Reviewing SPF, DKIM and DMARC settings for Google GSuite Mail on your domains

February 01, 2019

In the past, I've configured these on my domains (and wrote about SPF with GSuite - which was at the time, Google Apps). In the last 9 years, the rest of the DNS config has changed a lot, and as I've never had issues with mail, I never reviewed my settings. Until today.

For another reason, I checked my config on mx toolbox - and I spotted that some tuning was required.

MX Problems

The DNS report shows a few MX errors, and more warnings

As it happens, Google offer a similar tool for their users in their Google Apps toolbox.

It seems, that at some point the recommended record has changed from:

v=spf1 include:aspmx.googlemail.com ~all

To a different domain:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all 

OK; no problem - that one's easy to fix. Setting up DKIM was easy as well, using the guidance here, and again highlighted that those records were incorrect as well. At some point a CPanel server had managed the DNS config and added it's own records!

Reminder to self - review my MX settings at least every couple of years!


Profile picture

From Dave, who writes to learn things. Thoughts and views are his own.

© 2024, withdave.