Hover the domain's status icon on the Domains page. "Nameservers Pending" means Winnr can't see your new nameservers yet: check they match exactly at your registrar, then click Re-check Nameservers. "DNS Records Pending" means you're on the manual method: the hover card lists every record, with a button to copy each value. Click Verify DNS Records and each record gets a check or a cross. Most failures are typos in the value, a record added at the wrong name, or an old conflicting record overriding Winnr's.
First, which method are you on?
Hover the status icon on the domain's row on the Domains page:
- Nameservers Pending (nameserver method): Winnr is waiting to see its nameservers on your domain. The hover card lists the nameservers to set, with Copy all, and a Re-check Nameservers button.
- DNS Records Pending (manual method): Winnr is waiting for the records you add at your own DNS provider. The hover card lists each record's type and name, with a button to copy its value, and a Verify DNS Records button.
If you used a Cloudflare API token and the connect step failed, it's almost always the token. Create a new one with Zone:DNS:Edit and Zone:Zone:Edit permissions on the right zone and try again.
Nameserver method
- At your registrar, confirm the domain's nameservers are exactly the ones Winnr shows, with every old nameserver removed.
- If your registrar has DNSSEC turned on from a previous DNS host, turn it off.
- Click Re-check Nameservers (or select several domains and click Re-check NS in the action bar).
Once the check passes, Winnr creates all the records itself. There's nothing else to verify.
Manual method: per-record diagnosis
A record (at inbound)
- Wrong name: the name is
inbound, so the full host isinbound.yourdomain.com. - Wrong IP: copy the value from Winnr rather than typing it.
SPF (TXT at the domain itself)
- Not showing up at all: the record was added at the wrong name. SPF goes at the domain itself (
@or an empty name field at most providers), not atspf.yourdomain.comor anything else. - Wrong value: some DNS editors need TXT values in quotes and some add them automatically. Try with and without quotes.
- Multiple SPF records: only one is allowed. Remove the others.
- Extra SPF records: if Winnr lists more than one SPF-related TXT record (for example one at a short name like
s1), add each at the name shown.
DKIM (TXT at dkim._domainkey)
- Wrong name: the Name field should be
dkim._domainkey. Some providers append your domain automatically and some don't, so check that the full name isn't doubled (dkim._domainkey.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com). - Truncated value: some DNS editors cut TXT values at about 255 characters. Look for a "long TXT" option, or check that the saved value matches in full.
- Line breaks or spaces: the DKIM value must be one continuous string.
DMARC (TXT at _dmarc)
- Wrong name:
_dmarc, exactly. The underscore matters. - Malformed value: it must start with
v=DMARC1;followed by a policy (p=rejectby default). Extra spaces or missing semicolons break it.
MX (at the domain itself)
- Wrong priority: Winnr's MX uses priority 10.
- Wrong hostname: it must be exactly
inbound.yourdomain.comas Winnr shows it. A missing part of the hostname breaks it. - Conflicting MX: remove any default MX your registrar added.
Waiting is sometimes the answer
DNS answers are cached for a while. If the records are correct at your DNS provider and Winnr still marks them red:
- Wait 15 minutes.
- Click Verify DNS Records again.
- If they're still failing after an hour, contact support@winnr.app with the domain name and a screenshot of your DNS records.
The cache time (TTL) on your old records decides how long stale answers can linger. If your provider defaults to a long TTL, changes can genuinely take that long. A TTL of 3600 (1 hour) or lower is a good setting while you're making changes.
What's next
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which record is failing?
On a domain connected with manual records, hover its yellow status icon on the Domains page ("DNS Records Pending") and click Verify DNS Records. Each record turns green (verified) or red (not found or not matching), and a message tells you how many are still missing. You can verify many domains at once by selecting them and clicking Verify DNS in the action bar.
Which records have to verify before the domain goes Active?
The inbound A record, the MX record, the SPF record at the domain itself, and the DKIM record. Add the DMARC record (and any extra records listed) too, but they don't hold up activation.
What if I can't tell what's wrong even after comparing?
Use the copy button next to each record in the hover card to copy Winnr's value, and compare it character by character with what's at your DNS provider. DKIM values especially can look nearly identical but have one character off.
DKIM specifically won't verify. Why?
DKIM values are long, often 300+ characters. Common issues are a value copied without its last characters, line breaks introduced by your DNS provider's editor, or the value split across two separate records when it should be one long TXT record.
The SPF record includes something else. Do I remove that?
You can only have one SPF record at the domain. On a standard connect, Winnr's SPF record replaces any existing one. If another service still needs to send from this domain, connect in subdomain format or use a separate domain for cold sending instead of merging them.
MX record won't verify.
Almost always because your registrar added a default MX pointing at its own mail service. Delete the default record and add Winnr's MX with priority 10.
My nameservers are right but the domain still says Nameservers Pending.
Give it time and re-check. Nameserver changes are usually live within minutes but can take up to 48 hours. Also make sure you replaced all the old nameservers (not added Winnr's alongside them), and that your registrar has no leftover DNSSEC setting from your previous DNS host, which can stop the new nameservers from working.