions recently, install the add-in that matches the one you use now.
- 4
Send a test email to yourself
Send a test to your own email address on a different domain (Gmail to Yahoo, for example). Open it on a device where you control image loading. If the test fires, tracking is working; the issue is recipient-side.
- 5
Check the recipient's image-loading default
Outlook blocks external images by default for unknown senders. Gmail's image proxy loads images by default but may cache. Apple Mail with MPP pre-fetches. Each behavior produces different signal patterns.
- 6
Check how the opens were graded
If opens are arriving but every one is labelled Apple Mail or a scanner, the recipient is on Apple Mail Privacy Protection or behind a corporate scanner. Trackers that grade opens label these; trackers that don't count them as reads.
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Troubleshooting
Every test open is labelled Apple Mail or scanner
Recipient is on Apple Mail with MPP, or behind a corporate scanner. The tracking is working; the human-read signal is structurally unreliable. Use reply rate as the cleaner signal.
Zero open events at all
Signed out of the tracker or an expired OAuth grant, tracking switched off on send, or recipient has a pixel-blocker. Check sign-in first, then the switch, then accept that pixel-blocked recipients are invisible.
Tracking stopped after switching to, or from, the new Outlook
The add-in didn't move with you. The desktop add-in runs only in classic Outlook for Windows, and the web add-in tracks only in the new Outlook and Outlook on the web. Install the one that matches the Outlook you use now, sign in, and send yourself a test.
Tracker shows 'unknown error' on every send
Restart your email client and the tracker. If still failing, uninstall and reinstall the extension or add-in. OAuth grants can corrupt.
Frequently asked
Why do some opens fire instantly and others not at all?
Apple MPP pre-fetches fire within seconds of delivery (labelled Apple Mail, not counted). Real human reads fire when the human actually opens, which can be minutes to days. Both are normal.
Is there a way to know if a recipient is using a pixel-blocker?
Indirectly. If a recipient replies across several threads but no open ever fires, they're probably using a pixel-blocker. Outsolvi doesn't flag that pattern for you, though each reply still gives its email one implied open.
Does Outsolvi support all major email providers?
Yes on the recipient side: opens can be recorded whether they read in Gmail, any version of Outlook, Yahoo or Apple Mail. On your side, you send from Gmail in Chrome or from classic, web or new Outlook; Outlook for Mac doesn't track.
Track real engagement, not Apple MPP noise.
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More on email tracking
Glossary terms, comparisons, and feature deep-dives related to this guide.
Nate built Outsolvi after watching every email-tracking tool he had ever used lie to him about opens. Outsolvi grades every open as a person or a machine, in Outlook and Gmail, so the number on the dashboard is one a rep can actually act on.
We update these pages when the underlying mechanics change. new mailbox-provider rules, new tracker behavior, new measurement gaps. The dates above are real revisions, not auto-touches.