Troubleshoot MX records

Sometimes, you can have trouble setting up business email addresses for users. If your users aren’t receiving email at a new Google Workspace address, and you think you made a mistake entering your MX records, here are some ways to verify and fix any errors.

Step 1: Wait 72 hours for the records to change

It can take up to 72 hours for changes to MX records to go into effect. If it’s been less than 3 days since you set up your email with Google Workspace, wait to see if your new MX records work before troubleshooting. If you check your records before they’ve had time to change, you’ll see your old records.

Step 2: Check that your MX records are correct

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Check the MX records that are applied to your primary domain

Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
In the Admin console, go to Menu AppsGoogle WorkspaceGmail.
Click Setup.

Under MX Records, check the records that are applied to your primary domain.

If you started using Google Workspace in 2023 or later, you have one MX record—SMTP.GOOGLE.COM.

If you started using Google Workspace before 2023, you should have the 5 MX records shown in the following table:

Name/Host/Alias*	Priority	Value/Answer/Destination
Blank or @	1	ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Blank or @	5	ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Blank or @	5	ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Blank or @	10	ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Blank or @	10	ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM

* Domain hosts use different labels for the name and value fields. Some hosts also require a period at the end of the server name.

(Optional) If your MX records don’t match the values shown, get host-specific instructions for changing them.
Tip: If you're having trouble sending or receiving email, try adding a period at the end of your MX records. (They should look like this, for example: ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.)

Check your MX records using an MX lookup tool

If you checked the records applied to your primary domain and couldn’t fix the problem, you can look up your MX records to see if there’s a problem with your DNS records configuration. A problem with the records can affect mail delivery to your domain.

Go to the Google Admin Toolbox Dig tool.
In the Name box, enter your domain name without www. (example.com).
Click MX.
You’ll receive a report on your domain’s MX records. If they don’t match the previous table, go to Activate Gmail for Google Workspace (registrar-specific steps) to get host-specific instructions for changing them.

Check your DNS configuration with the Check MX tool

Use the Check MX tool to find common misconfigurations in your MX DNS records. Use the tool to verify the current status of your domain. For more information, go to Google Workspace diagnostic tools.

Step 3: Add or remove the @ sign

A common MX record error that can affect the delivery of your email is the entry in the Name, Host, or Alias column. When you add the MX records to your DNS records with your domain host, your host might require an @ sign in this column, or they might want the column left blank. Go to Activate Gmail for Google Workspace (registrar-specific steps) to see what to enter in this column.

If you don’t see your domain host in the instructions list, contact them for clarification. Or, try adding the @ sign or leaving the column blank. Then, after 72 hours, check the records again to see if it helped.

If your records look correct and you’re still not receiving mail, test the rest of your setup using the I’m not receiving mail troubleshooter.

Fix other email problems

If your messages are being rejected, go to Troubleshooting for senders with email delivery issues.
To help prevent spoofing and spam, go to Set up SPF.

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