Proximus Email Outage Enters Seventh Day as Customers Report Delayed and Missing Messages
Customers with email addresses at proximus.be, skynet.be, or scarlet.be have faced a week of disrupted mail service, with messages arriving hours late or not at all since Monday, HBVL reported. The Belgian telecom provider confirmed that both incoming and outgoing email traffic has been affected, leaving individuals and businesses unable to rely on a service bundled with their internet subscriptions.
Proximus said resolving the disruption is its “highest priority,” according to a statement issued November 5. The company advised customers that no action is required on their end and that they should not change any settings. Technical teams are working to identify the cause and restore normal service, the provider said via social media.
Automatic Retries and Delivery Notifications
Proximus emphasized that not all messages are lost. The platform automatically attempts redelivery, meaning some emails will arrive with delays, the company stated. When delivery fails entirely, the sender receives a notification, according to the provider.
The outage has drawn criticism from customers on social media, who noted the problem has persisted for days. Some users pointed out that sending invoices to Proximus customers via Peppol appeared to continue working normally, HBVL reported.
Technical Intervention Shows Early Signs of Recovery
Spokesperson Fabrice Gansbeke offered “cautiously positive news” Thursday afternoon, stating that a technical intervention had led to more email traffic being processed. “We are seeing the first positive signals at the technical level,” Gansbeke said, adding that the company is monitoring the situation closely.
The cause of the outage remains under investigation. Proximus described its network infrastructure as complex and confirmed the issue sits at the network level, ruling out hacking as a factor.
Compensation Unlikely for Affected Subscribers
Customers should not expect financial compensation for the disruption, Gansbeke indicated. Because the email service is provided free with every internet subscription, Proximus does not plan to offer refunds, though the company said it would review the matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which email domains are affected? Customers using proximus.be, skynet.be, and scarlet.be addresses have reported the delays and delivery failures.
Do customers need to change their settings? No. Proximus stated that no action is required from customers and no parameters need to be modified.
Will lost emails eventually arrive? Proximus said some emails will be delivered with delay because the platform automatically retries, and senders receive a notification when delivery fails.
Is this a cyberattack? No. Proximus confirmed the issue is at the network level and has nothing to do with hacking.