Gmail emails to Yahoo & AOL addresses getting blocked? Here's why and how to fix it

Have you been trying to send emails from your Gmail account to Yahoo or AOL addresses, only to be met with a frustrating error message? You’re not alone. Many Gmail users, particularly those with workspace accounts, have reported encountering this issue, with their emails getting blocked due to a lack of authentication in the past 24 hours.

I’ve rounded up all the necessary information to explain why this is happening and what you can do to fix it in this article.

Why are my Gmail emails to Yahoo & AOL getting blocked?

The culprit behind the blocked emails is a set of new requirements for bulk senders implemented by Google and Yahoo. These email providers require all incoming emails to be authenticated using a process called Sender Policy Framework (SPF) or DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).

Think of SPF and DKIM as digital IDs for your emails. They verify that the email actually originated from your Gmail account and not a spoofed address trying to impersonate you. This helps prevent phishing scams and protects users from malicious content. Google and Yahoo gave fair warning to users about the new requirements with an announcement back in October last year. Furthermore, it was expected that emails would start getting rejected in April if bulk senders didn’t implement email authentication.

Unfortunately, by default, Gmail accounts don’t have SPF or DKIM enabled. This is why your emails are getting flagged and blocked by Yahoo and AOL.

How to fix the blocked email issue

The good news is that there’s a solution! Here’s what you can do depending on whether you’re a regular Gmail user or a Google Workspace administrator. If you are impacted by this new security measure, it’s likely you are a bulk sender and have a Google Workspace account and a domain. So here’s how you can authenticate your Gmail account.

For Google Workspace administrators

If you manage a Google Workspace account, you have more control over email authentication settings. Here’s how to enable SPF and DKIM for your domain:

Get your DKIM key:

1. Sign in to Google Admin console as a super administrator.
2. Go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Authenticate email.
3. Select your domain and click “Generate New Record”.
4. Choose key settings and click “Generate”.
5. Copy the “DNS Host name” and “TXT record value”.

Add the key to your domain provider:

1. Log in to your domain provider’s management console.
2. Find the DNS settings page and add a TXT record.
3. In the “Host” field, enter the copied “DNS Host name”.
4. In the “Value” field, enter the copied “TXT record value”.
5. Save your changes.

Turn on DKIM signing in Google Admin:

1. Go back to Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Authenticate email.
2. Select your domain and click “Start authentication”.

Note: It can take up to 48 hours for DKIM to start working after adding the key.

In case you run into any issues or want a more detailed guide on how to turn on DKIM for your domain, you can check out Google’s step-by-step guide.

For regular Gmail users

Unfortunately, there’s no way for individual Gmail users to directly configure SPF or DKIM settings. These settings are managed by Google itself. However, there are a few things you can try. First, it’s worth checking with the recipient. Sometimes, even perfectly legitimate emails can get caught in spam filters and end up hidden away. A quick message asking them to check their spam folder for your email might be all it takes.

If you communicate with this person frequently, another option is to see if they’d be willing to whitelist your Gmail address. This tells their email provider to always allow emails from you, ensuring they land safely in their inbox. That said, these new requirements likely won’t impact regular Gmail users. So don’t fret.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue of blocked emails from Gmail to Yahoo and AOL addresses. The entire process takes no longer than 5 – 10 minutes. I hope this article helped you fix the issue where emails from Gmail are getting blocked by Yahoo and other providers. That’s it from my side.