This article discusses the MX DNS record in detail. For general instructions on DNS records and how to set them up in the customer administration, see DNS - Domain Records.
In this article you will read:
- What MX records are used for
- How to find out MX mailserver addresses
- How to enter MX records correctly
- Examples of using MX records
- Common problems
- Frequently Asked Questions
What MX records are used for
You use MX records to list the domain addresses of servers that process incoming e-mail. You usually want to have multiple such servers so that the failure of one is covered by another. Most email service providers offer 2-3 addresses for MX records. Listing all of the provider's MX records and adding an SPF record will do the most to keep your mail running smoothly.
Create a custom record for each MX mailserver address.
If you are experiencing a problem with emails going out but not coming in, the problem may be a missing or incorrect MX record.
Getting the MX address of mailservers
WEDOS provides e-mail services for Webhosting and WebSite (except for the Free variant) and separately as a Mailhosting service.
Webhosting and WebSite
The mailserver addresses for MX records are uniform for these services. Including recommended priorities are:
1 wes1-mx1.wedos.net 1 wes1-mx2.wedos.net 10 wes1-mx-backup.wedos.net
You can also find these addresses in customer administration ⧉ in the service detail, in the Service addresses table.
Mailhosting
The mailserver addresses for Mailhosting's MX records differ from those of the webhosting service. Including recommended priorities are:
10 mx1.wedos.email 10 mx1.wedos.global 10 mx1.wedos.com 10 mx1.wedos.mx 20 mx1.wedos.online
You can also find these addresses in customer administration ⧉ in the service detail, in the Service addresses table.
Own mailserver
If you are using your own mailserver to receive mail, you need to specify its domain address because IP addresses do not support MX records. Therefore, first establish a suitable (sub)domain with the IP address of the server using an A or AAAA record. Then enter this (sub)domain as the address of the MX record (see example).
Services outside WEDOS
If the service whose address you want to find for the MX record is not in WEDOS, search for the help for that service or contact the support of the service provider.
Entering MX records
For general instructions on setting up DNS records in the customer administration, see DNS - Domain Records.
If a domain uses foreign DNS servers, automatic or manual changes to WEDOS records will not affect its behavior.
Follow these basic rules when entering MX records:
- Leave the name field blank if you do not want to receive emails on a subdomain (for example: info@sub.domena.tld).
- Always enter one number and one address in the data field (for example: 1 wes1-mx1.wedos.net).
A generic MX record looks like this:
Name TTL Type Data (empty or subdomain) 300 MX (priority) (mailserver MX address)
The number before the address is the so-called priority. The higher the number you add here, the more the system considers the server to be a backup.
MX records of VEDOS services
Correctly entered VEDOS MX records for Webhosting, WMS and WebSite have the following form:
Name TTL Type Data
300 MX 1 wes1-mx1.wedos.net
300 MX 1 wes1-mx2.wedos.net
300 MX 10 wes1-mx-backup.wedos.net
And for Mailhosting:
Name TTL Type Data
300 MX 10 mx1.wedos.email
300 MX 10 mx1.wedos.global
300 MX 10 mx1.wedos.com
300 MX 10 mx1.wedos.mx
300 MX 20 mx1.wedos.online
Automatically set up MX records
You can have MX records set up automatically under certain circumstances. Our system sets DNS records on WEDOS DNS servers.
To set up DNS records automatically:
- Check the DNS record settings when setting up and renaming a Web Hosting, WebSite, or Mail Hosting service, or when setting up an alias.
- To point a domain to a service, follow the instructions in Domains - Pointing to Services.
Examples of MX records
Example: correctly entered MX records for VEDOS Webhosting or WebSite:
Example: correctly entered MX records for VEDOS Mailhosting:
Example: an MX record for a custom mailserver at IP address 46.28.108.1:
Common problems
Common problems with entering MX records include:
Cannot save MX record
Problem: When saving an MX record, the error message "MX record value entered incorrectly" is displayed.
Cause: MX records must be entered in the format number + space + domain address of the MX server, e.g. 1 mx.domena.tld. The number is the priority of the record. You cannot enter IP addresses or multiple mailservers at the same time in an MX record.
Solution: Modify the record data to match the pattern in the error message.
The mail is not coming
Problem: No mail arrives after creating/modifying an MX record.
Cause: the error may be in the record itself, but also in many other places.
Solution: Check that the domain actually uses WEDOS DNS servers and that the MX records have had enough time to resolve (typically 1 hour). If you are sending emails to the main domain, make sure the name field is empty.
If your records are in order, make sure you have an active web host, an established mailbox and enough space.
Frequently Asked Questions
My web hosting provider didn't give me any MX records, what should I do?
Find out if your provider offers email services at all. If not, find an email service provider that meets your requirements.
If I have VEDOS web hosting, can I use another mail service provider?
Yes, just enter the MX records of the provider correctly.
Can I keep my WEDOS MX servers in backup in case my provider has an outage?
Combining MX records from different providers is generally not recommended. It is better to make sure you have a provider with enough backup mailservers, and include all their addresses in the DNS records according to the provider's instructions.
Are these addresses universal for all WEDOS mailservers?
These addresses work for DNS records of type MX. The mailservers for SMTP, POP and IMAP are different, and addresses containing mx will not work.