When SSL doesn't auto-renew

This article is for anyone who has seen an SSL warning in their dashboard or whose site is showing a certificate error in the browser.

SrvBot checks SSL certificates hourly and renews them automatically before they expire. In most cases you don't need to do anything — the renewal happens in the background without any action from you. This article is for the cases where something prevents the automatic renewal from working.

What you see in the dashboard

If an SSL certificate is within 14 days of expiry and hasn't renewed, the site health card shows an SSL warning. Click the warning to see the certificate's current expiry date and the last renewal attempt. If the last renewal attempt failed, the error message explains why.

Common causes

DNS pointing has changed: SSL certificates are issued by verifying that you control the domain. If the domain's DNS records no longer point to SrvBot servers, the verification fails. Check that your A record or CNAME still points to the address shown in your site's domain settings.

CAA records blocking issuance: a CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) record on your domain can restrict which certificate authorities are allowed to issue certificates for it. SrvBot uses Let's Encrypt. If your domain has a CAA record that doesn't include 'letsencrypt.org', renewal will fail. Check your DNS records for a CAA entry and add 'letsencrypt.org' if needed.

Domain recently transferred: if you've moved your domain to a new registrar or DNS host in the last 48 hours, propagation delays can temporarily prevent verification.

Triggering a manual renewal

Once you've identified and fixed the underlying cause:

1. Go to site detail → Domains.

2. Click the domain with the expired or expiring certificate.

3. Click 'Renew certificate now'.

SrvBot will attempt the renewal immediately. If it succeeds, the certificate is live within a minute or two. If it fails again, the error message will tell you the specific reason — share that with us if you need help interpreting it.

Browser certificate errors vs. dashboard warnings

A dashboard SSL warning means the certificate is expiring soon but hasn't expired yet — your site is still accessible to visitors over HTTPS. A browser certificate error (the 'Not secure' warning visitors see) means the certificate has already expired or the domain no longer matches the certificate. If you're seeing browser errors, treat it as urgent and force a manual renewal, or contact us.

Still stuck? Reply to any email you've received from us, or send a note to [email protected]. A human will be with you within an hour during business hours.