> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://droppoint.xyz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Is an MX Record? - URL: https://droppoint.xyz/what-is-mx-record/ - Published: 2026-09-20T17:50:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-21T04:56:48.000Z - Description: The DNS, protocols and checks behind every message. - Author: Ohidur Rahman - Tags: DNS, Email Administration, #Import 2026-09-24 11:21 An MX record (Mail Exchange record) is a type of DNS record that tells the internet which mail server is responsible for receiving email on behalf of your domain. Without correctly configured MX records, email sent to your domain will not be delivered. If you use business email hosting, your MX records are one of the most important parts of your email setup. This guide explains what MX records are, how they work, and how to check and configure them. ## What DNS Records Are Before understanding MX records specifically, it helps to know what DNS records are in general. DNS (Domain Name System) is the system that translates human-readable domain names like yourcompany.com into the numerical IP addresses that computers use to communicate. DNS records are the individual entries that make up this translation system. Different types of DNS records serve different purposes: - A records — point a domain to a web server’s IP address - CNAME records — create an alias from one domain to another - MX records — specify which server handles email for the domain - TXT records — store text information, often used for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) MX records are specifically about email. They tell the world where to deliver messages addressed to your domain. ## How MX Records Work When someone sends an email to you@yourcompany.com, the sending mail server needs to know where to deliver that message. Here is what happens: 1. The sending server looks up the MX records for yourcompany.com 2. The MX records return the hostname of one or more mail servers (for example, mail.yourhostingprovider.com) 3. The sending server connects to that mail server and delivers the message 4. Your mail server places the message in your mailbox This entire process happens automatically and typically takes a few seconds. The MX record is the critical link that connects your domain name to the server that actually handles your email. ## What an MX Record Looks Like An MX record has two main components: - Priority (also called preference) — a number that determines the order in which mail servers are tried. Lower numbers have higher priority - Mail server hostname — the domain name of the server that will receive the email For example, a typical MX record might look like this: ``` yourcompany.com. MX 10 mail.emailprovider.com. ``` This tells the internet: for email sent to yourcompany.com, deliver it to mail.emailprovider.com, with a priority of 10. ## MX Priority and Backup Servers You can have multiple MX records for a single domain, each with a different priority number. This creates a fallback system: ``` yourcompany.com. MX 10 mail1.emailprovider.com. yourcompany.com. MX 20 mail2.emailprovider.com. ``` In this example, sending servers will first try mail1 (priority 10). If mail1 is unavailable, they will try mail2 (priority 20). This provides redundancy — if your primary mail server goes down, email can still be received by the backup server. The lower the priority number, the higher the preference. A server with priority 10 will always be tried before a server with priority 20. ## Why MX Records Matter for Your Business ### Email Delivery If your MX records are missing or incorrect, email sent to your domain will bounce back to the sender with a delivery failure. Your customers, suppliers and partners will not be able to reach you by email. ### Provider Changes When you switch email hosting providers, you need to update your MX records to point to the new provider’s servers. Until you do, email will continue going to the old provider. This is a critical step in any [email migration](https://droppoint.xyz/email-migration/). ### Deliverability MX records work alongside other DNS records like [SPF](https://droppoint.xyz/what-is-spf/), [DKIM](https://droppoint.xyz/what-is-dkim/) and [DMARC](https://droppoint.xyz/what-is-dmarc/) to establish your domain’s email infrastructure. Together, these records help receiving servers verify that email from your domain is legitimate. ## How to Check Your MX Records You can check your domain’s MX records using several methods: ### Online Lookup Tools Websites like MXToolbox, Google Admin Toolbox, or DNSChecker let you enter your domain name and see your current MX records. These tools will show the priority, mail server hostname, and whether the records are resolving correctly. ### Command Line On macOS or Linux, you can use the terminal: ``` dig yourcompany.com MX ``` On Windows, you can use: ``` nslookup -type=mx yourcompany.com ``` These commands will return your current MX records and their priority values. ## Common MX Record Problems ### Missing MX Records If no MX records are configured for your domain, email cannot be delivered. This is the most common issue for new domains or domains that have just had their DNS changed. ### Incorrect Mail Server Hostname If the MX record points to the wrong server — for example, an old provider you no longer use — email will either be delivered to the wrong place or bounce. ### DNS Propagation Delays After you change MX records, the update needs to propagate across the internet’s DNS system. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, though most changes take effect within an hour. During this period, some emails may go to the old server and some to the new one. ### TTL Settings TTL (Time to Live) determines how long DNS servers cache your records before checking for updates. If your TTL is set to a high value (like 86400 seconds, which is 24 hours), changes will take longer to propagate. Before making changes, it is good practice to lower your TTL in advance. ## MX Records and Email Hosting Setup When you sign up with a business email hosting provider, one of the first things they will ask you to do is update your MX records. The provider will give you the specific hostnames and priority values to enter in your domain’s DNS settings. Where you make these changes depends on where your domain’s DNS is managed. This is usually: - Your domain registrar (where you bought the domain) - A separate DNS hosting provider - Your web hosting provider, if they also manage your DNS A good email hosting provider will guide you through this process or handle the DNS configuration for you. At Droppoint, we configure MX records and all related email DNS records as part of our [business email hosting](https://droppoint.xyz/business-email-hosting/) setup. ## Summary MX records are a fundamental part of email infrastructure. They tell the internet where to deliver email for your domain. Getting them right is essential — without correct MX records, your business email simply will not work. If you are setting up business email for the first time, switching providers, or troubleshooting delivery issues, checking your MX records should be one of the first things you do. Need help configuring your domain’s email records? [Talk to our team](https://droppoint.xyz/contact/) and we’ll make sure everything is set up correctly.