What is an MX record, and what does the priority number do?

An MX record tells the rest of the internet which mail server receives email for your domain. Your email provider decides what it should say, so the right MX records are exactly the ones the provider gives you, and no others. The priority number only matters when there is more than one record: the lowest number is tried first. We do not pick a mail server for you, and we do not host mailboxes. The record points at the provider you have chosen.

The one exception is Quick setup for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, which fills in the record for you. More on that below.

What is an MX record?

Think of the domain as a street address and the MX record as the note at the post office saying where that address's email actually goes. The website and the email do not have to live in the same place. The MX record is the part that sends email to the right one.

In Sedes you find it on the Email tab of your domain. The table there has four columns: Subdomain, Priority, MX host and Status. The MX host is the mail server named in the record. Subdomain is @ when the record is for the domain itself, which is what you want for ordinary addresses like name@yourdomain.no.

If the table on the Email tab is empty, your domain has no MX record yet. The tab says "No MX records yet" and offers Quick setup or a manual record.

What does the priority on an MX record mean?

The priority is a preference number, and lower means more preferred. A server sending email to you tries the record with the lowest number first. If two records have the same number, the sender shares between them. If the preferred server does not answer, the sender tries the next one.

Here is an example with invented names. It is an illustration, not a recommendation:

For email to name@example.no, senders try mail1.example.net first, because 10 is lower than 20. mail2.example.net is the fall-back and only gets email if the first one is not reachable. Change both numbers to 10 and the two servers share the load instead.

• The priority must be a whole number, digits only. 0 is accepted. The field cannot be left empty.
• With just one MX record the number decides nothing, because there is nothing to put in order.
• If your provider gives you only a host and no number, leave the default. "Add MX host" starts a new row with Subdomain @ and Priority 10, and you fill in the host. If the provider does give a number, use theirs.

Which MX records should my domain have?

The ones your email provider lists, and nothing more. Copy them as the provider shows them, with their numbers if they give any.

• Write a host name. The value must be a host name such as mail1.example.net, never an IP address, and not a name that is itself an alias (a CNAME).
• Remove the old ones. MX records left from a previous provider send part of your email to the old place. When you switch, delete the old rows. Google says the same in its own setup help: remove any other MX records, or email might not work correctly.
• Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have a shortcut. Quick setup on the Email tab replaces the domain's other MX rows at @, adds the provider's record and adds the provider to your SPF record. Nothing is saved until you have reviewed the changes and applied them. For Google the host is smtp.google.com with priority 1. If you started with Google Workspace before 2023, your domain may use different values, so check what Google shows you. For Microsoft 365 the host is different for every domain. You copy it from the Microsoft 365 admin centre, under Settings, Domains, your domain, DNS records, and the priority is 0.

The click-by-click version, including what to do when you are moving away from another provider, is in Set up email on your domain. We do not repeat it here.

If you only run a website and no email on the domain, you may not need an MX record at all. Without one, senders fall back to the domain's address records, which are rarely a mail server, so email has nowhere useful to go. Records for the website do not touch the MX records. If you are unsure which website record you need, see A record or CNAME record.

Why is no email arriving although the MX record says Valid?

Because Valid is not a delivery check. The Status badge only says that the saved row passes the form check. It tells you nothing about whether the mail server works or whether email reaches it. A misspelt host still shows Valid. Unsaved means a row you have added but not saved yet, and Invalid means the row fails the form check.

When email still does not come, go through these in order:

1. Old records are still there. Look for MX rows from a previous provider next to the new ones, and remove them.
2. The domain does not use our nameservers. If it points to other nameservers, records saved in the Email or DNS tab have no effect. The tab tells you so and points to Nameservers. Fix that first, or make the change at whoever runs those nameservers.
3. The change has not spread yet. After an MX change it can take time before every sender sees the new value. Google says it can take up to 72 hours for new MX records to be recognised; for other providers, their own setup page is the place to look.
4. The host or priority was copied wrong. Compare each row with what the provider shows, character by character.
5. A CNAME at the domain itself. A CNAME at @ collides with the NS and MX records there, and we warn you about it when you add one.

If the records match what your provider says and email is still missing, the provider's own support is the fastest next step, because they can see whether email reaches their servers. We cannot see inside your mailbox. If the problem is in our Email tab, such as a row that will not save or a status you do not understand, write to hei@sedes.no.

Does forwarding a web address break my email?

No. Forwarding a web address does not touch MX records. How forwarding differs from using your own address is in Forwarding or your own address.

How this actually works

When someone sends email to name@example.no, their mail server looks at the part after the @ and asks DNS for the domain's MX records. It gets back a list of host names with priority numbers, sorts them with the lowest number first, and tries to deliver to the first one. If that fails, it moves on down the list. A sender is expected to try at least two addresses where there are that many.

An MX record holds a host name and not an IP address, and the name must not itself be an alias.

The MX record decides where new email goes. Moving email you already have is a matter for your providers. Set up email on your domain covers the setup.

With no MX record at all, the standard tells senders to try the domain's own address records instead. That is why a website-only domain usually has no working mail.

For the other records that make email work (SPF, DKIM and the rest), and for what the DNS tab does in general, see Your domain's DNS settings explained.