# My broadcast is not sending

> Check the broadcast status, audience, email server, rate limit, and background jobs. Most stalled broadcasts are a rate limit or an empty audience.

Source: https://sendbroadcast.net/how-to/broadcast-not-sending

## 1. Read the status

Every broadcast is in one of five states:

- **Draft:** still being edited. It will not send. This is the most common answer.
- **Scheduled:** queued for a future time. Check the time and the timezone.
- **Sending:** in progress. Large sends take a while, and a rate limit will pace them.
- **Sent:** finished.
- **Failed:** errored during sending. The detail page has the reason.

[The broadcasts documentation](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/broadcast-emails) covers each
status and the send flow.

![The Broadcasts list with a status column and a sidebar counting broadcasts by Draft, Scheduled, Sending and Sent](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/broadcasts-list-columns-51ab81a6.png)

The status column, and the sidebar counts by status. A broadcast still sitting in Draft is the most common answer.

## 2. Check the audience actually matches someone

Open the Audience tab and confirm the segment matches more than zero subscribers.
Preview the count rather than assuming. A segment built on engagement will match
nobody on a freshly imported list, because
[engagement history does not migrate](/how-to/bring-your-existing-list).

Also confirm the recipients are **active**. Unsubscribed subscribers are skipped, as
are addresses on your [suppression lists](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/suppression-lists).

## 3. Check the email server

Under **Settings → Email Servers**, look at the server the channel uses:

- Is its status healthy?
- Are the credentials still valid? Providers expire keys.
- Is there an error on the server detail page?

## 4. Check the rate limit

Each email server has an **emails per hour** cap over a rolling one-hour window. When
it is reached, sending pauses until older sends age out. The server detail page shows
the configured limit, how many have gone out in the current window, and a
**rate limit reached** indicator.

If your provider has raised your allowance, or you have confirmed it is safe, click
**Reset rate limit**. [The rate limit documentation](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/email-server-rate-limits)
covers this.

A send that looks stalled but is really rate-limited is normal behavior, not a fault.

![The Rate Limiting section of an email server showing the hourly cap reached and a Reset rate limit button](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/email-servers/email-server-rate-limit-2c4b6ba2.png)

Settings → Email Servers. A send that looks stalled is often just pacing itself against this hourly cap.

## 5. Check background jobs

Sending runs in the background. If jobs are not processing, nothing sends and nothing
errors visibly. [The monitoring documentation](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/monitoring-and-logs)
covers the background jobs dashboard, the error log, and live log streaming.

This is also where to look after a server restart or an upgrade.

## Still stuck

[Email us](mailto:simon@sendbroadcast.net?subject=Broadcast%20not%20sending) with the
broadcast status, the audience count, and anything from the error log. A downloadable
log capture from the monitoring page is the single most useful thing you can attach.

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