MX (Mail Exchange) records are DNS records that specify which mail servers are responsible for receiving emails for a domain.
When someone sends an email to an address such as [email protected], the sending mail server checks the domain’s MX records to determine which server should receive the message.
Each MX record contains two main components:
Mail server hostname
The server responsible for receiving email for the domain.
Priority value
A number that defines the order in which mail servers should be used.
The server with the lowest priority number is tried first. If that server is unavailable, the sending server attempts delivery to the next server with a higher number.
MX records are essential for ensuring that emails sent to your domain are delivered to the correct mail server.
MX records tell other mail servers exactly where to deliver emails for your domain. Without them, incoming emails cannot be properly routed.
Email providers such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and other mail hosting services require MX records to receive emails for your domain.
Multiple MX records can be configured with different priority values. If the primary mail server is unavailable, emails can be delivered to a backup server.
Properly configured MX records ensure that incoming emails are consistently delivered to the correct destination without interruption.