Adding Quotes around SPF and DMARC records is recommended but triggers message

[robert19]

What is the name of the domain?

Home - Abundant Designs

What is the error message?

To reduce ambiguity, we strongly recommend adding “quotes” around the contents of your TXT record.

What is the issue you’re encountering

If I add quotes around SPF and DMARC records as Cloudflare now recommends, a recommendation message appears at the top as if SPF and DMARC records did not exist.

What steps have you taken to resolve the issue?

I’ve tried adding quotes around SPF and DMARC records but then I receive the message at the top of the screen:
"Recommended steps to complete zone set-up

• Use wizard to add an SPF record and define what mail servers are allowed to send mail for your domain.
• Use wizard to add a DMARC policy and choose what happens to outgoing mail that fails authentication."

So I remove the quotes and this recommendation at the top of the screen goes away but a new error appears beside each SPF and DMARC record:
“To reduce ambiguity, we strongly recommend adding “quotes” around the contents of your TXT record.”

What feature, service or problem is this related to?

DNS records

What are the steps to reproduce the issue?

Add quotes around SPF and DMARC records and you’ll receive the message at the top of the screen:
"Recommended steps to complete zone set-up

• Use wizard to add an SPF record and define what mail servers are allowed to send mail for your domain.
• Use wizard to add a DMARC policy and choose what happens to outgoing mail that fails authentication."

Remove the quotes around SPF and DMARC records and these messages at the top of the screen go away but a new one appears beside each record:
“To reduce ambiguity, we strongly recommend adding “quotes” around the contents of your TXT record.”

Screenshot of the error

[jeff.hall]

Yes, I have the same issue. Also the wizard creates the record without the quotes.

[tyler8]

Indeed- Another scary warning message without necessary context!

[skyamin]

Yes, [same issue] :o which is not making any sense for me.

[andreas.prassas]

Same issue here!

[eportillo]

Hello,

Can you please post the screenshot without the quotes to show the other message please? I see that the SPF record is coming back correctly on mxtoolbx.

Appreciate the screenshot. Also, how were these records created? Were they all manual entries or did you use the API to import the records in?

[robert19]

@robert19

To reduce ambiguity, we strongly recommend adding “quotes” around the contents of your TXT record.”

The message is now gone! Here’s what it used to look like next to every TXT record that didn’t have quotation marks around it. All of my entries were manual entries. They had been there for a long time. I just logged in and noticed the message.

So I assume it’s fine to not wrap all TXT messages in quotation marks?

[dom-cf]

See also Recommended settings just got borked