Quick answer
Connecting a custom domain to WanderOS will not affect the email you send and receive in your inbox (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, etc.) as long as your existing email-related DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are kept intact. This applies to all WanderOS hosts. WanderOS sends guest emails on your behalf from a @yourdomain address such as contact@yourdomain (booking confirmations, marketing campaigns), so a small number of additional records are needed so those messages authenticate properly. The auto-DNS flow handles most of this for you. If your email stops working after connecting your domain, the most common cause is an existing record being replaced rather than added during DNS setup.
What kinds of email are involved?
There are two distinct kinds of email tied to your custom domain. Both share the same domain name, but they use different DNS records.
Type | Who runs it | What records it needs |
Your inbox email (mail you send and receive at | Your email provider — Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, etc. | MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and any verification TXT records issued by your provider |
Email WanderOS sends on your behalf (booking confirmations, guest comms, marketing campaigns from | WanderOS, via Postmark | An SPF entry plus DKIM records that authorize Postmark to send mail from your domain |
Both sets of records can coexist on the same domain. Connecting your custom domain to WanderOS only requires us to add what we need; it never removes the records your email provider relies on.
Will WanderOS replace my MX records or break my inbox?
WanderOS does not need to change your MX records. Your inbox email continues to be delivered to whichever provider you use today.
The records WanderOS needs fall into two groups:
Website serving: records that point your domain at WanderOS so guests can reach your site
Outbound email authentication: an addition to your SPF record and DKIM records so messages WanderOS sends from your domain pass authentication checks
Neither of these touches your inbound mail flow.
What does WanderOS send from my domain?
WanderOS sends a few different message types from contact@<yourdomain> so guests see communications coming from your brand, not from wander.com:
Booking confirmations and updates
Pre-arrival and post-stay messages tied to a reservation
Marketing campaign emails you create in Marketing → Campaigns (see How do I drive direct bookings with automated email campaigns in WanderOS?)
For these to land in inboxes (and not in spam), the SPF and DKIM records WanderOS adds must remain in place on your domain.
Does the auto-DNS flow set this up for me?
Yes, in most cases. When you connect your domain through the in-product DNS flow, the integration adds the records WanderOS needs (both for website serving and for outbound email) without removing your existing email records.
After the flow finishes, log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider and verify that your existing MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and verification TXT records are still present.
If anything looks missing, restore it from your previous DNS export or from your provider's setup documentation, and reach out to Wander support so we can confirm the WanderOS records are also in place.
What if I added DNS records manually?
If you followed manual DNS instructions and email started failing right after, the most likely cause is that you replaced an existing record instead of adding to it. The two records most often overwritten are the root A record and the TXT record at the root (which often holds your SPF record).
To fix it: restore your original A and TXT values from your previous DNS export, or get the correct MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC values from your email provider's setup guide and re-add them. Then reach out to Wander support and we can share the exact WanderOS records you should have for outbound sending.
How do I check my email DNS is healthy?
Use a free DNS lookup tool to confirm your records are in place:
MX records: mxtoolbox.com/MXLookup.aspx
DMARC: mxtoolbox.com/dmarc.aspx
You can also send yourself a test booking confirmation from WanderOS and check the message headers for SPF and DKIM pass results.
Troubleshooting
Inbox email stopped working right after connecting my domain: MX or SPF records were likely replaced. Restore them from your email provider's setup documentation, then reach out to Wander support.
Mail lands in spam or doesn't arrive: SPF, DKIM, or DMARC are missing or out of sync. Re-verify each value with your email provider's setup guide.
Booking confirmations from WanderOS land in spam: WanderOS's outbound sending records may be missing. Reach out to Wander support and we can share the exact SPF include and DKIM CNAMEs to add.
Third-party verifications stopped working: A TXT verification record was removed during DNS setup. Re-issue and re-add it.
Email broke today and I didn't change anything: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate. Wait a full 48 hours after any recent change before troubleshooting further.
Not sure which records are mine: Your domain registrar's DNS panel shows live records. Wander support is happy to verify the WanderOS records on your behalf.