06/08/2026
Today was a good reminder that sometimes the smallest issues cause the biggest headaches.
I was troubleshooting why a verification email from a new platform never arrived. Spam folder was empty. Google Workspace looked healthy. The website was working. DNS appeared fine at first glance.
After digging deeper, I found the root cause:
The domain had no MX records.
Without MX records, the internet doesn’t know where to deliver email for your domain. Everything looked normal on the surface, but inbound email delivery wasn’t properly configured.
While working through the issue, I also reviewed and verified:
MX Records
SPF Records
DKIM Authentication
DMARC Policy
Google Workspace Configuration
Cloudflare DNS Settings
The result? Email delivery was restored immediately, and all authentication checks now pass.
It’s a good example of why troubleshooting should always start with fundamentals. Sometimes the solution isn’t a complex firewall rule, advanced security setting, or software bug. Sometimes it’s a missing DNS record hiding in plain sight.
Every issue is an opportunity to learn something new, and today was a great reminder that the fundamentals matter.