What is an MX record

Short answer: an MX record is the DNS record that says where email for your domain should be delivered. For a mailbox at HSJ Host, the record is a priority of 0 and a destination of mail.whitelabelhostingplatform.com.

You do not have to transfer the domain, and you do not have to change the nameservers, if the website is staying with another company. Only the mail records need to change, and only when you are ready for new messages to arrive here. The website A record, the www record, and any other hosting DNS can stay as they are. An MX record does not point the website.

The MX record to add

Add this at the company that hosts your DNS. That may be the HSJ Host client portal, the DNS zone in cPanel, or another provider if the domain’s nameservers point somewhere else. Open the DNS zone for the domain itself, not a subdomain such as www.

Some panels call the host “@”, some call it the root, and some want the host left blank. All three mean the domain itself, not a name like mail or www. If you type mail in the host field, you publish the record for mail.yourdomain.com.au. Mail addressed to [email protected] will not use that record.

The destination sometimes has to be a name that ends in a dot, and some panels add that dot for you. Either form is the same host. Do not put an IP address in the MX value. MX records point at a hostname.

whitelabelhostingplatform.com is HSJ Host infrastructure. It is the same platform as the cPanel nameservers. It is not a different company, and you do not register that name as your own domain.

What the priority means

Priority 0 is the preference published for HSJ Host mail. Mail servers try the lowest number first. When you are ready to switch, this should be the only MX record on the domain. Leaving the old provider in the zone at a higher number does not work as a tidy backup. Some senders still deliver to the higher number, and new mail splits between the two services. Replace the old MX records. Do not add this one beside them.

How to set MX records

1. Create the mailbox first. The steps are in how to create an email account in cPanel. A record that points at this server before the mailbox exists will bounce.
2. If you are moving mail from another provider, copy the old messages into the new mailbox before you change the MX record. Once the record changes, new mail stops arriving at the old service. Mail already stored there does not move by itself.
3. At your DNS provider, delete or replace every existing MX record. A domain should not keep the old provider’s MX records alongside this one.
4. Add the MX record in the table above. Set the host to @, blank, or the bare domain, priority 0, and the destination exactly as shown.
5. Add the SPF record at the same time. Then add DKIM and, if you do not already have one, a DMARC record.

DNS changes often show within an hour. They can take 24 to 48 hours. New messages start arriving after the MX record is the one the rest of the internet can see. Sending from the new mailbox can work earlier than receiving. The two are separate.

How to tell the MX record has worked

• Send a new message from an address outside the domain, such as a personal account, to the mailbox you created.
• Open cPanel webmail. The test message should be in that inbox once DNS has updated.
• If the test still arrives at the old service, the old MX record is still published, or the change has not finished propagating. Check the zone again and wait before you edit anything else.
• If webmail has the message and Outlook does not yet, the DNS change has worked. The app still needs the IMAP settings, and a large mailbox can take a few minutes to sync.

What not to change

Leave the website records alone if the site is hosted somewhere else. An A record, a CNAME for www, and the nameservers can stay as they are. Changing nameservers would move the whole DNS zone, including the website, which you do not need for email.

Also leave SPF, DKIM and DMARC records that already mention other services until you have read those guides. The MX change delivers mail. Those TXT records affect whether mail you send is trusted. They are edited on purpose, not wiped because the MX record changed.

Common problems

• The host was set to mail or www. Mail to the domain still follows the old MX record.
• The old MX records were left in place, so new mail arrives in two different inboxes.
• The MX record was changed before the mailbox existed, so senders get a bounce.
• The website A record was edited while changing mail. The site stops loading. Put that record back. It is separate from the MX row.
• Old mail was expected to appear in the new inbox. It will not. Copy it across before the switch, or export it from the old provider afterwards. Only new mail follows the MX record.

For the hosting login, use the HSJ Host client portal. Do not send the account password by email. Phone support is available Monday to Friday, 9 am to 9 pm AEST/AEDT, on 1800 519 724. Support tickets can be submitted 24/7.