SPF/DKIM - Removing "via sendgrid.net" from outgoing emails
This is advanced material that would best be done by an IT admin or someone that fully understands what it means to make changes to DNS records.
If you are using SMTP channels in Front, we strongly recommend that you authorize SendGrid to send emails on your behalf by setting up specific SendGrid SPF/DKIM entries in your DNS configuration. This will improve email deliverability, avoid messages being marked as spam, and remove the "via sendgrid.net" that appears next to the sender email address in your sent emails.
Follow these steps to add your SPF/DKIM records for each email domain you use to send email from Front. There is one Deliverability settings page visible to company admins where you can configure records for all your email domains in one place. If you are not a company admin, you will not see this settings page and will need to get your admin’s help.
⚠️Whenever there are missing SPF/DKIM records for an email domain you use in Front, all members of the team will see prominent warnings in the app indicating this set up step has not been completed.
New deliverability settings
We have recently redesigned SPF/DKIM record settings to centralize all your email domains in one place for simpler management. We are in the process of switching customers over to these new settings.
If you do not see these new settings in your account yet, please refer the original settings instructions below to configure records for each channel separately.
Step 1
Go to Settings and locate your company settings section on the left.
Step 2
Click on the Deliverability tab. Here, company admins can configure SPF/DKIM records.
This settings page will only be visible to company admins after your team adds at least one SMTP channel. If you are not a company admin, you will need to ask them to configure these settings for you.
Step 3
You will see a list of your SMTP channel domains under Domains on the left. Any email domains you're using with missing SPF/DKIM records will have a yellow warning icon.
Step 4
Copy the Values and add them as a DNS record in your DNS settings. Each provider offers a different UI to add these entries to the DNS. Please ask your IT department if you're unsure how to do this.
Step 5
Once your DNS settings are set, you can come back to Front and click Check DNS settings.
This will trigger a check by SendGrid to verify that your DNS configuration is correct. Be aware that SendGrid might not see your changes before the time specified in your DNS TTL settings. Wait a few seconds and the validation result will appear (with the encountered errors if any).
Original channel settings
Step 1
Go to Settings > Inboxes.
Step 2
Select the channel.
Step 3
Select the down arrow in the Improve delivery rates - SPF/DKIM setting.
Step 4
Take these values and add them as a DNS record in your DNS settings.
Each provider offers a different UI to add these entries to the DNS. Feel free to ask your IT department if you're unsure about this.
Step 5
Once your DNS settings are set, you can come back to Front and click Check DNS settings. This will trigger a check by SendGrid to verify that your DNS configuration is correct. Be aware that SendGrid might not see your changes before the time specified in your DNS TTL settings.
Wait a few seconds and the check result will appear (with the encountered errors if any).
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You're missing a step between #3 and #4 – how to add these entries to our DNS.
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tyler martin This is different for a lot of people, depending on the provider.
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Cori Morris I agree with tyler . There should be some kind of documentation on how to change the DNS records, even if it's generic. I'm scratching my head trying to figure this out
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...and until I figure this out, I'm concerned that many of our sent emails from team inboxes aren't getting delivered due to the 'via Sendgrid' factor
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Bobby Shiffler I'm sorry we can't be of more help! Due to the many different providers, even we don't know how to do this for every single one. We suggest contacting your specific provider for assistance on their platform.
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Cori Morris Hi Cori,
we use network solutions. i don't see a way to add the values shown on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd DNS records into network solutions. front mentions that 2 records are TXT and 1 is MX but it doesn't indicate what is the Host / TTL and TEXT value we should input on the DNS administrator, in network solutions. can you please help?
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Ricardo G. Hi! Can you please provide your company name so I can look into your account? If you prefer to email me, that's fine as well.
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Just sayin... I finished 3 other trials with different companies before choosing Front and they have instructions that go into more detail or at least a link to the 'how to' page for each of the providers. The instructions are not clear at all. I've done cname changes and other things like that and have been able to figure it out.
This was my experience (and mistake): I had to contact bluehost, they added the changes, then I realized that it completely disabled my ability to send emails through bluehost because the MX settings were changed (and I didn't realize that was what would happen.)
After, it required another call to figure out what the original settings were and to re-enable my ability to send email until I was ready.
I was still on a trial with Front and not ready to use only the Front inbox. Emails were still being sent to my Gmail through pop3. The poor explanation of these settings lead me to set this up (to ensure deliverability) without realizing the consequences of getting it wrong.
I looked at the settings the Bluehost tech entered and there is honestly no way I would have figured it out on my own.
I think these instructions could be 'rewritten for simple folk' that are using this software as an email management solution without assuming we all have an IT team to handle this. At least with a warning not to make any changes unless you are 100% certain what you are doing.
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Amy Whitney Thanks for the feedback. We will definitely add a warning.
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I got these instructions in my email late last night and now I have the team that is using front freaking out because they are getting the warning. Getting these instructions last min is pretty disheartening. Also I cannot make the changes to the MX records in the fashion that your suggest here using HostGator. I need support but cannot find a way to get personal support for our specific issue. Very frustrating all around!
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Joe Motz We received your email as well and will follow up there.
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I have two out of three working. But then I come back to Front and it tells me all three are not working again.
This is very confusing, you should definitely have a lot more support for your users.
How would I change this if my email is set up with Google?
Right now your instructions don't seem to work.Very frustrating...
And I recently posted and argued on a big e-commerce forum about how Front was better than Gorgias....... :( -
David Couillard I seem to have the same issue - 2 of 3 DNS records show they are verified. The mx value on the first DNS is still marked as "failed" even though we have adjusted the values on our host. Have you got the same problem?
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Can you post the correct cpanel settings?
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Kevin Garcia Exactly! When I click Check DNS Settings tow of them work but the MX doesn't. Then if I leave the page and return, all three are marked as Failed again.
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I don't think there is a way to do this in Cpanel without calling...I'd like to echo David's request to post directions for Cpanel users - this is very common and I imagine many people are on this platform.
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For those having problem with the MX, try adding the code without the 100 in front. The 100 is the Priority and NOT part of the Value.
It's confusing because I started by copying the entire line and my DNS change was being refused.So in my case, I would only add mx.sendgrid.net .
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We are forwarding from Google Apps and letting it be our SPAM filter. Can we dismiss the warning some way?
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Hi Mark , processing incoming spam (inbound mail) and your SPF/DKIM settings (outbound mail) are two separate functions, so the deliverability warnings you're seeing should be unrelated to your Google spam filter. If you have any specific questions about your setup, please email us at support@frontapp.com so we can look into your account without giving any personal information here :)
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I do not see DELIVERABILITY under my company settings. I am currently working with gmail syncing to Front. Is there something I need to do?
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curtis Hi there! Can you send us an email so we can investigate your account?
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Can someone confirm if the MX record should be added to existing mx records or does it need to replace my existing g-suite records? This guide is not very helpful, i would have thought there would be detailed instructions for cpanel. Coming from missive app they had very good instructions!
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Should we do this if we use G-Suite? There are basic information that could have been included here for use with the more popular services like Cpanel or G Suite.
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David Couillard thanks for that. I was getting the bottom 2 verified and the top one wouldn't. Once i scrolled down on this article and read your post i made the change and now all three have verified.
One would assume that Front would update their instructions.
