Hi,

I've had a very frustrating time trying to get any meaningful response from Zoho support regarding an email routing issue. This is being caused by a problem with Zoho Mails internal DNS service, but Zoho Support is either unable to understand it and/or are unwilling to escalate the problem to the correct channels.

We are trying to send an email to a specific domain, "graysls.ca"

If we send an email to any recipient at that domain, we receive the following bounceback email message:

--------------------------------------------------

From: <mailer-daemon@mail.zoho.com>
To: <redacted@redacted.com>
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:45:12 -0500
Subject: Mail Delivery Status Notification (Delay)
============ Forwarded message ============
This message was created automatically by mail delivery system.

THIS IS A WARNING MESSAGE ONLY.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESEND YOUR MESSAGE.

The original message was received at Wed, 06 Mar 2024 07:45:12 -0800
from redacted@redacted.com [redacted@redacted.com]

----- The following addresses had fatal errors -----
[info@graysls.ca, accounting@graysls.ca]

Message will be retried for 4 more day(s)


Reporting-MTA: dns; mx.zohomail.com
Arrival-Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2024 09:59 -0500

Original-Recipient: rfc822; info@graysls.ca
Final-Recipient: rfc822; info@graysls.ca
Status: 0
Action: failed
Last-Attempt-Date: 6 Mar 2024 15:45:12 GMT
Diagnostic-Code: DOMAIN_NOT_RESOLVED

Original-Recipient: rfc822; redacted@graysls.ca
Final-Recipient: rfc822; redacted@graysls.ca
Status: 0
Action: failed
Last-Attempt-Date: 6 Mar 2024 15:45:12 GMT
Diagnostic-Code: DOMAIN_NOT_RESOLVED

--------------------------------------------------

Additionally, testing with the Domain Details tool in the Zoho Toolkit, I can see that whatever DNS service Zoho is using internally is unable to resolve any MX records for that domain:

However, this domain does indeed have their MX records configured properly. This is proven by multiple other DNS services correctly reporting their MX records:

I have had multiple chat sessions and calls with support where I have had to argue with the support reps to get them to understand that this is not an issue that is being caused by my email client, with the setup of ours or the recipient domains, or anything else that is under my control. This is 100% a service issue on Zoho's side and if I get another person that tells me to just reboot my computer I am going to explode. 

The latest phone call I had with "Buhari M" ended with him assuring me that the issue would be looked into and I would be receiving a support callback or ticket shortly. I've receive neither and the issue still persists. I am not unfamiliar with networking and managing email servers. I am literally trying to give support the solution to the problem but they do not seem to be willing to even entertain the idea that a service issue on Zoho's side is possible, even when I provide them with direct proof.

This is my last attempt to get traction on this issue before I simply migrate this customer (and the rest of our client base) off of Zoho and to a different email provider. I had always tried to root for Zoho in the past because I wanted to support a company that wasn't either Google or Microsoft. But if dealing with support is going to be such a nightmare, it's not worth it.

To summarize: This is a Zoho routing and networking issue. Your internal DNS is not configured properly and is not able to resolve certain valid domain names. Don't waste my time with the troubleshooting checklist or flowcharts. If you don't know what a Reverse Lookup Zone is, you probably shouldn't reply. Just go and find the oldest guy with the grayest beard in the building, give them the link to this post, and watch them fix this in five minutes. This problem can only be solved by your network team.