Check MX records

Enter a domain. The MX checker shows the mail servers with priority, resolves every host name and detects when no MX exists or a mail server does not resolve.

What are MX records?

MX records (Mail Exchanger) define which servers accept email for a domain. Each entry has a priority; the lowest number is tried first. Without an MX record some senders try to deliver to the domain's A address, most give up. For a domain that should receive mail, MX records are mandatory.

What the checker verifies

  • Presence: are there MX records? A missing MX on an active domain is critical.
  • Resolvability: every MX host must point to an A or AAAA address. An MX pointing to a non-existent name is a common error after provider switches.
  • Null MX: a single entry "0 ." explicitly states that the domain receives no mail. That is correct for pure web or parked domains.
  • Priority and order: multiple servers with the same priority are used evenly.

Examples

Google Workspace:

example.com.  MX  1 smtp.google.com.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 (the exact host is shown in the admin center):

example.com.  MX  0 example-com.mail.protection.outlook.com.

Learn about MX changes immediately

An MX change is rarely intentional if nobody announced it. DomainWarn detects changed or removed MX records within minutes, confirms the change against a second name server to avoid false alarms and reports it via email, Slack, Discord, Telegram or webhook.

Frequently asked questions

My domain has no MX record but mail still arrives?
Then senders deliver to the A address. That does not work everywhere and should not be the permanent state.
What does an MX with priority 0 mean?
The highest priority. The value itself is arbitrary, only the order matters.
What is a null MX?
The entry "0 ." per RFC 7505 explicitly states that the domain accepts no mail. Senders get an immediate error instead of days of delivery attempts.

Add the MX record at IONOS, STRATO, Hetzner, Cloudflare and others

The path to the DNS editor differs by host. For the common providers this shows where you create the MX record and what to watch out for.

MX record at IONOS

  1. Sign in to the IONOS account and open "Domains & SSL".
  2. Click the gear icon next to the domain and choose "DNS".
  3. Choose "Add record", pick the type (TXT, MX, CNAME) and host name, paste the value, save.
  4. Changes usually apply within minutes; the default TTL is one hour.

Use "@" as the host name for the apex domain; IONOS shows it as the domain name.

MX record at STRATO

  1. In the STRATO customer login open "Domains" and then "Domain administration".
  2. Choose "manage" next to the domain and switch to the "DNS settings" tab.
  3. STRATO separates by type: "TXT and CNAME records" for SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verifications, "MX records" for mail delivery.
  4. Enter the value and save; propagation can take up to an hour.

For subdomain records such as _dmarc or selector._domainkey put the prefix into the "Subdomain" field, not into the value.

MX record at Hetzner

  1. Open the Hetzner DNS Console (dns.hetzner.com) and select the zone of the domain.
  2. Choose "Add record", enter type, name and value, lower the TTL if needed.
  3. Save; the Hetzner name servers serve the record immediately.

MX record at ALL-INKL

  1. Sign in to KAS (the customer administration system) and open "Domain".
  2. Click "edit" next to the domain and then "DNS settings".
  3. "Create new DNS record", enter name (empty for the apex), type and value, save.
  4. ALL-INKL applies changes within minutes.

MX record at Cloudflare

  1. In the Cloudflare dashboard open the domain and choose "DNS" → "Records".
  2. Choose "Add record" and enter type, name and content.
  3. For MX, TXT and mail-related CNAME records keep the proxy status on "DNS only"; the orange cloud belongs to web records only.
  4. Save; Cloudflare propagates instantly.

MX record at netcup

  1. In the netcup Customer Control Panel (CCP) open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Switch to the "DNS" tab and choose "Add new record".
  3. Enter host (@ for the apex), type and destination, then "Save DNS records".

MX record at united-domains

  1. In the united-domains portfolio click the domain and open "DNS settings".
  2. Under "Custom DNS records" choose the type, enter subdomain and value.
  3. Save; propagation takes a few minutes.

MX record at checkdomain

  1. In the checkdomain customer area open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Open "DNS settings" and create a new record with type, name and value.
  3. Save.

MX record at domainfactory

  1. In the domainfactory customer menu open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Open "Name server settings" and create a new record.
  3. Enter type, host name and value, save.

MX record at Alfahosting

  1. In the Alfahosting customer center open the domain and choose "DNS management".
  2. Create a new record with type, name and value, save.

MX record at webgo

  1. In the webgo customer portal open "Domains" and choose "DNS management" next to the domain.
  2. Create a record with type, name and value, save.

MX record at 1blu

  1. In the 1blu customer service area open "Domains" and choose "DNS settings" next to the domain.
  2. Create a record with type, name and value, save.

MX record at Host Europe

  1. In KIS (the customer information system) open "Domain services" and then "Domain administration".
  2. Choose "Name server / DNS" next to the domain and create the record with type, name and value.
  3. Save.

MX record at Mittwald

  1. In mStudio open the project and select the domain under "Domains".
  2. Open "DNS", edit or create the record, save.

MX record at GoDaddy

  1. At GoDaddy open "My Products" and choose "DNS" next to the domain.
  2. Choose "Add", enter type, name and value, save.

MX record at Hostinger

  1. In hPanel open "Domains" and choose "DNS / Nameservers" next to the domain.
  2. In the DNS zone editor create the record with type, name and value.

MX record at Amazon Route 53

  1. In the AWS console open Route 53, "Hosted zones" and select the zone.
  2. Choose "Create record", enter name, type and value, set the TTL, "Create records".

MX record at Google Cloud DNS

  1. In the Google Cloud console open "Cloud DNS" and select the zone.
  2. "Add record set", enter name, type and value, create.

MX record at Azure DNS

  1. In the Azure portal open "DNS zones" and select the zone.
  2. Add a "Record set", enter name, type and value, OK.

MX record at OVHcloud

  1. In the OVHcloud control panel open "Web Cloud" → "Domain names" and the domain.
  2. Tab "DNS zone", "Add an entry", choose the type, enter subdomain and value, confirm.

MX record at DigitalOcean

  1. In the DigitalOcean dashboard open "Networking" → "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Choose the type, enter host name and value, "Create Record".

MX record at Squarespace

  1. At Squarespace open "Domains", select the domain and open "DNS settings".
  2. Under "Custom records" create the record with type, host and data.

MX record at Wix

  1. In the Wix account open "Domains" and choose "Manage DNS records" next to the domain.
  2. Under the matching type choose "Add record", enter host name and value, save.

MX record at Shopify

  1. In the Shopify admin open "Settings" → "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Open "DNS settings", "Add custom record", enter type, name and value, confirm.

MX record at INWX

  1. At INWX open "Nameserver" and select the domain.
  2. "Add record", enter type, name and value, save.

MX record at dogado

  1. In the dogado customer area open the domain and choose "DNS".
  2. Create the record with type, name and value, save.

MX record at Variomedia

  1. In the Variomedia customer menu open the domain and choose "DNS settings".
  2. Create the record with type, name and value, save.

MX record at Namecheap

  1. At Namecheap open "Domain List", "Manage" and the "Advanced DNS" tab.
  2. "Add New Record", enter type, host and value, save.

MX record at Gandi

  1. At Gandi open the domain and choose "DNS records".
  2. "Add a record", enter type, name and value, create.

MX record at Vercel

  1. In the Vercel dashboard open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Under "DNS Records" enter type, name and value, "Add".

MX record by mail provider

MX record for Microsoft 365

  • Microsoft 365 expects these MX hosts: <domain-mit-bindestrichen>.mail.protection.outlook.com

MX record for Google Workspace

  • Google Workspace expects these MX hosts: smtp.google.com

MX record for mailbox.org

  • mailbox.org expects these MX hosts: mxext1.mailbox.org, mxext2.mailbox.org, mxext3.mailbox.org

MX record for Proton Mail

  • Proton Mail expects these MX hosts: mail.protonmail.ch, mailsec.protonmail.ch

MX record for Fastmail

  • Fastmail expects these MX hosts: in1-smtp.messagingengine.com, in2-smtp.messagingengine.com

MX record for iCloud Mail

  • iCloud Mail expects these MX hosts: mx01.mail.icloud.com, mx02.mail.icloud.com

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