Why are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC failing in Yahoo/AOL, and how to fix it?

Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that DMARC alignment modes (strict vs. relaxed) can impact whether emails pass authentication. In strict mode, the 'From:' domain must exactly match the SPF-authenticated domain or DKIM signing domain. Relaxed mode allows for subdomain matches. Choosing the correct alignment mode is essential for DMARC compliance.

Email marketer from Gmass explains that warming up IP addresses properly and progressively increases your sending volume over time. Helps you build a sending reputation with Yahoo and AOL which mitigates authentication issues.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that a common cause of SPF/DKIM/DMARC failures is incorrect DNS records. Suggests using online tools to verify that the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly published and formatted. Also, provides to check if the records are propagating properly across different DNS servers.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests contacting Validity to inquire about their data sources, as they might be misinterpreting DMARC reports or headers. Recommends directly examining the auth-result headers in an email to understand authentication results.

Email marketer from GlockApps shares that being on a blocklist can cause delivery failures. Regularly monitoring if your sending IP or domain is on any major blocklists can help identify and resolve reputation issues before they severely impact deliverability to Yahoo and AOL.

Email marketer from MailerCheck explains that performing a comprehensive email audit can uncover hidden deliverability issues. This involves reviewing your authentication setup, list hygiene practices, content quality, and sending infrastructure to identify areas for improvement and prevent emails from failing authentication checks.

Email marketer from SparkPost shares that poor IP address reputation can lead to deliverability issues, even with proper authentication. Yahoo and AOL may block emails from IPs with a history of sending spam. Monitoring IP reputation and taking steps to improve it (e.g., warming up new IPs, removing inactive subscribers) are crucial.

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that Yahoo and AOL now require senders to authenticate their emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They must also have a DMARC policy in place, even if it's just 'p=none'. Additionally, they advise monitoring email performance, reducing spam complaints, and ensuring emails are sent from a consistent IP address.

Email marketer from Postmark explains that monitoring DMARC reports is crucial for identifying authentication issues. DMARC reports provide insights into which emails are failing authentication and why. Analyzing these reports can help pinpoint problems with SPF, DKIM, or DMARC configuration.

Email marketer from Litmus shares that poor list hygiene and low engagement rates can negatively impact deliverability. Yahoo and AOL may filter emails from senders with high bounce rates, spam complaints, or low open/click rates. Regularly cleaning email lists and focusing on engaged subscribers can improve deliverability.

Email marketer from ReturnPath explains that setting up feedback loops with ISPs like Yahoo and AOL allows you to receive notifications when recipients mark your emails as spam. This helps you identify and remove problematic subscribers from your list, improving your sender reputation and deliverability.

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, responds that a key factor is that many senders don't fully understand the new requirements from Yahoo and AOL. They might have set up SPF and DKIM, but haven't configured DMARC correctly or are not properly monitoring DMARC reports to identify and address authentication failures.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that if SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were truly failing, there would be bounces. Recommends contacting Validity support about potentially inaccurate reporting. Suggests examining raw bounce data for detailed information, rather than relying solely on SFMC summaries.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that a sudden failure of SPF/DKIM/DMARC often indicates accidentally deleted DNS entries.

Expert from Word to the Wise, Dennis Dayman, explains that failures can occur because of implementation errors when enabling SPF/DKIM. He also suggests considering checking how IP addresses are categorized as well as also making sure feedback loops are setup.

Expert from Word to the Wise, Steve Jones, explains that AOL and Yahoo's 2024 requirements mandate that senders implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. He emphasizes that the main reason they are failing is that senders have not fully or correctly implemented these authentication methods, particularly DMARC.

Expert from Spamresource.com explains that Yahoo and AOL have announced stricter email authentication requirements. If DMARC, DKIM and SPF aren't passing you might be asked to pay to send to these providers.

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that if a sender's SPF and DKIM records are not properly aligned with their DMARC policy (e.g., the 'From:' domain doesn't match the SPF-authenticated domain or DKIM signing domain), Yahoo and AOL may reject the emails. The fix involves ensuring proper alignment between authentication methods and the DMARC policy.

Documentation from RFC Editor goes through the technical specifications of DMARC and defines the technical reasons around failure

Documentation from Microsoft explains that DKIM failures can result from modifications to the email content during transit. If an email is altered after being signed with DKIM, the signature will no longer be valid. They suggest ensuring that intermediate servers are not modifying email content and that the DKIM signature is correctly implemented.

Documentation from Auth0 explains that DKIM failures often occur because the public key in the DNS record doesn't match the private key used to sign the email. They advise ensuring that the keys are properly generated, stored securely, and that the public key is correctly published in the DNS record.

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that SPF failures can occur due to syntax errors in the SPF record. Common errors include typos, incorrect use of mechanisms (e.g., 'include:', 'a:', 'mx:'), exceeding the 10 DNS lookup limit, and having multiple SPF records. Resolving these errors involves carefully reviewing and correcting the SPF record's syntax.