Troubleshooting DKIM self-authentication using CNAME, TXT, and DMARC

Error messages when self-authenticating your emails using CNAME, TXT, and DMARC records

When self-authenticating your emails, you may receive an error message during the activation step after clicking Check status to indicate there was an issue with how the CNAME, TXT, or DMARC records were added to your DNS settings. Keep in mind that a record has two parts:

• Host name: This is the first part of the record and it contains your domain and subdomain used for the lookup.
• Value: This is the second part of the record.
  • For CNAME records, it points back to ccsend.com (100._domainkey.dkim1.ccsend.com or 200._domainkey.dkim2.ccsend.com).
  • For TXT records, it points to your actual DKIM public key (which starts with: “k=rsa;” and the rest being unique to you). 
  • For DMARC records, it tells the receiving server what to do if the message fails a DMARC alignment check (nothing, quarantine, or reject).

Take a look below at the possible error messages you may encounter and what they mean:

• Not found
  • CNAME
  • TXT
  • DMARC
• Invalid name
  • CNAME
  • TXT
• Invalid value
  • CNAME
  • TXT

Not found

Please note: It can take 24 to 48 hours after adding the records to your DNS settings for Constant Contact to be able to find them.

CNAME

Error message: Host name was not found

What it means: There is no corresponding CNAME record host name found in your DNS settings or you have added a CNAME record, but it does not match what Constant Contact provided you during self-authentication setup, so we are unable to look it up.


 

TXT

Error message: Host name was not found

What it means: There is no corresponding TXT record host name found in your DNS settings or you have added a TXT record, but it does not match what Constant Contact provided you during self-authentication setup, so we are unable to look it up.


 

DMARC

Error message: Host name was not found or has incorrect value

What it means: There is no corresponding DMARC record host name or valid value found in your DNS settings. If you’ve already added the DMARC record, make sure it matches the expected results. Note, the record information is case sensitive. The error could also be due to certain DNS providers automatically adding your domain to the record. Please see this article for details to correct the issue. 


 

Invalid name

CNAME

Error message: Please enter expected host name
We’ll show you the expected host name that should be entered in your DNS records and the host name that was found.

What it means: The CNAME record has been added incorrectly. The host name for the corresponding CNAME record at your DNS provider does not match what Constant Contact provided you during self-authentication setup. Some DNS providers automatically add your domain to the record. Please see this article for details to correct the issue.



 

TXT

Error message: Please enter expected host name
We’ll show you the expected host name that should be entered in your DNS records and the host name that was found.

What it means: The TXT record has been added incorrectly. The host name for the corresponding TXT record at your DNS provider does not match what Constant Contact provided you during self-authentication setup. Some DNS providers automatically add your domain to the record. Please see this article for details to correct the issue.

Invalid value

CNAME

Error message: Please enter correct value for host name
We’ll show you the expected value that should be entered in your DNS records and the value that was found.

What it means: The value for the corresponding CNAME host name does not match what Constant Contact provided you during self-authentication setup. You have entered the CNAME host name correctly, but the expected value was not found. Check with your DNS provider to make sure the value matches the expected results. 


 

TXT

Error message: Please enter correct value for host name
We’ll show you the value that was found in your DNS records.

What it means: The value for the corresponding TXT host name does not match what Constant Contact provided you during self-authentication setup. You have entered the TXT host name correctly but the expected value was not found. Check with your DNS provider to make sure the value matches the expected results.

Questions?