How to fix the email error messages on forwarding, SPF, DNS, and TXT records

Issue symptoms

I see the following email errors:

Forwarding check failed

SPF doesn't include Zendesk Support

DNS records aren't set up correctly and TXT record's missing for zendeskverification.yoursubdomain.com

Resolution steps

To fix email errors in the account, select the sections below:

How to fix the Forwarding check failed error

How to fix the SPF doesn't include Zendesk Support error

How to fix the DNS records aren't set up correctly error

Additional information

Important: Take action outside of the Zendesk account to resolve these errors. Zendesk Customer Support cannot access or advise on external email settings. The example instructions below are from a third-party tool. These steps might differ from how the email admin resolves the error.

How to fix the Forwarding check failed error

The Forwarding check failed error message breaks the connection to the external email account. This prevents incoming emails from entering the account.

The solution to this error message differs based on how the email forwarding's set up. Follow the directions in the section that applies to you or skip to the desired section in the video below:

I used the Google Connector to set up email forwarding

I forwarded the company Gmail into Zendesk

I forwarded the company external email address into Zendesk

How to fix Google Connector forwarding

To fix Google Connector forwarding:

Navigate to the Zendesk Email settings

Locate the connected to Google Mail support address that causes the Forwarding check failed error

Click See details

The error message says: Unable to receive emails from this address. We can't connect to your Gmail account because your OAuth credentials are invalid. Please reconnect

Scroll down and click reconnect

Follow the Google prompts to reconnect the Gmail address

The error's resolved if a green verification checkmark appears in the Zendesk Email settings within 48 hours

How to fix standard Gmail forwarding

To fix standard Gmail forwarding:

Navigate to the Zendesk Email settings

Locate the Gmail support address that causes the Forwarding check failed error

Open a new tab and navigate to the Google settings

Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP section

Confirm the settings are set to forward a copy of incoming mail to the default support address. If forwarding isn't set up, Add a forwarding address

Click Save changes

Go back to the Zendesk Email settings and click Verify forwarding

The error's resolved if a green verification checkmark appears in the Zendesk Email settings within 48 hours

How to fix external email forwarding

To fix external email forwarding:

Inside the Zendesk account, navigate to the Email settings

Locate the support address that receives the Forwarding check failed error. This error message often accompanies two other Domain Name System (DNS) errors

Outside the Zendesk account, inform the email admin of an email forwarding issue in the Zendesk account on the specific email address

If you're the email admin, navigate away from Zendesk and sign into the email domain provider. In this example, the steps are from a GoDaddy account

Navigate to the external email provider settings

Navigate to the Forwarding section of the email domain

Confirm the forwarding rules are on and set up correctly. Forward the external email domain to the Zendesk default support address. In this example, the company email domain forwards to the Zendesk default address, support@yoursubdomain.com

Confirm in the external email account that the forwarding's set up successfully. It could take up to 48 hours for the Zendesk account to recognize this setup

Navigate back to the Zendesk Email settings

Click the drop-down button, See Details, and click Verify forwarding

Wait up to 48 hours for a green confirmation check mark next to the Forwarding verified message

If normal traffic forwards but the support address doesn't verify, contact the domain admin to confirm that the auto-forward doesn't strip the required email x-headers.

For more information, see Additional steps for using an external email address.

How to fix the SPF doesn't include Zendesk Support error

The SPF doesn't include Zendesk Support error prevents emails from sending out of Zendesk. To resolve the error message, follow the steps below or watch the video demonstration:

Note. While Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is optional to configure, we highly recommend it. It could be the source of the current email issue.

To fix the SPF error:

Navigate to the Zendesk Email Settings

Locate the email address with the SPF error message

Copy the email domain (the part after the @ sign)

Reach out to the email admin and inform them you experience an SPF issue with the specific email address. The email admin might inform you that you can ignore the SPF error message because SPF is optional

Continue to resolve this SPF error if you're the email admin and this SPF error still applies to the account

Sign into the external email provider account. In this example, the steps are from a GoDaddy account

Navigate to the DNS settings for the specific domain

Make sure you add the recommended SPF record that includes Zendesk to the DNS settings

Confirm in the external account that the SPF record's added successfully

Navigate back to the Zendesk Email settings

Locate the support address that receives the SPF error

Click the drop-down button: See Details

Click Verify SPF record

Wait up to 48 hours for a green confirmation check mark next to SPF record is valid

For more information, see Why does the SPF record fail to verify?

How to fix the DNS records aren't set up correctly error

To resolve the error message DNS records aren't set up correctly and TXT record's missing in the email settings, follow the steps below or watch the video demonstration:

To fix the DNS error:

Navigate to the Zendesk Email Settings

Locate the email address with the DNS error message

Click See details to expand the error for more information about the missing TXT record. You'll see what the TXT value should be set to

Contact the email admin about this issue. If you're the email admin, sign into the external email account

Navigate to the DNS settings for the specific domain. In this example, the steps are from a GoDaddy account

Make sure you add the recommended Zendesk verification TXT record

Make sure the value matches the TXT value provided to you in the Zendesk email settings

Click Save and confirm you receive confirmation in the external email settings

Navigate back to the Zendesk Email settings

Locate the support address that receives the DNS error

Click the drop-down button: See Details

Click Verify DNS records

Wait up to 48 hours for a green confirmation check mark to confirm DNS records are set up correctly

For more information, see Why do I receive the error "DNS records are not set up correctly"?

Additional information

How to verify forwarding, SPF, DNS, and TXT records in Zendesk?

See Learn about SPF, DNS, and TXT records and how to resolve any DNS errors.

If you followed the GoDaddy examples, see How to add a TXT record, How to add an SPF record, and Manage your DNS settings.