Introduction

The MX record is a type of DNS record used to show where the incoming mail server of a domain name is located. This record has two settings that you need to configure - the priority setting which is an integer value and the destination which needs to be a valid hostname or a domain. One thing you need to note is that a domain name may have more than one MX record and the one with the lowest priority setting will be considered the main server where the mails will be delivered. We will go over these settings later in this guide and we will attempt to cover everything this feature has to offer so that you can use it properly. Let’s get started!

Accessing the Edit MX Entry feature in the WHM

First, you need to log into the WHM service for your VPS or Dedicated Server. If you are not sure how to do that, please check our How to Access WHM tutorial. After you have logged in, please locate the search bar on the left side of the page and type “Edit MX Entry”. 

When the functionality shows up below the search bar, please click on it so you can be sent to the “Edit MX Entry” page.

Editing the MX records

When you click on the first result presented by the WHM, you will be immediately redirected to the “Edit MX Entry” page where you will notice a search bar below the “Choose a Domain to Edit” heading. You can use the search bar to filter out the domains and find the one you want to change the MX records for. Below this search bar, you will find a section containing a list of the domains hosted on your server.

In order to edit the MX record of a domain, please select it with the radio button positioned right before the domain name, and then please press the “Edit” button located below the section containing all the domains.

After clicking on the “Edit” button, you will be taken to a page, where you need to type and configure your domain’s new MX records. On the top of the screen, you will see a text “The lowest numbered MX entry current points to:” which will give you information about the main incoming mail server used by the domain currently.

Underneath you will find the “Email Routing for “domain.com” (The domain is owned by “user”).”  heading. Below it lies the settings in regards to Email Routing that may be chosen by using the radio button on the left side of the desired setting.  Let's explain what each of the options in that section means.

• Automatically Detect Configuration - This would be the most appropriate choice if you are not certain what the other options do. Basically, when you select this, receiving an email will cause the WHM to do a lookup on your MX records and if they resolve on your server, it will deliver the mail locally. If the MX records resolve elsewhere then your server will attempt to deliver the email to the mailbox located on the other server.
• Local Mail Exchanger - When this setting is chosen, WHM will always attempt to deliver mail locally. Please be really careful if for example, you want your domain name to use a third-party mail service provider such as G-suit or Outlook as with this setting applied, you will not receive emails at the desired inbox. Typically, you should select this if you want the domain name to use your server to receive emails.
• Remote Mail Exchanger - This is the perfect option if you are using a different service provider for your emails as it will instruct WHM to never accept mail for the domain’s mailboxes on your server (if such exist).
• Backup Mail Exchanger - A great option if you have more than one MX record for your domain. Usually, when this is the case, WHM will attempt to deliver the incoming mail to the server that has the lowest priority (0 for instance). However, if it is not available, then it will attempt to complete the delivery to the server with the second-lowest priority (1 for instance). The idea here is to have the Backup Mail exchanger with the second or third lowest priority as it will be holding the mail locally until the primary mail server (with the lowest priority) is operational once again so it can complete the delivery to your main mail server.

When you have chosen the mail routing, what follows after is the last table section which is where you need to type in the settings in regards to the “TTL” “Priority” and “MX Destination”. Let’s go over what these settings are.

• TTL - This integer value specifies the time to live(TTL). This indicates how long a particular record remains in memory, in seconds, before it refreshes. This value defaults to 14400 and should remain as such.
• Priority - This integer value represents the priority order of the mail server. The server with the lowest priority will be considered the main one. There is no default value for this, as you can have it set as 100 and if your other MX entries have a value higher than that, this will still be considered your main incoming mail server.
• MX Destination - In this field, you need to type the hostname of your mail server. For instance, if you want to receive mail locally - you will type in the hostname of your server with us. If you are not sure what this is, you may check your welcome email that was sent upon registering for our services or you can check your Server Setup ticket.

Under this table section, you will also locate the “Add Another MX Entry Field” button, which will let you configure more MX entries for your domain. Moreover, the second to last column within this section will contain the blue “Delete” link, which will allow you to remove any unnecessary records. Once you have completed your MX record configuration, please press the “Save” button, located at the bottom of the page.

Upon pressing the “Save” button, you will be redirected to the last page providing you information about the changes you did. It will show a label that will read “Saved MX for zone domain.com.db”. Below that it will show you the previous record and underneath, the new one. At the bottom of the screen, you will also receive information about the Mail Routing and a small summary of what you can expect from it.

This concludes our guide on how you can change your MX records using the “Edit MX Entry” functionality of your WHM control panel. That was quite a lot of information to go through but we were as thorough as possible so that we can get you well-informed and prepared. If you have any questions or need assistance using this functionality, please, do not hesitate to contact our Technical Support Crew from your Client Area by submitting a ticket.