Setting up MX records
Think of an MX record as your domain's postal address. A sending server first looks in the MX records of yourbusiness.com and then delivers the mail to the server that's listed there: the Mailflux server.
What you need
- A Mailflux mailbox on your own domain.
- Access to the DNS management at your domain registrar or hosting party.
- The exact MX values for your domain. These are ready in your Mailflux account and are domain-specific, so copy them exactly and never make them up yourself.
Setting up MX records: step by step
- Log in at your domain registrar and open the DNS management (sometimes called DNS settings or zone management).
- In your Mailflux account, open the overview with the MX values for your domain and keep it alongside.
- Remove any old MX records that point to a previous provider. If you leave them, incoming mail gets confused.
- Click Add record and choose MX as the type.
- For Name (or Host), enter the character
@, or leave the field empty if your registrar expects it that way. That stands for your domain itself. - For Value (or Mail server), enter the mail server you copy from your Mailflux account.
- For Priority, enter the number Mailflux indicates, for example 10. With multiple records, a lower number determines the first choice.
- Save and repeat this for each MX record in your account.
In practice, an MX record looks like this: @ MX 10 mailserver-from-your-account. You always take the exact server and priority from your Mailflux account. If you first want to understand what MX records exactly are, read what are MX records. How all DNS records work together is in email DNS records explained.
Multiple MX records and priority
Often Mailflux gives not one but two MX records, each with its own priority. That's deliberate: the record with the lowest number is the first choice, and the other takes over if the first server is briefly unreachable. That way no mail gets lost. So copy all the MX records in your account, with exactly the priorities listed with them. Don't change the numbers yourself; the order is intended that way.
Also watch the name field. Most registrars expect @ or an empty field for your main domain. Don't accidentally add your domain name a second time, because then you create a record for yourbusiness.com.yourbusiness.com and it won't work.
Checking whether it worked
Once the change has been applied, send a test mail to your mailbox from another address. If it arrives in your webmail at webmail.mailflux.eu, your MX records are set up right. You can also check your records with an online DNS check: it shows the MX records that the rest of the world currently sees for your domain. If those differ from what you entered, the change hasn't spread everywhere yet.
Not working?
- Incoming mail doesn't arrive. A DNS change needs time. Usually active within an hour, sometimes up to 24 hours.
- There are still old MX records. Remove all records that point to a previous provider. Duplicate MX records send mail the wrong way.
- The priority is missing. Every MX record needs a priority number. Enter it as it appears in your Mailflux account.
- Your registrar automatically adds a dot at the end. That's normal for the server name; leave it and change nothing about the value.
And after that?
Once the MX records are active, you can send a test mail to your address. If it arrives, your incoming mail is set up right. MX records are one piece of the puzzle; the full setup is in linking your domain to email. Want to put your mailbox in a program too? Then you'll find everything at the IMAP server settings. Stuck? We're happy to take a look with you.