Troubleshooting DNS records
After you've added the appropriate DNS records, it can take up to 24 hours for the changes to take effect. There are also some third-party resources you can use to check your records or for other details if needed:
Check the SPF validator here. Enter your domain name in the first text box and click Get SPF Record for a diagnostic of your SPF records.
The SPF validator looks for a TXT record with the appropriate SPF information. If your domain has an SPF type record, it's best to add a matching TXT record for compatibility.
If you already have an SPF record, edit that record instead of adding a new one. The specs for SPF require only one TXT record with SPF information.
Some DNS providers take longer than others to publish and push the record. If you're adding a completely new record, those often validate within 10-15 minutes. Changing records can take longer, but can vary based on your DNS provider and TTL for the record.
The SPF record cannot be verified if it already includes 10 records, due to the SPF technical limitations. If you can’t add any additional records, we recommend using a subdomain (ex. nps.domain.com or survey.domain.com). Hence, you will have a separate SPF record for this particular domain that you can configure in order to validate it to be used in Retently.
Some providers will automatically append the domain name to the DKIM record's name if you don't put a period at the end of the record name. For example, if you write your record name as "mandrill._domainkey.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com". In order to avoid this, simply make sure your record name ends with a period, as here: "mandrill._domainkey.yourdomain.com."
Your SPF record requires more than 10 DNS lookups to process. This could be caused by including domains that require multiple lookups. Try simplifying your SPF record by removing any unnecessary parts. You can check your SPF and all the lookups performed here: https://dmarcly.com/tools/spf-record-checker.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SPF?
SPF or Sender Policy Framework is an email authentication protocol designed to verify the identity of the sending email server, and its authorization to send emails for a specific domain. Add mandrillapp.com to your SPF records so Retently can send emails from your domain.
What is DKIM?
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail. Add a 'new' DNS entry with the DKIM setting to allow us to safely send emails from Mandrill - our email provider.
What does DKIM do?
The DKIM setting serves as a public encryption key. When Mandrill sends an email, they digitally sign it to confirm that the respective email was sent by their servers.
Will DKIM effect our own email server?
DKIM does not affect any other email services or your own email server, being used only when an email is digitally signed by Mandrill, for other email servers to verify the email signature.
Why do I even need DKIM and SPF
These settings verify the sender’s identity and that the message was kept in the form initially intended. It also maximizes email deliverability ensuring that emails will actually end up in the customer’s Inbox.