Where's the correct MX records? What's my SPF? How to get started with MXroute?

#1

I just bought this new service, but nothing works. Dude, where’s my DNS records? :slight_smile:

I found some DNS records in DirectAdmin/the control panel, but nothing seems to work/makes sense.

How to get this email service up and running?

(You see, I was in a rush and just ordered this stuff and never read the vital information presented to me during the ordering process. :stuck_out_tongue: I’m also lazy and probably not going to search myself to find this answer here, either :wink:)

#2

When you signed up, you got an email titled Important Account Information. Check junk mail folder if you didn’t. You can also find it in the portal, from the menu titled “Hello, Your Name” click “Email History”.

In this email you find correct MX and SPF records.

Short description of how to setup (applicable to current services using DirectAdmin, if you’re on an older cPanel server, DKIM is more complicated and has it’s own tutorial):

  1. Add domain and create email accounts at MXroute server
  2. If applicable: Sync mailboxes from old host to new host using a tool like imapsync (Google it or see other posts here.)
  3. Set MX records to point to MXroute (to redirect incoming email to MXroute)
  4. Set SPF record (to allow MXroute servers to send for your domain)
  5. Setup DKIM, copy from DirectAdmin and paste at your DNS provider (see other posts in here or MXroutehelp for details. Ask in chat for assistanse
  6. If you want webmail and mail hostnames for this domain: Remove existing records for these and create new CNAME records pointing to MXroute server
  7. Verify DNS propagation using something like DNStools.ws. (Beware that if old records had high TTL, like 86400, it can take a full day before caches worldwide are cleared.) Then run Lets Encrypt to create SSL cert, remember to deselect yourdomain.tld and just leave mail and webmail selected.
  8. If applicable, repeat step 2 (sync last changes)
  9. Test using mail-tester.com

(If you signed up for a reseller account, the email is titled Important Reseller Information, and you really need to check out the tutorials mentioned.)