Overview
If your Outreach inbox displays an unread message count but shows no content when you open it, or if your emails are taking longer than expected to sync, this article explains the most common causes and the steps you can take to resolve them.
This issue affects the Inbox section inside the Digital PR and Outreach tools.
Common Causes of the Unread Count Display Bug
Seeing an unread badge without any visible messages is usually caused by one of the following:
- Email sync still in progress: Messages have been detected by the system but have not yet fully loaded into the inbox view.
- Incomplete email account connection: The connected email account lost its authentication or was disconnected mid-sync, leaving ghost counts behind.
- Browser cache conflict: Outdated cached data in your browser can cause the inbox UI to display stale or mismatched information.
- Filter or folder mismatch: Active inbox filters may be hiding messages that the unread counter is still tracking.
Common Causes of Email Sync Delays
Email syncing in the Digital PR and Outreach modules depends on a live connection between Search Atlas and your linked email provider. Delays can occur when:
- Your email provider is experiencing service issues or rate limiting.
- The OAuth token for your connected account has expired and needs to be re-authenticated.
- A large volume of emails is being synced for the first time after a new account connection.
- Your inbox has a high number of messages or threads, which increases initial sync time.
- Network interruptions occurred during an active sync cycle.
Initial syncs for newly connected accounts may take some time depending on mailbox size. Subsequent syncs are typically faster.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Follow these steps in order to diagnose and resolve the issue.
- Wait and refresh: If you recently connected your email account or sent a campaign, wait a few minutes and then hard-refresh the page using your browser's refresh shortcut.
- Clear your browser cache: Go to your browser settings, clear cached images and files, then reload the platform.
- Check your inbox filters: Navigate to your Outreach or Digital PR inbox and confirm that no active filters are narrowing the view. Reset any applied filters to show all messages.
- Reconnect your email account: If messages are still missing, disconnect your email account from the platform's email connection settings and reconnect it. This forces a fresh authentication and a new sync cycle.
- Try a different browser or incognito mode: If the issue persists after clearing cache, open the platform in a private/incognito window or a different browser to rule out a local browser conflict.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.