Contacts and replies

Why is a contact still active after replying?

In short

Why does Reply keep sending after a contact replied?

Either the sequence is set to keep sending after a reply, which is a setting rather than a fault, or the reply was never detected. Check the sequence's reply handling first; if it is set to finish contacts, the reply did not reach Reply and the detection checks apply.

Quick fix

Open the sequence's settings and find its reply handling. If it is Continue sending emails, the behaviour is intended; change it to Mark person as finished if you want replies to stop the sequence.
If it is already set to finish contacts, the reply was not detected. Confirm the answer came from the same address you wrote to, and that it is still in the main inbox folder.
To stop follow-ups to this person right now, open the contact, Change Status, and set it to Finished.
Confirm the next step is no longer scheduled on the contact.

Didn't work? Contact Reply support; the team can check your account directly.

Symptom

A prospect answered (the message is in your mailbox, and often in the Reply inbox too) but the contact is still Active in the sequence and the next step is still scheduled.

Most likely causes

Cause	How to recognize it
The sequence is set to Continue sending emails after a reply	The setting is in the sequence's own settings. The contact is Active and shows as having replied
The reply was never detected	The contact shows no reply at all – see Why was a reply not detected?
The answer was to a direct email, not a sequence step	The contact shows Replied but was never stopped, because the sequence step it would have ended was never the one answered
The reply arrived on another channel and the sequence has already moved on	The contact replied on LinkedIn or by SMS; both honour the same reply-handling setting as email
You are looking at a different sequence	The contact is in more than one sequence, and only the one that was answered stopped

Diagnostic checklist

Read the reply-handling setting first. It splits the problem in two, and every other check depends on which half you are in.
If it is Continue sending emails: nothing is broken. Decide whether you want that for the whole sequence, or just to stop this one contact.
If it is Mark person as finished: check whether Reply saw the reply at all. Open the contact's activity; if there is no reply recorded, this is a detection problem, not a handling problem.
Check which sequence you are looking at. A contact in several sequences stops only in the one that received the answer, unless you also use the pause-on-reply setting.
Check what was answered. A reply to a direct email outside a sequence records the reply without ending a sequence step.

Resolution

The sequence is set to continue sending

This is a deliberate setting, most often used for nurture sequences where an answer should not stop the flow. To change it, open the sequence's settings and set reply handling to Mark person as finished. The change applies from then on; contacts who already replied stay Active until you move them.

To stop just this contact: People tab → select → Change Status → Finished.

The reply was not detected

Work through Why was a reply not detected?. The usual causes are an answer from a different address, a message filed out of the main inbox folder by a rule, or a mailbox that is not connected. Once you have handled it, set the contact's status manually so the follow-ups stop immediately rather than waiting for a re-check.

You want replies to stop every sequence the contact is in

Reply handling stops only the sequence that was answered. To pause a contact everywhere on reply, use the account-level pause-on-reply setting instead.

Verification

Open the contact and confirm the next step is no longer scheduled. If you changed the sequence setting rather than the contact, test with the next real reply rather than assuming; the setting takes effect for replies from that point onward.

Prevention

Decide reply handling when you create a sequence, not after. Outreach sequences almost always want Mark person as finished; nurture flows sometimes do not.
If you use several sequences for the same audience, decide whether a reply should stop all of them, and set the account-level pause accordingly.
Watch for replies arriving from assistants or colleagues at a different address; they are the most common reason a real answer is never matched to the contact.

FAQ

Why does a contact keep getting emails after replying?

No. It is a per-sequence setting. When it is on, a contact who replies stays Active and keeps receiving the remaining steps by design.

Do LinkedIn and SMS replies stop the sequence too?

Yes, and they follow the same reply-handling setting as email. If the sequence is set to keep sending, a LinkedIn or SMS reply does not stop it either.

What about bounces and automatic replies?

Those ignore the setting entirely. A bounce or an automatic reply finishes the contact regardless. See Why was an automatic reply counted as a reply?

Will changing the setting affect contacts who already replied?

No. Contacts who are already Active stay Active. Move them manually if you want them stopped.

Still stuck? Contact Reply support

If these steps didn't solve the problem, the Reply support team can look at your account directly. Open the Reply Help Center and send the team a message.