Do I need an MX record to receive email?

Each domain (and sub-domain) need to have an MX-record in order to receive email. An MX-record is simply a DNS-entry that tells the sending server (SMTP-server) where to deliver the email. A typical MX-record would look something like this: example.com.

Why is an MX record almost always used for a domain that can receive email?

Mail Exchange (MX) records are DNS records that are necessary for delivering email to your address. In simple DNS terms, an MX record is used to tell the world which mail servers accept incoming mail for your domain and where emails sent to your domain should be routed to.

What should be the MX record?

An MX-record (Mail eXchange-record) is a type of resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS). This is the system that, among other indicates to what specific IP address emails need to be sent. The MX-record contains the host name of the computer(s) that handle the emails for a domain and a prioritization code.

How to configure MX record for incoming e-mail?

In order to properly configure your domain’s MX Record you should contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or the party responsible for hosting your DNS Domain name. They will ask you for your FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) and IP address of your mail server. Make sure you know them.

What is a mail exchanger ( MX ) record in DNS?

A Mail Exchanger (MX) record in the DNS specifies which server is responsible for accepting email addresses on behalf of a domain. The host name from the MX record must map to one or more address record (A or AAAA) in the DNS, and must not point to any CNAME records.

How does IMAP and POP3 work for email?

IMAP will send a copy of the emails to your phone, but leaving the originals on your mail server POP3 will connect to your mail server and download all new emails – emails that were received since you last checked your email account (which would be via your phone in this example).

Can you send external e-mail without MX records?

Without proper MX Records for your domain, only internal e-mail will be delivered to your users. External e-mail from other mail servers in the world will not be able to reach your server simply because these foreign servers cannot tell to which server they need to “talk” (or open a connection to) in order to send the mail destined for that domain.