MX (Mail Exchange) records instruct the internet where email for your domain should be delivered. While MX records do not send out emails themselves, they ensure that incoming mail is routed to the correct destination. As of 2025, it remains crucial for all mailbox and email providers to see consistent, correctly set MX records, helping to protect your email flow, manage bounces, and safeguard your sender reputation.
This guide will walk you through setting or updating MX records on Bluehost, with practical steps, ready-to-use templates, and validation checks. We’ll also cover best practices for ensuring your emails get delivered as expected.
Identifying where your DNS zone is managed is the first and most important step. You must edit your records where your nameservers currently point. For many domains, this is Bluehost, but if you use services such as Cloudflare or any other DNS host, edits must be made there instead.
Obtain the specific MX record hostnames and priorities directly from your chosen email provider. It’s important not to guess, copy all values precisely, including any trailing dots or unique tokens, and note the TTL (Time to Live) they recommend. Most services suggest a TTL of 3600 seconds for reliability.
Never mix MX records from multiple providers (for example, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 together). This causes unpredictable mail routing. Only use MX records for the provider you actively use for email.
Add all five records, using the specified priorities as shown below.
ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. Priority 1ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. Priority 5ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. Priority 5ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. Priority 10ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. Priority 10TTL: 3600Host: @Your MX value is unique to your tenant. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to the Settings menu and select Domains. Here, you’ll find your domain’s exact MX target in the MX Record section. Replace the sample below with the real value from your account.
your-domain-key.mail.protection.outlook.com. Priority 0 or 10TTL: 3600Host: @Each Microsoft 365 account uses only one MX record, based on your unique tenant token, do not copy generic values from others.
If you use Bluehost’s own email hosting, the MX record usually points to your domain’s mail server:
mail.yourdomain.com. Priority 10TTL: 3600Host: @Make sure you also have an A record for mail.yourdomain.com pointing to your server’s IP address. If you’re unsure about the correct name or IP, contact Bluehost support for clarification.
Once you update MX records, changes begin to spread (propagate) throughout the internet. Changes usually start propagating within an hour, but full propagation can take up to 24–48 hours because of DNS caching. Remember, setting a lower TTL (Time to Live) can only speed up future changes; it doesn’t affect how long your current update takes to appear everywhere.
dig MX yourdomain.com or nslookup -type=mx yourdomain.com.If email delivery fails, examine any bounce messages you receive carefully. New email provider rules apply in 2025, if you encounter issues, review the most common email bouncing reasons in 2025 and take corrective action quickly.
MX records play a crucial role in receiving mail for your domain and processing bounces. They also influence certain sender verification checks, many receiving servers will expect the domain in your email’s envelope-from address to have a valid MX or A record. Missing or incorrect MX records can make your domain appear suspicious to these checks.
Bear in mind that MX records alone do not authenticate your emails. You still need Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) to fully secure your outgoing mail and build trust with receivers. Align these records with the sending domain for best results, and stick to one main domain identity for cleaner reputation signals.
p=none and monitor the reports; strengthen it later as you gain confidence.Paired with DNS or MX changes, warming up your sending patterns is important. Gradually increasing your email volume helps mailbox providers recognize and trust your domain’s behavior. Using automated tools to “warm up” your email, by simulating real activity such as opening and replying to messages, builds a better sender reputation over time. Consider using a service like Mailwarm, which leverages a dedicated network of active inboxes. Alongside proper setup of SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and clean MX records, this practice helps prevent deliverability issues as you scale. You can stop the warm-up process once your usual sending volumes have stabilized.
Technically, you can send email even if the envelope-from domain has no MX record. However, it’s strongly recommended to have a valid MX or at least an A record on that domain, it helps with bounce handling and increases trust with receiving servers.
Most updates begin propagating within an hour, but it can take up to 48 hours for all global DNS caches to fully update.
Yes, always remove MX records from previous providers after migration. Only keep the entries that correspond to your current active service.
Absolutely. You can assign unique MX records to subdomains by setting the Host field to the subdomain, such as sales.yourdomain.com.
Always follow your provider’s instructions. Lower numbers indicate higher priority, never guess or improvise MX priorities.
Set your MX records carefully, validate your authentication records, and gradually ramp up your email sending. If you’d like an expert to review your DNS and email deliverability posture, our team is ready to help. Speak with an email deliverability specialist for added confidence as you move forward.
Mixing MX records from different providers leads to unpredictable mail routing, risking bounce backs and lost emails. Stick to one provider to maintain a clear and efficient mail flow.
Absolutely, leaving outdated MX records can cause split routing and delivery issues. Purge them to ensure all emails route correctly and efficiently.
Ignoring priority settings for MX records can lead to inefficient mail routing and delivery failures. Adhering to your provider's specified priorities ensures reliability and proper load balancing.
Yes, incorrect MX records make your domain look unreliable and can obstruct the receipt of incoming email. Ensure they are precise to maintain a robust email reputation.
A low TTL allows for quicker propagation of DNS changes, which is crucial when adapting to new settings. This minimizes downtime and improves responsiveness to changes.
Absolutely. Without DNS authority, any changes you make will be ineffective. Identifying the right DNS manager prevents unnecessary complications and errors.
No, subdomains require their unique MX configurations to effectively route their specific email needs. Treat them as independent entities to avoid potential conflicts and inefficiencies.
Relying solely on MX records leaves outgoing emails vulnerable to spoofing and phishing. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC provide a security layer that validates and authenticates outgoing mail, reinforcing trust with recipients.