# When Reply stops a sequence

> Every condition that stops automated outreach — the six sequence toggle states, replies handling, blocked-account auto-stop, and the 8% bounce suspension.

**A sequence's toggle shows six states — Green Active, Gray Inactive, Red Action required, Orange Issues, Yellow Limits reached, Blue Completed. Contacts stop on reply under Mark as finished, and sending pauses when an email account gets blocked or the 8% bounce rate is reached; first-step sending resumes automatically after 24 hours.**

_Status: Reviewed — human-edited, facts not yet confirmed against the product._

## At a glance

| Aspect | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| **What it governs** | Every condition that halts automated outreach — for one contact or for the whole sequence |
| **Trigger** | A reply, all steps sent, a blocked email account, the 8% bounce rate, a reached limit, or a manual pause |
| **Inputs** | Replies handling setting, bounce rate per 24 hours, email account state, daily and billing-period limits |
| **Result** | The contact becomes `Finished`, or sending pauses at the sequence level; the toggle color reports which |
| **Configurable** | Replies handling (Mark as finished vs. Continue sending emails); the Finished-after-last-step switch |
| **Does not** | Retract sent messages, stop follow-ups during an 8% bounce suspension, or keep a contact stopped after you set them back to Active |
| **Plans** | Plan-specific differences are not documented for this rule |

## Rule summary

Outreach stops at two levels. **Per contact**: a reply to a sequence email marks the
contact `Finished` under the default **Mark as finished** setting, and a contact whose
last step was sent with no reply can also be switched to `Finished`. **Per sequence**:
sending halts when an email account gets blocked by its provider (auto-stop for 24 hours),
when the sequence reaches an **8% bounce rate per 24 hours** (first step stops, follow-ups
continue), when a limit is reached, or when you pause it. The sequence toggle's color
tells you which state applies.

## Trigger

A contact replies, finishes all steps, or bounces; an email account gets blocked; the
bounce rate crosses 8%; a daily or billing-period limit is reached; or a user pauses or
archives the sequence.

## Decision logic

1. **Reply received** — under **Mark as finished** (Sequence > Settings > Replies handling), no further follow-up emails are sent to the prospect; under **Continue sending emails**, the remaining follow-ups still go out. A reply to a direct email sets `Replied` without `Finished` and does not stop the contact.
2. **Steps exhausted** — with *Switch contact to 'Finished' state if the last step email is sent and no reply is received* enabled, the contact finishes after the last step. A contact can reach `Finished` through a response, a bounced email, an opt-out, or no reply after a certain number of days.
3. **Email account blocked** — providers like Office 365 or Google Workspace may block a sending account for suspicious activity. As soon as Reply detects the first bounces indicating a block, it immediately stops sending from that account for the next 24 hours or until you manually resume it. A pop-up appears on the toggle of every sequence sending from the suspended account, and the sequence logs name the blocked account.
4. **8% bounce rate reached** — per Reply's Usage Policy, when a sequence reaches an 8% bounce rate, Reply stops sending the **first step** but **continues sending follow-ups**. The stopped step resumes automatically once the window passes and the bounce rate resets; reaching the threshold again repeats the cycle. Reply notifies you at half and at full bounce quota. The rule has a 200-email floor and an hourly recount — [Bounce handling](/behavior/bounce-handling) is authoritative on the exact mechanics.
5. **Limit reached or manual stop** — the sequence waits (yellow toggle) or stays off (gray toggle) until the limit window passes or you restart it.

## Result

The affected contact stops receiving steps, or the affected sequence (or its first step,
or one of its accounts) stops sending. Nothing already sent is retracted. Auto-stopped
accounts resume automatically 24 hours after the first block bounce was detected, and the
system automatically re-sends the bounced steps once the account is resumed.

## State changes

The sequence toggle is the visible state machine. Its six states and their exact triggers:

| Toggle | State | Triggers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Green** | Active | The sequence is running: just launched, restarted after a pause, or actively working through steps — planning, checking conditions, sending emails, generating tasks, or executing LinkedIn actions |
| **Gray** | Inactive | The sequence is not running: newly created and not yet launched, paused, or archived |
| **Red** | Action required | Missing or invalid settings block the run: sending email account removed or disconnected; connected LinkedIn account removed; sending errors; no contacts in the sequence; sending schedule missing; sequence under review after reaching an 8% bounce rate — the first step only, until the bounce window resets |
| **Orange** | Issues detected / Warnings | Attention needed: some contacts have no sending email account assigned; some contacts have no LinkedIn account assigned; contacts are missing required data; sending from some email accounts stopped due to a provider block; the sequence reached a 4% bounce rate; a voice profile is missing |
| **Yellow** | Limits reached | Temporarily paused by limits: daily sending limit for the email account reached; active contacts limit for the current billing period reached; sequence daily limit reached; LinkedIn's weekly limit for connection requests reached; the email provider blocked sending (daily sending quota exceeded) |
| **Blue** | Completed | All contacts finished the sequence — no active contacts left |

## Exceptions

- **Follow-ups keep sending during an 8% bounce suspension** — only the first step stops, and it resumes automatically after 24 hours.
- **Direct-email replies do not stop the contact** — `Replied` and `Finished` are both assigned only for replies to sequence emails.
- **A blocked account still produces some bounces** — Reply can only stop after detecting the first block bounces. Find affected prospects with the *Bounce: sender's provider block* filter, remove the `Bounced` status, and confirm the re-send — or let the system re-send them automatically when the account resumes.
- **Blue Completed is not an error** — it simply means no active contacts remain.

## Configuration that changes this rule

Sequence > Settings > **Replies handling** holds both switches: Mark as finished vs.
Continue sending emails, and the option to switch a contact to `Finished` when the last
step email is sent with no reply. The blocked-account auto-stop and the 8% bounce
threshold are platform rules and are not configurable; what you control is input quality —
validate contact lists before launching to keep the bounce rate down. See
[Bounce handling](/behavior/bounce-handling) and [Deliverability](/capabilities/deliverability).

## Limits

| Limit | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Bounce-rate suspension threshold | 8% per 24 hours — first step stops, follow-ups continue |
| Bounce-rate warning (orange toggle) | 4% |
| First-step auto-resume after bounce suspension | After 24 hours, with the bounce rate reset |
| Blocked-account auto-resume | 24 hours after the first block bounce, unless resumed manually earlier |
| Bounce-quota notifications | At half and at full quota |

## FAQ

### Why is my sequence suspended?

Most often the sequence reached the 8% bounce rate per 24 hours — usually a sign of
outdated or invalid addresses. First-step sending stops, follow-ups continue, and sending
resumes automatically after 24 hours. Validate your lists before launching to prevent the
cycle from repeating. See [Bounce handling](/behavior/bounce-handling).

### How do I change a contact from Finished back to Active?

There are two scenarios behind `Finished`: the contact replied to a sequence email, or
they went through all sequence steps. To reactivate, open the sequence's People tab,
select the contacts, click the Change Status icon, and add **Active**. See
[Status transitions](/behavior/status-transitions).

### What does a yellow toggle mean?

A limit was reached — the account's daily sending limit, the active contacts limit for the
billing period, the sequence daily limit, LinkedIn's weekly connection request limit, or a
provider's daily sending quota. The sequence resumes when the limit window passes; see
[Limits](/reference/limits).

### Does a blocked email account stop my other sequences?

It stops sending from that account everywhere: every sequence sending from the suspended
account shows the pop-up on its toggle. Other accounts in those sequences are not
mentioned as affected. Unblock the account with the provider, then resume it in Reply — or
wait for the 24-hour auto-resume.

## Related

- [Bounce handling](/behavior/bounce-handling) — the 4% and 8% thresholds in detail
- [Reply detection](/behavior/reply-detection) — what counts as a reply
- [Status transitions](/behavior/status-transitions) — Finished and how to leave it
- [Sequence execution](/behavior/sequence-execution)
- [Why is a campaign not running?](/troubleshooting/campaign-is-not-running)

## Build with Reply

- REST API: [docs.reply.io](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/introduction) — pause, status, and sequence operations
- MCP: [agents.reply.io/mcp](https://agents.reply.io/mcp) — agents pause sequences and change contact statuses