ImprovMX Domain (DNS) Validation

I've set my records, but they are not validated on ImprovMX.

Incomplete or improperly set up domains may contribute to DNS validation failure. Please follow the steps below in order to help diagnose possible causes:

  1. Keep in mind that DNS additions and alterations go through a propagation period. The propagation period can vary between a few minutes and up to 48 hours. This propagation period is dependent on your DNS provider. Please allow up to 24 hours before troubleshooting DNS records.

  2. Use a tool like check.mx or MXToolbox to query a domain's live records. If you see the record(s), refresh your dashboard and/or click the "check" button to have ImprovMX query the records again.

  3. Ensure that the domain's records are not "proxied" (Cloudflare) or are behind a misconfigured DNSSEC.

  4. Check the hostname value of your record(s). Many DNS providers automatically append your domain name to the hostname value of records. In these scenarios, you'll want to use the default representation of the root domain (often "@") or leave the hostname blank to properly set your record. Consult your DNS provider if you're unsure of this behavior.
    *You can often see this misconfiguration by querying your domain name repeated. I.E. https://check.mx/mx/improvmx.com.improvmx.com

  5. Everything looks to be set correctly, but ImprovMX still can't verify the records. We'll help you troubleshoot, contact us!

Multiple services MX records on a single domain.

Utilizing external MX services in tandem with ImprovMX on a single domain is not supported. The reason being is due to quite a few delivery issues this type of setup poses with mail forwarding. Mail often ignores priority, causing unknown bounces, errors, or full drops.

Our engineers understand the use case for redundant mail exchange services and hope to allow this type of usage in the future. However, at this time, this type of setup is not recommended or supported for domains using ImprovMX.

SPF record validation.

There are two common causes of SPF validation failure:

  1. The domain has multiple SPF records set, which is invalid. Please remove the extra record(s), or concatenate them into a single record which includes ImprovMX (include:spf.improvmx.com).

  2. The SPF record is set as an SPF-type record, which is no longer supported. Alternative SPF RR types have been discontinued as of 2014. SPF records should now explicitly be published as a TXT (type 16) record. You may view RFC 7208 for further information regarding this change.

Nothing helped, my records are still not validated by ImprovMX

We'll help you troubleshoot the DNS validation issues further. Please reach out to our support team with the following information:

  1. Which domains are experiencing this issue?

  2. When/how long ago you set these records?

  3. What type of records are not being validated?

Contact Support

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