diff --git a/crates/rustmail-server/src/main.rs b/crates/rustmail-server/src/main.rs
index e6fdde3..879da92 100644
--- a/crates/rustmail-server/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/rustmail-server/src/main.rs
@@ -551,17 +551,19 @@ async fn run_serve(args: ServeArgs) -> Result<()> {
 
   tokio::select! {
       result = smtp_server.run() => {
-          if let Err(e) = result {
-              tracing::error!(error = %e, "SMTP server error");
+          match result {
+              Err(e) => anyhow::bail!("SMTP server failed: {e}"),
+              Ok(()) => anyhow::bail!("SMTP server exited unexpectedly"),
           }
       }
       result = axum::serve(listener, app) => {
-          if let Err(e) = result {
-              tracing::error!(error = %e, "HTTP server error");
+          match result {
+              Err(e) => anyhow::bail!("HTTP server failed: {e}"),
+              Ok(()) => anyhow::bail!("HTTP server exited unexpectedly"),
           }
       }
       _ = message_processor => {
-          tracing::error!("Message processor stopped unexpectedly");
+          anyhow::bail!("Message processor stopped unexpectedly");
       }
       _ = retention_task => {}
   }
diff --git a/crates/rustmail-server/tests/integration.rs b/crates/rustmail-server/tests/integration.rs
index 425dbff..45f80f7 100644
--- a/crates/rustmail-server/tests/integration.rs
+++ b/crates/rustmail-server/tests/integration.rs
@@ -699,20 +699,20 @@ async fn smtp_session_limit_rejects_excess() {
 
   tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(200)).await;
 
-  // The 101st connection should be silently dropped by the semaphore.
-  // The server accepts the TCP connection but immediately continues without
-  // spawning a session, so we expect: EOF (0 bytes), timeout, or IO error.
+  // The 101st connection should receive a 421 response and then be closed.
   let mut probe = TcpStream::connect(addr).await.unwrap();
-  let result = tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(2), async {
-    let mut buf = [0u8; 512];
-    probe.read(&mut buf).await
-  })
-  .await;
+  let mut buf = [0u8; 512];
+  let result =
+    tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(2), async { probe.read(&mut buf).await }).await;
 
   match result {
     Ok(Ok(0)) | Err(_) | Ok(Err(_)) => {}
     Ok(Ok(n)) => {
-      panic!("Expected connection to be rejected, but got {n} bytes");
+      let response = std::str::from_utf8(&buf[..n]).unwrap_or("");
+      assert!(
+        response.starts_with("421"),
+        "Expected 421 rejection, got: {response}"
+      );
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/server.rs b/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/server.rs
index f236af0..e93bd95 100644
--- a/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/server.rs
+++ b/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/server.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ use tokio::net::TcpListener;
 use tokio::sync::{Semaphore, mpsc};
 use tracing::{error, info, warn};
 
+use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
+
 use crate::message::ReceivedMessage;
 use crate::session::Session;
 
@@ -60,11 +62,14 @@ impl SmtpServer {
 
     loop {
       match listener.accept().await {
-        Ok((stream, peer)) => {
+        Ok((mut stream, peer)) => {
           let permit = match semaphore.clone().try_acquire_owned() {
             Ok(permit) => permit,
             Err(_) => {
               warn!(peer = %peer, "SMTP connection rejected: max concurrent sessions reached");
+              let _ = stream
+                .write_all(b"421 Service not available, too many connections\r\n")
+                .await;
               continue;
             }
           };
diff --git a/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/session.rs b/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/session.rs
index ec38392..9a501a9 100644
--- a/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/session.rs
+++ b/crates/rustmail-smtp/src/session.rs
@@ -202,8 +202,14 @@ impl Session {
       raw: data,
     };
 
-    let _ = self.sender.send(message).await;
-    self.write(OK).await?;
+    if self.sender.send(message).await.is_err() {
+      warn!(peer = %self.peer, "Channel closed, message not stored");
+      self
+        .write("451 Requested action aborted: local error in processing\r\n")
+        .await?;
+    } else {
+      self.write(OK).await?;
+    }
     self.mail_from = None;
     self.rcpt_to.clear();
     Ok(())