What does it mean when I can see my MX records propagate but not TXT?

Trying to get set up with Amazon SES. The first step is to get verified for my domain via a TXT record. Well, I changed mine 48 hours ago exactly and they still haven't verified.

However, when I do a lookup I can see the MX records I added literally at the same time, but not my TXT record.

Is this an indication of an error on my part (or somewhere else in the chain)?

As an aside, if someone is kind of enough to answer, do I need TXT record to receive email?

Yeats

Posted 2016-07-14T11:28:51.120

Reputation: 101

Are you sure you set the TXT record correctly? You’re supposed to set them on a subdomain, if possible. – Daniel B – 2016-07-14T11:35:15.553

@DanielB I followed the instructions. Name _amazonses with some strange value. – Yeats – 2016-07-14T11:40:12.430

You can verify the DNS entries by directly querying the authoritative name server for your domain. However, you need to query _amazonses.example.com, not example.com. – Daniel B – 2016-07-14T12:13:09.033

@DanielB Yep. Doesn't come up with anything. – Yeats – 2016-07-14T12:17:57.697

If the authoritative name server doesn’t serve the records you set, you should contact its operator (typically your domain provider). – Daniel B – 2016-07-14T12:35:59.593

Answers

Is this an indication of an error on my part (or somewhere else in the chain)?

Not necessarily. Check your provider's dns interface, maybe it requires a special syntax for the record. On Linux you can check the the settings with the help of dig:

dig TXT _amazonses.example.com

As an aside, if someone is kind of enough to answer, do I need TXT record to receive email?

No, a TXT record is just a plain text record. You need a correct MX record to receive emails. I guess that the TXT record is only required to prove your ownership of the domain.

strandraeuber

Posted 2016-07-14T11:28:51.120

Reputation: 11

The core of question is really if the MX record can show up but not the TXT record, even if both are correct and added at the same time. In my case, it turned out, the TXT record was wrong (my domain was added twice (_amazonses.mydomain.com.mydomain.com) due to a bad interface). – Yeats – 2016-07-14T13:53:36.357

You actually should have a text record indicating valid MTAs for your domain (SPF). It's just a string you add in a TXT record with a specific format. See http://www.openspf.org/SPF_Record_Syntax

– milli – 2016-07-15T06:40:28.910