In this tutorial:
How MX Records Work View Current MX Records InMotion MX Records Obtain Third Party Records Change MX records
How Do MX Records Work?
MX Records (Mail Exchanger Records) are a type of DNS record that determine which mail server is responsible for handling the email for a specific domain.
An MX record is configured to point to a canonical (or CNAME) record, such as example.com or mail.example.com. The CNAME record’s hostname is configured in another record known as an A Record (Address Record), which points to the specified IP address. That IP address is the server that will be handling the email for your domain.
It is possible to configure multiple MX Records for a domain. These are set into a chronological order, where the lowest number receives priority. When deliverying email for a domain configured with multple MX records, the server with the highest priority (lowest value) will be used first to attempt delivery. If that server does not respond, further attempts are made to the next MX record (by priority), and so on. Companies that service large email server farms, such as Google, will have several servers to handle massive amounts of incoming emails.
How Do I View My Current MX Records?
- Domain is pointed to InMotion nameservers AND has been added to cPanel
- If you want to review your current MX records, you may view them by using the Zone Editor in the cPanel.
NOTICE: MX Records were previously managed through the cPanel Email subheader MX Entry section, but this option was moved to the DNS Zone editor within the updated version of cPanel.
- Domain is pointed to a third party nameserver
- If you want to review your current MX records, you may review them by using a third party lookup tool.
If you would like a visual representation of how your domain is routing website and email traffic, you can use our Visual Domain Routing Tool.
Hosting Your Email with InMotion Hosting
If your domain is pointed to the InMotion nameservers and you have added it to your cPanel account, by default, your domain should be routing email through your server with InMotion.
Setting your MX Records to work with your InMotion hosting server is very simple. Use the example below as a template for your settings. Simply replace the example.com domain with your actual domain name. Note that you will only need a single MX record.
| Priority | Mail Server |
|---|---|
| 0 | mail.example.com |
Using Third Party MX Records
You are free to use a different mail server but still host your website with InMotion Hosting. This can be accomplished through changing your MX records. Making changes to your MX records will still allow you to host your website with us, but your email at a third party server such as Google.
The first step in routing your mail to a third party is the obtain the MX records that party wants you to use. In this example, we’ll use Google. Google would provide you with a list of MX records to enter in. This must be entered correctly for the email to function properly:
NOTE: In order for you to use G Suite MX records with Google, you will need to create a G Suite account. Please visit this link to get a G Suite account.
| Priority | Mail Server |
|---|---|
| 1 | ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| 5 | ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| 5 | ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| 10 | ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| 10 | ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
The MX records above are an example of the MX records you would need to use to set up G Suite. (For more info, please see G Suite MX record values)
Changing your Domain’s MX Record
When changing your domain’s MX records in cPanel you will want to use the Zone Editor. For detailed instructions for editing MX records, please see How to Set MX Records using the Zone Editor.
Please check the next article on Creating an Autoresponder in cPanel. If you missed our previous article, please see the How to log into Webmail tutorial. For more information on this course please visit Using Email. If needed, see this article on how to point your emails to an external IP address.
Hello, I have my domain pointed to another hosting but I have my email accounts here in hosting inmotion. I need the inmotion MX hosting records to functionally correct my emails, because they do not work at this time
When you pointed your domain away, you also changed which DNS would be used for your website. The DNS contains the information on where your email traffic and your web traffic will be directed. You will need to modify your DNS at the current host and point your MX records to InMotion using an A record pointing to IP address of your InMotion Hosting account. You can find your IP address (shared IP -if it’s not a dedicated IP that you have subscribed to) by logging into the cPanel and looking at the Server Information link.
Can you configure the google MX but also those of the domain itself?
Context: pay only one gmail account but the rest of the domain accounts will be created in cpanel.
I can not get emails created in cpanel but google if they arrive.
Unfortunately, this would need to be an all or nothing type of service. Either all email accounts are hosted on Google’s servers or all email accounts are hosted on your own server.
I stand corrected. You do want to set the local mail server MX record to 100… at least larger than any external mail exchange record. BUT, what also must be done is the the email routing selection MUST be changed to local… mail will not come through on AUTO.
Later, after MX records are fully propagated, this should be set to REMOTE or the local server removed from MX so that spammers cannot directly address the mail server.
You have an error in your documentation. It says that I should move the existing MX record to 100 to avoid mail bouncing when I am propagating MX records. But, that doesn’t work. Doing what cpanel says (leave at lowest) does work. CPanel docs say:
If the lowest number mail exchanger points to an IP on this server the server will be configured to accept mail locally and from outside the server.
Thanks for the comment. It’s possible that the alert box you’re referring to references an older version of cPanel. We will review the content based on your recommendations.
My client has their domain and email hosted at another company than inMotion Hosting. The actual website is hosted on inMotion.
On the other hosting company, the A Record for the site is pointing to the proper ip address at inMotion for the website.
So… The website and email are working fine.
The problem is that when I try to submit a form on the website, I get a send error.
When I go to the inMotion cPanel, and MX Entry, I’d assume that I would select Remote Mail Exchanger, but I cannot.
None of the email Routing selections have been selected, nor can I select one as the “Change” button is greyed out.
What is it I need to do to make form sending work?
Thanks!
You should be able to set the email routing to Remote in the MX Entry tool. If there is an issue, be sure to contact Live Support so they can correct the issue for you.
Disable use of McFee, how to correctly configure mail to work properly, my mail sends, but does not receive emails
Since McAfee was replaced by SpamExperts, you can point your MX records to SpamExperts as a replacement.
If you do not want to use SpamExperts, you can point your MX records to:
mail.example.com (be sure to replace example.com with your actual domain name)
Thank you,
John-Paul
hi guys,
i have host my one email id on gmail and other in my webmail. I have set all priority of gmail in MX entries and set my webmail priority 11 but massge recieving always fail in this case.
How do configure both priority in MX entries.
If you are using Gmail services for hosting your email, this tells the world to deliver the email to them instead of our servers. For example, if you set a priority 11 to a mx record, it will not deliver there unless all lower number records fail.
This means you can only use Gmail, or InMotion Webmail, but not both.
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hello John-Paul,
I am setting up with Office 365 and have created the sub-domain and other dns records provided and they all validate. However, the MX record is not validating. I tried MX Tools and it is showing that the mx record does not exist.
In CPanel, I chose the MX Entry tool, selected the subdomain and then added the dns name provided by Office 365. However, they recommend setting the Host name to the sub-domain name but that is not an option in the InMotion CPanel.
You can set up the subdomain in advance and then assign an MX record to it with the DNS tools in cPanel.
Hi Guys, In order to pass SPF authentication with DMARC when using Amazon SES to send email, you need to create a FROM MAIL Domain and add an SPF and MX entry to DNS. However, in cPanel in inmotion the Advanced DNS page does not have type MX. I know there is a place to add MX, but this one does not include the VALUE field which is required. Please can you see this article and advise?
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/DeveloperGuide/mail-from-set.html
Example…
Name:bounce.example.com
Type:MX
Value:10 feedback-smtp.us-west-2.amazonses.com
Hello Phil,
Thank you for contacting us. I looked at the link you provided, and it can be accomplished with the above guide. Be sure to create the subdomain first, such as the “bounce.example.com” in the link. Be sure to replace example.com with your actual domain.
Then, you can choose the subdomain from the drop down menu in the “Domain” section, and add the mx record. Such as the example value:
Priority: 10
Destination: feedback-smtp.us-west-2.amazonses.com
If you have any further questions, feel free to post them below.
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hi, I have a question. I have domain purchased with Godaddy.
Have point the DNS to Inmotion successfully. And point back the MX back to Godaddy (coz already have 5 emails set up at Godaddy). The issue now is we can receive the email (using Outlook Express) as usual, but cannot send out email (all email will be in outbox, cant send out)
Can help to guide me if anything I miss out? Thanks
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble configuring your email after setting up your domain with our hosting. In addition to setting up the MX records you can also set up an A record for mail.domain.com (of course with your domain instead of “domain.com”).
We have a full guide about using third party email services with your InMotion Hosting account.
Hi there,
I dont understand the process of support. I received and email asking me to “verify the account with either the last 4 of the credit card on file or the current AMP password” and the link to do it. But this link is taking me to a tutorial on how to do the MX update. So I do need to verify and you guys take care of MX update o I do this.
PLEASE HELP I am currently out an email account.
Thanks
Liana.
Hi Liana,
Yes, before we can make changes to your account, for security purposes, you need to provide verification. We provided the link, so if you so chose you could make the changes yourself. However, we’re always happy to do it. The link was explaining how to handle the task you asked us to perform yourself. I hope this clears things up.
Thanks!
Tim S
Hi,
I have hosted my website maplesci.com with Inmotion and email with a third party .
I deleted the existing MX record & added the MX records provided by third party.
Question: Do I need to add the email account in Inmotion – As of now I have no email accounts setup in Inmotion.
Many Thanks
Making changes to your MX records will allow you to host your website with us and email through a third party server, like Google.
Hello Mohamed,
If the MX records are not pointing to our servers, then you do not need to create any email addresses here on the cPanel.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
i m used gmail app for mail. when we update gmail mx record i have a issu.
which mail id created on cpanel not working. when domIN MX RECORD UPDAte gmail account not do work.
what i can used gmail account and cpanel account both if is possible .suggest me how use it.
thanks
Hello manoj,
Thank you for contacting us. It is not possible or recommended to use 2 separate services (Gmail & InMotion Hosting cPanel) in your MX record. This will make it difficult to determine where your email is being delivered.
If you want to create/use email from cPanel, you will have to point your MX records to InMotion Hosting (or whoever your cPanel host is).
If you want to use google apps, you will have to setup the email accounts with them.
If you have any further questions, feel free to post them below.
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hi Scott,
I’ve been tinkering with getting the Verio e-mails using FTP….but something strange is happening: when I select and FTP the Verio folders (with the windows.shell e-mail files inside) to my desktop, eveything but the e-mail content comes over (for example, a file may be 25kb on Verio but it ends up 0kb on my desktop, and the message subject and content are missing).
I feel like I may be close to grabbing all these e-mails and putting them on InMotion, but this hurdle has stumped me. The windows.shell file extensions are very different…examples below….can this work or is it doomed/
1421601503.M827945P32217.handsacrossthesea.net,W=18212
1428317926.H569802P43400.ecbiz171.inmotionhosting.com,S=4917:2,S
Thanks so much for your help!
Tom
Hello Tom,
I’m sorry to hear you’re having problems with transferring your email on Verio. If you’re still able to connect Outlook on the Verio account, then you should be able to create a local folder on the hard of your computer, then simply drag the files from the folders of the online account into the local account. I did this to backup my emails in a previous job where we used Outlook.
If you’re unable to do that, then you will need to be able to access to the actual email files as Scott has been saying and then downloading them into the account. We’re not sure why you’re seeing your email files become 0k. Emails are saved as files, but it’s much easier to transfer them between two different hosts using the email clients. You may need to re-connect your email client to Verio and simply forward all the emails you there to the new account. The Outlook solution I described above is really the easiest way.
I hope this helps to answer your question, please let us know if you require any further assistance.
Regards,
Arnel C.
Hi Scott,
I’m not really following you. Not sure what you mean by a “”test email.” I FTP’d one of these windows shell files to one of her mail folders and it comes up as empty….0KB when I check it in webmail. Is there any way to put these shell files into her Outlook program on her laptop, which is my ultimate goal?
Thanks, Tom
I am able to get to her email folders via FTP, when the files I can transfer are a strange format…here is one of them: 1427286425.M63835P70279.handsacrossthesea.net,W=1320964
Is there any way this file can become an email? Seems to be a windows shell file, whatever that is….thanks for your help!
Hello Tom,
That is the format my emails appear in the cPanel as well. Once I place them in the right folder it works for me. I would now try FTPing a test email to the account to see if it now appears.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Thanks for your help! There is a folder for her at Verio’s webmail, but no way to copy it that I know of other than right-clicking it (which won’t let me save it in a usable format). Would there be a way to get to the folder via my FTP client?
Hello Tom,
That may be possible, but I do not know how Verio is set up. With our system, you are able to FTP in and then simply download or compress/download the folder. It depends on whether the folder is within the realm of access for your FTP account.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Help! We have tranferred our website domain from Verio to InMotion, but an employee of our still has 400+ emails stranded on the Verio mail server. I contacted Verio, but they do not have the capability to transfer these emails and folders to our new InMotion account….is there any way you can help me do this? thank you!
Hello Tom,
The only way we could transfer the emails to our servers would be to do a full cPanel transfer. That would require the other host be on cPanel as well. The full cPanel transfer would overwrite everything on your account here with any information that is currently on the other host. Is there a mail folder specifically for that employee on the other host that can be copied or zipped up for transfer?
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
l have changed my password but cant log in with the new password for my email
Hello Ryan,
I checked the public records for the domain and it is not pointing to our servers. This means that it will not be able to receive email as it is attempting to deliver to its current public server. You can always send from a server no matter where the domain is pointed so there is not an issue here. Once you point the domain name to our name servers it will then be able to receive.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Are you getting any specific error messages when trying to log in?
Hello,
I created a new email address on my InMotionHosting domain name and I was testing its ability to send and receive.
InMotion Address: [email protected]
Testing Address: [MY PERSONAL ADDRESS, [email protected]]
1. InMotion address is able to SEND to the test address
2. InMotion address is not able to RECEIVE messages from the test address.
The test address receives the following error message:
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification
mail/bin/answer.py?answer=7720
THIS IS A WARNING MESSAGE ONLY.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESEND YOUR MESSAGE.
Delivery to the following recipient has been delayed:
[email protected]
Message will be retried for 2 more day(s)
Technical details of temporary failure:
The recipient server did not accept our requests to connect. Learn more at https://support.google.com/
[(0) bhghbaltimore.org. [98.129.229.211]:25: socket error]
Having a google base mail account with my domain. I like to shift my site to another hosting. After shifting I will change MX entry in new cpanel. In while for how long my emails will be effected. Pleaes guide
Hello Mukesh,
When changing MX records, the turnaround time can be from 4-24 hours. Within that timeframe you want to be sure you can check both servers for any emails that may come through.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Hello Scott
Many thanks for your response
You may link the official mail to run on Hotmail
It was the extraction code and put it into the C PNIL
Code has been deleted unintentionally .. service and Windows Live Domain will not work anymore
How can I get Max CODE Again ??
Hello Alyaa,
Thank you for contacting us. If you deleted your files unintentionally, you may have to restore your files from a backup.
I could not locate an account for you on our servers, to check if backups are available.
I’m not sure what you mean about getting the “Max Code,” but we are happy to help if you can provide more details.
Thank you,
John-Paul
We are trying to use a web based client (yahoo or gmail) to access our email but it is not working. Also, our domain.com/webmail is not working as well. Our set up may be a little complicated. We have our website hosted at Wix, our URL hosted at Name.com and our email is hosted here at inmotion. HELP! How do we get our email to work?
Hello Janeve,
Thanks for the question! It does sound a little complicated, but luckily, there is more than one way to reach your email. You can use the SSL settings for the setup in Yahoo or Gmail in order to get to your email. You can learn how to find these settings by going to How to Find Your Email Settings. We also have a tutorial for setting up email on Gmail. I hope this helps to clear up the issue for you.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Regards,
Arnel C.
can i add same mx record for two different domains
Helo db,
Thank you for your question. Yes, you can use the same MX record for 2 different domains.
This will be the case if your email is hosted on the same server.
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hello
Max code has been deleted by mistakes of the inside of PANEL c
And you have to link the e-mail with Hotmail and currently cheek and Windows Live Domain become unused
Is there a way to Atstaadeh same old code ??
Thank you all.,
Hello Alyaa,
I’m not quite sure what your exact question is, but I will do my best. If you are asking if there is a way to recover your MX records that were accidentally deleted from the cPanel, the answer is no. The cPanel does not keep archives of the records. You will need to re-enter them in the MX Entry tool from within the cPanel.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
I deleted mx records, later restore this
but not works: i can send mail, however don’t receive. I need orientation, please. Thanks
Hello Pepe,
Thank you for your question. First, make sure you allowed the mx entry to propagate after making changes. It can take up to 24 hours to complete.
Next, make sure your settings are correct, you can view your email settings in cPanel at any time.
Thank you,
John-Paul
i’ve al ready changed my MX records to google apps but doesn’t update! Please help me! my domain is miboda.com.mx
Hello Gustavo,
Sorry for the problem with the emails! The problem has to do with your name servers. Since you have root access, you have custom name servers. You will need to go to your domain registrar and activate your name servers. Follow the instructions in our tutorial Using Custom Name Servers under the section labeled “Activating your Custom Name Servers”.
Be aware that there may be some DNS propagation associated with the process.
I hope that helps to resolve your problem! Please let us know if you have any further questions or comments.
Regards,
Arnel C.
Hi,
When I change my DNS settings, my email stopped working.
I’m just wondering if changing DNS Settings affects my Mail settings making it not work in the process.
Thanks!
Hello Kristalyn,
Thanks for the question and sorry about your email issue. The short answer is yes, it is possible that your DNS change may have affected your email. It just depends on what you’ve done. If you can provide us some information on your account (if you’re with InMotion), then we can look and see what’s happening and make suggestions as to what should be done to correct the issue.
Kindest regards,
Arnel C.
Thank for providing excellent video “InMotionHosting- How to edit your DNS”
With your great instances on FTP Hosting Services, I excellently take help for Hosting my email with InMotion Hosting.
what happens to emails if mx records are inadvertantly changed or deleted and then restored?
Hi Joe, emails sent to you will be routed to where the MX records are set.
Deleting MX records
If you deleted your MX records, email servers would not know where to deliver your email, so most likely you would have missed email sent to you in the time frame in question.
Changing MX records
If you changed your MX records, then email would have been routed to the email servers that you setup in your MX records.
This doesn’t help. Why do I have to add a comment to the article after I already submitted feedback.
This is what I want to do:
Login to Gmail>Settings>Accounts and Import>Add a POP3 mail account I own
Then follow their succession of overly complicated popup windows so that I receive and send my InMotion email through my Gmail account. They have too many options and settings, I need the information for InMotion.
Bluehost has a video tutorial.
https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/gmail
It works with Bluehost, but doesn’t seem to be working for InMotion. I need a tutorial for InMotion.
poop
Hello Nathan,
Sorry for the frustrations. First of all, the comments allow for us to respond to your question on the article. Otherwise, you need to submit a question. Article feedback is simply asking simple questions about the article’s usefulness.
Secondly, you are trying to use Gmail as an email client. This is very simple, but you’re using the WRONG email settings. Here’s how you can find the correct email settings:
How to find your email settings
Once you have the correct settings you can go through the same process in Gmail to set it up. The only difference is that you’ll be using the email settings as provided in the article I linked above.
Whenever you’re asked for the user, it will be the FULL email address like this: [email protected].
In terms of the settings, you will be using SSL for the Outgoing – this means that the email server URL should look like this secure##.inmotionhosting.com (replace “##” with the server number for your server).
I’ll make a video for this issue as well. When it’s complete I’ll post it as a response to this comment.
Regards,
Arnel C.