Overview
While POP and IMAP handle the retrieval of email, MX Records answer the question, “Which server is responsible for handling and accepting email for exampledomain.com?”
Since we'll be using Google Workspace as our “third party” example, here’s their very simple explanation about changing MX Records: https://youtu.be/aWWZ85UAsCg
Note: The video mentions (1:45) that if “so & so record is not listed first in your MX Records…” — going to the Global DNS Propagation Checker is a quick and easy way to determine where your current MX Records lie.
As an example, go to the Global DNS Propagation Checker page and search reclaimhosting.com with MX selected in the dropdown menu:
You’ll see a list of the current MX Records for our domain:
Boom! This might go without saying, but if you choose to have a third party service handle your email, the email section in your cPanel will no longer be valid. cPanel is no longer handling your email requests.
How to Change your MX Records
Reclaim Hosting has a documentation article explaining how to change your MX Records, regardless of where you need to point them. You can find those directions Connecting Domain to Workspace, or follow the steps outlined below:
Start by going to your cPanel, scrolling down to the Domains section and clicking DNS Zone Editor.
Select the domain you want to work with by clicking Manage next to the domain:
Each MX Record has two items, a Priority number (puts them in the order that the computer should try the records), and a Destination (or hostname where the domain will serve the email).
You’ll need to edit the existing one (or remove it) and then add a few additional ones, depending on what the third party requires. The list of Google Workspace MX Records can be found here.
Notables:
- Keep in mind that changing MX Records can take 24-48 hours to begin working.
- A popular alternative to Google Workspace is FastMail.
- Purpose of multiple MX Records: to balance the load; to give email a place to go if the one of the MX locations is unavailable; used for larger companies.
- MX records are different from forwarding email.