Updating your domain's MX (Mail Exchange) records is what actually directs incoming email for your domain to Zoho Mail's servers, rather than wherever it was previously routed. Without correctly configured MX records, your domain can be verified and set up in Zoho Mail without ever actually receiving mail there.
The Standard MX Records
| Host/Domain | Mail Server | Priority |
|---|
| @ / Blank / Domain name | mx.zoho.com | 10 |
| @ / Blank / Domain name | mx2.zoho.com | 20 |
| @ / Blank / Domain name | mx3.zoho.com | 50 |
Important: The exact domain suffix (.com, .eu, .in, and so on) depends on which Zoho data centre your account is hosted in, and can differ from the generic values above. Always confirm the precise values for your specific domain from the Tools and Configurations section of your Zoho Mail Admin Console, rather than assuming the .com values apply universally.
Why All Three Records Matter
Mail is delivered to whichever MX record currently has the lowest priority number. The other records act as backups, only used if the primary server is temporarily unavailable, providing redundancy so a brief outage on Zoho's primary mail server doesn't stop you receiving email entirely.
Adding the Records
- Log in to your domain's DNS management panel, wherever your domain is registered or hosted.
- Add each MX record using the exact host, mail server, and priority values confirmed in your Zoho Mail Admin Console.
- Set the TTL (Time to Live) to the lowest available value if it's editable, so any further changes propagate more quickly.
- Save your changes.
The single most common cause of delivery problems: Having leftover MX records from a previous email provider still present alongside Zoho's records. Even with Zoho's MX records correctly added, conflicting records from an old provider, especially if they carry an equal or lower priority number, can cause emails to be delivered to the wrong place, or fail unpredictably. Remove every MX record not provided by Zoho before considering the setup complete.
Confirming It's Working
After DNS changes propagate, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, send a test email from an external account to confirm delivery. Zoho Mail's own Toolkit includes an MX lookup tool, letting you check the current live MX records for your domain directly rather than guessing whether propagation has completed.
Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you configure MX records correctly for your specific data centre and DNS provider, and troubleshoot conflicting records from a previous host.
Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.