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Do you have email accounts on services like Gmail and Outlook, but have registered a domain and would like to use it, but without having to change the interface that you have already gotten used to one or the other?
Know that this is possible, simple and reasonably fast.
To do so, simply change your domain’s MX settings to a remote or external server.
That’s what we’ll be dealing with today, as well as the most frequently asked questions about it.
What is an external or remote MX?
MX is the acronym for Mail Exchanger and which in literal translation means email exchanger.
In practical terms and in relation to the subject of this content, it is the address of the email service intended to be used and which is located externally to the infrastructure of the company in which its domain is hosted.
As it is not part of your hosting environment, the “email exchanger” or MX (Mail Exchanger) is said to be external or remote.
When to use an external or remote MX?
It is quite natural and understandable that free email services – or even when it is paid – such as Gmail and Outlook, have a huge user base and more than that, who have been used to its interface, with its functionalities for years, have several registered contacts, as well as many messages sent and received.
But at register a domainto have professional email accounts and put aside the amateur image that an account of the type mycompany@gmail.com passes, professionals and companies may face certain difficulties:
- History – what to do with all the history of messages and contacts that has been built up over time of use;
- Adaptation – moving to another webmail clientwith another interface and other resources or even if they are the same, but with different procedures for use, it requires learning, adaptation and time on the part of all users;
- Productivity – in cases where users also use other tools, from the Google Workspace suite (formerly G Suite) or Office 365, switching between different windows / applications to some extent can affect productivity.
These are some of the most likely and frequent consequences that justify keeping the way it was worked until then, and for that, a remote or external MX is set up next to your domain.
Understanding how external or remote MX works
all server on the Internet that delivers a service, has a name (nameserver) and a IP adress associated.
The nameserver, like the domain, aims to be something more friendly and easier to remember than an IP.
So most associated email services tend to be something like this: mail.seudominio.com.br.
It means that the server responsible for the domain e-mail domain seudominio.com.br, has the name mail.seudominio.com.br.
This name consists of a series of entries in DNS and which in turn is the service that resolves to the corresponding IP address, in exactly the same way as when a visitor types www.seudominio.com.br at the browser to access your website.
Yes, because that’s how the internet works. In practice, your browser can only reach and download any website from an IP address.
With all other services (FTP, databaseemail, etc) is exactly the same.
When configuring in DNS zones an MX different from the default provided by your accommodation of Sites you indicate to everyone who sends and receives emails from yourdomain.com.br, which servers are authorized to respond by the service.
How is an external or remote MX server configured?
The configuration of the remote MX server is done by editing the DNS zones of your domain.
The procedure varies according to the control Panel of your hosting and which, despite the differences, consists of informing the nameserver and the priority. In some cases there will also be the possibility to change the TTL.
In addition to the nameserver, which we have already explained, priority is particularly important in cases where there is more than one MX server and indicates which nameserver should be used first.
The lower the priority number, the higher it will be. In other words, what is the order of use of the e-mail servers.
In the event that the first server fails or is unavailable for any reason, the next nameserver (higher priority number) will respond, and so on, for as many nameservers as there are.
If the email service you want to configure is Gmail, we have a tutorial on how to point MX to Google.
In the case of Outlook (Microsoft Office 365), the procedure is a little different and the nameserver will vary according to your domain.
The steps we indicate are for standard cPanel users. For other control panels, it is necessary to consult the technical support from your hosting:
- The first step is to add a TXT record for verification. This is a procedure Microsoft uses to make sure that you are in fact responsible for the domain. This entry has no other effect on how email or DNS zones work and can be removed after configuration is complete;
- You need to create a TXT-type entry by clicking on “Add Record” on the cPanel “DNS Zone Editor” page, with the following values:
- Name – yourdomain.com.br;
- TTL – 3600;
- Type – TXT;
- Registration – MS=msXXXXXXXX.(this information is provided by Microsoft and is unique to each domain).
- Once you have provided and checked the data, click on the “Save Record” or “Save Record” button;
- Return to Microsoft 365 and request that the record be searched, in the corresponding option;
- In the admin center, go to the “Domains > Settings” page. On the page that appears, find and click on the domain you are verifying. On the Configuration page, click on “Start configuration”;
- Then, on the “Verify Domain” page, check the “Verify” option. You may need to wait a few minutes for the scan to take place. Repeat the request at 30-minute intervals until successful;
- Once verification has taken place, registration will be provided by Microsoft to replace in place of your default MX in cPanel. Access it and click on the icon related to “DNS Zone Editor”;
- On the next page, click “Manage” and look for the entry where the type is MX. Click on “edit”, replacing the TTL with 3600, the priority with 0 and the destination with the record informed by Microsoft;
- Check the data and click on “Save Record” or “Save Record”;
- Next, configure the SPF and to do so, click on the “Add Record” button. Change the type to TXT and fill in the fields with the following data:
Note that the procedures vary according to the email service you wish to use, but in all cases, it consists of informing one or more nameservers, their respective priorities and the TTL (Time To Live).
How long does it take for MX settings to take effect?
After the changes there is no immediate effect. You have to wait for DNS propagation and it can take a few hours, but in extreme cases, more than 24 hours.
This time depends both on the TTL value that was previously configured for the entry, as well as on the providers used by each domain that exchanges emails with yours.
The email service itself will always be functional and messages sent to and from the account (Gmail or Outlook) will be properly delivered as before the change. In other words, DNS propagation only applies to accounts using the domain.
Therefore, it is recommended to wait for the propagation period before publicizing addresses using the domain.
Conclusion
Configuring a remote or external MX, when you have your own domain, but you want to use the servers and interface of a service like Gmail or Outlook.
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