MX records explained: where incoming email goes

What does this mean?

MX records tell sending systems which servers accept incoming email for a domain. They do not create mailboxes, configure a mail app or authorize outgoing messages. Lower preference numbers have higher priority; the provider may deliberately supply multiple servers for resilience.

What should I check first?

Obtain the current MX values from your actual email provider and compare them with an MX query for the domain after the @ sign. Use the exact hostnames and preferences. A mail server hostname is different from a mailbox address such as user@example.com.

How can I diagnose the cause?

If mail stopped after a hosting move, compare the active nameservers and the previous DNS zone. Hosting panels sometimes populate their own default MX records even when your mail lives elsewhere. Also check the provider’s local versus remote routing setting where the web host runs its own mail service.

How do I fix it safely?

Restore the intended provider records after copying the current zone. Do not keep old and new MX servers together unless both providers explicitly support that migration; preference is not a reliable split-delivery strategy. A Null MX record, priority zero with target dot, states that a domain accepts no incoming mail.

Verify the fix and know when to contact your provider

Confirm the mailboxes exist and test an external message, inspecting any bounce response. Check outgoing SPF, DKIM and DMARC separately. Contact the email provider if MX is correct but mail is rejected or never delivered; supply timestamps, a redacted message ID and the complete diagnostic reply.

Work through these checks in order

1. Find the email provider’s domain-setup instructions and copy all required MX hostnames and preference numbers. Compare them with the checker’s returned records rather than a remembered setup from another domain.
2. Confirm that the intended mailbox exists and can be accessed through the provider’s webmail. A correct MX destination cannot create an account or remove a full mailbox quota.
3. Send one external test and inspect the bounce or delivery trace. If the host also runs a mail service, ask whether its routing should be remote for your external mailbox provider.

Which tool can help?

MX record checker · SPF DNS record checker

DNS tools show one resolver’s public answers. Record explainers do not authenticate a message, and calculators do not monitor a server. Use the evidence alongside your provider’s logs.