MX Record Checker
Find the mail servers a domain uses, in priority order.
The domain to look up
How this lookup works
MX records tell other mail servers where to deliver a domain’s email, each with a priority number. The lower the number, the more preferred the server. This tool queries two public resolvers directly from your browser and lists what they return.
What the results mean
- Priority
- Lower is preferred. Mail is delivered to the lowest-numbered server that responds; the higher ones are backups.
- No MX records
- The domain has not published mail servers. Either it does not receive email, or it relies on an A record as a fallback — which is discouraged.
Common problems and fixes
- Mail is bouncing despite correct MX records
- MX records only say where to deliver. The servers listed still have to accept mail for the domain, which is a separate configuration on the mail platform — a domain added to DNS but not verified inside the provider will have perfect MX records and reject everything. Check the domain is fully set up there before touching DNS again.
- Two resolvers return different MX records
- A change is still propagating, and that is genuinely useful to know rather than a fault in either resolver. Mail will be delivered inconsistently until the old records expire from every cache. Wait out the TTL you had set before the change, then re-check.
- The priority numbers look wrong
- Lower is more preferred, which reads backwards to most people the first time. A server at priority 10 is tried before one at 20. The absolute values carry no meaning — only their order does — so 1 and 2 behave identically to 10 and 20.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there several MX records?
Redundancy. If the preferred server is unreachable, sending mail servers fall back to the next priority. Large providers publish several so email is not lost during an outage.
Does an MX record mean email is working?
No. It means the domain has told the world where to deliver mail. Whether those servers actually accept and route it is a separate question this tool does not test.
Can a domain receive mail without MX records?
Technically yes: senders fall back to the A record if no MX exists, which is a legacy behaviour still in the standard. In practice it is a bad idea — it sends mail to your web server, some senders no longer implement the fallback, and it makes the setup look misconfigured to receivers assessing your domain.
Why do all my MX records point at one provider?
Because mail providers run the redundancy for you. Several hostnames at different priorities, all within the same platform, give failover across their infrastructure while keeping delivery in one place. Splitting MX records between two independent providers is possible and rarely wise, since only one holds the mailboxes.
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