Mail not arriving? Work through these checks
Nine times out of ten, "it's not coming" traces back to one of four spots. Run down the list in order — most cases are solved inside two minutes.
Is the address alive?
Glance at the countdown on the home page. At zero the address is gone and every incoming message bounces — grab a new one, and extend earlier next time.
Was it copied right?
Compare what you typed into the other site character by character. Always use the "Copy address" button — hand-typing trips over digits and dots constantly.
Is the sender slow?
Plenty of sites queue their verification mail. Give it a minute or two — new mail appears by itself, or tap the manual refresh if you're in a hurry.
Is the domain blocked?
"Sent successfully" on their side but nothing here usually means temp domains are blocked. Switch to an alias — acceptance rates change immediately.
Temporary addresses & receiving
I'm not receiving the verification email — what do I check first?
Four checks, in order: ① make sure the countdown on the page hasn't hit zero — expired addresses reject all mail; ② compare the address you typed into the other site against the one shown here, character by character; ③ give it a minute or two — some senders queue their mail, and the inbox refreshes itself (a manual refresh button is there too); ④ if the site claims the email was sent but nothing ever lands, it most likely blocks temp mail domains — a forwarding alias, created after signing in, passes far more often.
Messages I already received have disappeared — why?
Two possibilities: the address's countdown reached zero, destroying the address and all its mail together; or you clicked "New address", which wipes the old inbox instantly. Neither deletion can be reversed — save anything you need while the address is still alive.
Why can't I see attachments in the temporary inbox?
That's by design: the temporary inbox keeps the message body only (HTML layout and images included) — attachments aren't stored, so there's nothing to download, and mail with attachments over 100MB is rejected outright. To receive files, sign in and create a forwarding alias: attachments up to 50MB are forwarded to your real inbox and kept in the 30-day archive, those between 50MB and 100MB are forwarded without being archived, and anything over 100MB is rejected.
Who can see the mail in my temporary inbox?
Only someone holding the access link. The inbox key lives in your browser and in the page URL parameter, tied to no account — which also means sharing the full URL hands over the inbox itself, so think before you send it.
Aliases & forwarding
Mail arrived while an alias was paused — can I get it back after resuming?
No. Mail sent to a paused alias is dropped outright — not forwarded, not archived — and resuming can't recover it. If you only want less noise for a while, set a filter rule in your real mailbox instead of pausing the alias.
Do failed forwards lose the message?
No. A failed message stays complete in the archive (kept 30 days) with its status marked "Failed". Open the detail view to read the body and attachments online, or hit "Retry forwarding" to send it again.
When does the archive's 30-day clock start?
From each message's own arrival time — every message counts down independently, and the list shows days remaining. Expired entries delete themselves; move anything you want to keep onto your own device.
Account & security
I requested sign-in codes too often and got rate-limited — what now?
The same email can request only a few codes in a short window; beyond that you're temporarily limited. Wait around 10 minutes and try again — and check your spam folder meanwhile, because an earlier code is probably sitting there. Each code stays valid for 10 minutes.
New phone, no authenticator codes — can I still sign in?
If the old phone still powers on, find the TempFwd entry in its authenticator app, sign in once, then disable and re-enrol two-factor in Security settings. If the old device is completely gone, email support@tempfwd.com from your sign-in address and we'll verify and help manually.
How long does a sign-in session last?
Seven days. After that you're signed out automatically and need a fresh email code; accounts with two-factor enabled also enter a rotating code. On shared devices, sign out manually when you're done.
Send a description of the problem and roughly when it happened to the address below — we answer as quickly as we can. For account matters, always write from your sign-in email.