automatically forwarded emails to outlook are being delayed from gmail

Question

getting this message from the gmail side "The user you are trying to contact is receiving mail at a rate that prevents additional messages from being delivered"

Answer 1

Hello Slshaddock,

Thank you for posting your question to Microsoft Q&A!

The error message—"The user you are trying to contact is receiving mail at a rate that prevents additional messages from being delivered"—typically occurs when Gmail's auto-forwarding feature hits Outlook/Microsoft's inbound rate limits. If too many messages arrive too quickly from Gmail's forwarding servers, Microsoft temporarily returns a 4.2.1 error to protect the system. 

Here are a few ways to handle this, including a permanent fix.

The Best Permanent Solution 

To prevent this from happening again, the most reliable solution is to stop Gmail auto-forwarding completely and let Outlook pull the mail directly from Gmail using IMAP and modern OAuth (which requires no app passwords). 

Here is how to set that up: 

Step 1: Prepare Gmail 

• Open gmail.com, click the gear icon, and select See all settings. 
• Select the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab. 
• Under IMAP access, select Enable IMAP and Save Changes. 
• Under Forwarding, delete or disable forwarding addresses pointing to your Outlook. 

Step 2: Add Gmail to Classic Outlook 

• Open the Outlook desktop app. 
• Select File > Add Account. 
• Enter your full Gmail address and click Connect. 
• Sign in with your Google account in the browser pop-up. 
• Check the box allowing Microsoft apps access to your email, then click Continue / Allow. 
• Restart Outlook when prompted. 

By setting this up: 

• No more rate-limit errors 
• Near real-time delivery 
• Full two-way sync 
• Send from Outlook 

Temporary Workarounds 

If you need a quick fix right now, you can try the following: 

• Wait it out: Check your Outlook Junk/Spam folder and Gmail Sent/Forwarded logs while giving the system time to reset. 
• Reduce volume: In Gmail Filters, make forwarding rules stricter (e.g., only forward important senders), or pause forwarding temporarily. 
• Manual forward: Forward individually from Gmail, which is less likely to hit limits. 

I hope this helps resolve the delivery errors once and for all! Please let me know if you hit any hurdles or errors when setting this up. 

---

 If the answer is helpful, click "Accept answer" and, if possible, upvote. If you have any other questions about this answer, click on "Comment".

Note: Follow the steps in our documentation to enable email notifications if you want to receive notifications related to this topic.

Answer 2

The message you are receiving from Gmail indicates that the recipient's mailbox is receiving emails at a rate that exceeds its capacity to process them. This can happen if there are too many emails being sent to the recipient in a short period, leading to delays in email delivery.

To address this issue, consider the following steps:

1. Check Email Forwarding Settings: Ensure that the forwarding settings in Gmail are properly configured and that there are no restrictions on the number of emails being forwarded.
2. Review Recipient's Mailbox: The recipient may need to manage their mailbox to ensure it can handle incoming emails without delays. This includes checking for storage limits and cleaning up unnecessary emails.
3. Contact Support: If the issue persists, it may be beneficial to contact Gmail support for further assistance regarding email delivery issues.

Keep in mind that this is a common issue with email systems when they are overwhelmed with incoming messages.