You set up a new domain, pointed it at Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, and now emails to your business address are bouncing back or never arriving at all.

Somewhere along the way, someone told you to check your MX records, and that phrase probably meant nothing to you.

This guide explains what MX records are and how DNS works.

By the end, you will understand what an MX record does, how to read one, how it differs from the other DNS entries sitting next to it, and how to check and fix yours without calling in a developer.

What Is an MX Record ?

An MX record, short for Mail Exchanger record, is a line of settings inside your domain’s DNS that tells the internet where to deliver email for your domain.

Think of your domain as a building, and your MX record as the sign out front that tells the delivery driver which door leads to the mailroom.

Without that sign, mail still gets sent, but it has nowhere to go, so it bounces back to the sender.

Every domain that receives email, whether it runs on Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or a basic hosting mailbox, needs at least one MX record pointing to the correct mail server.

How MX Records Actually Work

Email delivery happens in three quick steps, and understanding them makes troubleshooting far less mysterious.

• Step 1: The lookup. When someone emails you at [email protected], their mail server queries the DNS system for your domain’s MX record before sending anything.

• Step 2: The resolution. The MX record returns a hostname, such as mail.mybusiness.co.ke, and the sending server then looks up the actual IP address associated with that hostname.

• Step 3: The delivery. Once the sending server has that IP address, it delivers the message using SMTP, the protocol that every mail server uses to communicate with every other mail server.

All of this happens in the background within a second or two, which is why most people never think about MX records until something goes wrong.

What an MX Record Actually Looks Like

An MX record entry usually shows three pieces of information: the domain it belongs to, the mail server hostname, and a priority number.

Domain: mybusiness.co.ke

Mail exchanger: mail.mybusiness.co.ke

Priority: 10

This entry tells the internet that any email sent to [email protected] should be delivered to the mail server at mybusiness.co.ke.

If you use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, your provider already provides its own set of MX records to add, rather than building this by hand, which we cover later.

An Example

Imagine a Nairobi consultancy running its email through mybusiness.co.ke, with a customer named Amina sending a message to [email protected].

Amina’s mail server first asks DNS for the MX record for mybusiness.co.ke and receives the hostname mail.mybusiness.co.ke with a priority of 10.

Her mail server then looks up the A record for mail.mybusiness.co.ke to find the actual IP address behind that name.

Once it has that address, it opens an SMTP connection and delivers the message, all within a second or two of Amina hitting send.

If mail.mybusiness.co.ke had been offline that day, and a backup record with priority 20 existed, the message would have quietly rerouted there instead of bouncing.

Understanding Priority Numbers

Most domains list more than one MX record, and the priority number decides which server gets tried first.

A lower number means higher priority, so a record with priority 10 is contacted before one with priority 20.

Mail Server	Priority Number	Role
mail1.mybusiness.co.ke	10	Primary server, tried first
mail2.mybusiness.co.ke	20	Backup server, tried if the first fails

This setup protects you from downtime. If the primary server does not respond, the sending server automatically tries the backup instead of simply giving up.

MX Records vs Other DNS Records You Will See

Part of the confusion around MX records stems from the other unfamiliar entries in the same DNS panel.

• A record: points a domain or subdomain to an IP address, and it is what an MX record’s hostname eventually resolves to behind the scenes.

• CNAME record: points one hostname to another hostname rather than to an IP address directly, and it should never be used as the target of an MX record.

• TXT record (SPF): lists which mail servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain, working alongside your MX record rather than replacing it.

• TXT record (DKIM): adds a digital signature to your outgoing mail so receiving servers can confirm messages have not been tampered with.

MX records handle where incoming mail goes. SPF and DKIM handle proving your outgoing mail is legitimate. 

You generally need all of them working together for a reliable business email.

Why MX Records Matter for Your Business

A missing or broken MX record is not a minor inconvenience. It stops your business from receiving email at all.

• Email delivery: without a working MX record, incoming messages have nowhere to go and bounce straight back to the sender

• Redundancy: multiple priority levels keep mail flowing even if your main server has an outage

• New account setup: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both require you to add their specific MX records to your domain before your new mailbox can receive anything

If you recently switched email providers and stopped receiving messages, an outdated MX record still pointing at your old provider is usually the first thing to check.

How to Check Your Current MX Records

You do not need special software to check this. A handful of free tools show you exactly what is published for your domain.

• Online lookup tools: sites such as MXToolbox let you enter your domain and instantly see every MX record associated with it, along with their priority values.

• Command line, Windows: open Command Prompt, type nslookup, press enter, then type set q=MX followed by your domain name.

• Command line, Mac or Linux: open Terminal and type dig mx yourdomain.com to see the same information in a slightly more detailed format.

Run this check anytime an email suddenly stops arriving. If nothing shows up, or the hostname looks wrong, you have found your problem.

How to Add MX Records for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 walk you through this during setup, but the underlying steps are the same regardless of where you host your domain.

• Step 1: Log in to your domain registrar’s control panel, or your web host’s cPanel if that is where your domain’s DNS lives.

• Step 2: Find the DNS management or Zone Editor section and look for the option to add a new MX record.

• Step 3: Copy the exact hostname and priority values your provider gives you. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both publish these on their own setup pages, and the values must match exactly.

• Step 4: Remove any old MX records left over from a previous provider, since having two different providers listed at once can split your incoming mail between them.

• Step 5: Save your changes and allow up to 48 hours for the new records to fully propagate, though most updates complete within a few hours.

Common MX Record Mistakes

A handful of avoidable errors account for most of the email delivery problems people run into.

• Typing the hostname incorrectly: a single missing letter or dot in the mail server address is enough to stop delivery entirely, so copy and paste rather than retyping it.

• Leaving old records in place: switching providers without deleting the previous MX entries confuses sending servers about where actually to deliver your mail.

• Assuming changes are instant: DNS updates take time to spread across the internet, so give it a few hours before assuming a fix has failed.

• Pointing an MX record at a CNAME: mail servers should always be an A record or a plain hostname, never an alias, since some receiving servers reject that setup outright.

• Checking the wrong DNS zone: if your domain uses one provider for nameservers and another for hosting, editing the DNS panel that is not actually authoritative for your domain changes nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Can I set up an MX record myself, without a developer?

Yes, most domain registrars and web hosts provide a simple DNS or Zone Editor panel where you can add, edit, or delete MX records without writing any code.

2) How many MX records should my domain have?

Two is a common setup for most small businesses, giving you one primary server and one backup for redundancy.

Larger organizations sometimes add more to spread email traffic across several servers at once.

3) How long does it take for a new MX record to start working?

Most changes take effect within a few hours, though full propagation across every DNS server worldwide can take up to 48 hours in rare cases.

4) Why am I still not receiving email after adding the correct MX record?

Double-check that no old MX records from a previous provider are still listed alongside the new one, since a leftover entry can quietly redirect part of your mail.

It also helps confirm that your domain’s nameservers actually point to the place where you are editing DNS, since edits made elsewhere never take effect.

5) What is the difference between an MX record and an A record?

An MX record tells the internet which server handles email for your domain, while an A record tells it which IP address a domain or subdomain actually points to.

The MX record’s hostname typically resolves through an A record behind the scenes, so the two work as a pair rather than as alternatives.

6) Do MX records affect whether my email lands in spam?

Not directly, but a missing or misconfigured MX record can cause receiving servers to distrust your domain, which indirectly affects how your outgoing mail is treated as well.

Pairing a correct MX record with SPF and DKIM authentication gives your business email the best chance of reaching the inbox.

7) Does moving to a new web host affect my MX records?

Only if your new host also manages your domain’s nameservers, since MX records live in DNS rather than in your website’s files.

Moving your website to new hosting while keeping your existing nameservers means your MX records and your email stay untouched.

What To Do Next 

An MX record is simply the instruction that tells the internet where your business email actually lives, and getting it right is often the difference between a working inbox and messages that quietly bounce.

Check yours with a free lookup tool, match it exactly against what your email provider gives you, and remove anything left over from a previous setup.

If you would rather have this configured the first time correctly, Truehost’s support team helps customers add and verify MX records for Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Workplace email at no extra cost.