https://senderaudit.com/blog/en/tags/soft-bounce/Recent content in Soft Bounce on Sender Audit BlogHugoenTue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://senderaudit.com/blog/en/hard-soft-bounce-deferred/Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://senderaudit.com/blog/en/hard-soft-bounce-deferred/<p>When an email fails to deliver, your ESP records either a <strong>bounce</strong> or a <strong>deferred</strong> status. These three categories don&rsquo;t carry the same reputation impact and don&rsquo;t call for the same action. Understanding the difference prevents you from removing contacts unnecessarily, or worse, keeping them when you should delete them.</p> <p><strong>Watch out for the most common trap:</strong> there&rsquo;s a widespread assumption that hard bounce = 5xx code and soft bounce = 4xx code. It&rsquo;s a useful shortcut, but an oversimplification. In reality:</p>