MX Lookup

Our MX record lookup tool helps you check the MX records of any domain on the internet. You can easily access MX record details by entering the domain name into our online tool to start the lookup process.

Check MX Records

Our MX lookup tool allows users to enter any domain name and find its MX records. 

MX records are stored in the domain's DNS zone. They define the email servers that are responsible for receiving email messages for the domain.

Checking MX records is important as it lets you confirm whether or not the email servers are correctly configured. This allows you to ensure that emails sent by others to your domainare properly received and are not misdirected somewhere else.

Our MX records checker is completely free to use and does not require any sort of sign-up or registration. All you need to do is enter the domain hostname, and the MX records will be fetched.

How to Lookup MX Records Online 

Here are the steps that you need to follow to lookup Mail Exchange (MX) records.

  • To get started, open our "MX lookup tool" page
  • Then, click on the provided input field 
  • Enter the hostname in the input field
  • Click on the drop-down menu and select the DNS server through which you want to check the MX records
  • Once you have made your selection, click on the button to start the process

Understanding the Results of Our MX Checker

Once the lookup process is complete, you will be shown the MX record for the provided domain. Here is a guide to understanding the results, shown against an MX record check.

For clarification, we have provided an example of a Google MX record check done via the lookup tool.

  • Type: This field indicates the type of DNS record being shown. In this case, it will always be “MX”. 
  • Domain name: This field indicates the domain name that was entered by the user. In this case, it is “google.com”
  • TTL: This field indicates the Time to Live of the record. Every DNS record has a TTL that denotes the time after which it (the record) will be refreshed. Here, it is 170 seconds.
  • Preference: The “Preference” field shows the priority of the email servers. If an MX record contains more than one email server, the preference (or priority) shows which server will receive more emails. One thing to know about priority is that the lower its value, the higher it is. So a server with priority 10 has a higher value than one with priority 20.
  • Address: This field shows the hostname and IP address of the email server. The address shown in the example is smtp.google.com and the IP is 173.194.68.26.
  • Owner: This field indicates the owner of the email server. For example, Google’s email server is smtp.google.com, and the owner will be shown as “Google LLC” which is the organization’s name.

What Are the Reasons to Check MX Records?

Here are some of the reasons why you should look up MX records for your domain.

Ensuring the correct configuration of the records

Like other types of DNS records, it is important to periodically perform MX records check to make sure that they are correctly configured. If the MX records are not correctly configured, the emails to the domain won’t be able to land in the correct email servers. As such, the domain owner won’t be able to see them or respond to them.

Ensuring the correct priority of email servers

The priority describes which email server is primary, which one is secondary, and so on. The capabilities and limits of various email servers vary, which is why different priorities are set. This helps to make sure that no server is overloaded and no emails are discarded.

Our MX record checker can be used to periodically check the priorities of the email servers to make sure that they are correctly entered. 

Checking the TTL of the MX records

The TTL (Time to Live) is an important part of the MX record. It describes the amount of time that the record has to be kept in cache before being queried again by the authoritative DNS servers.

You can use our tool to check the TTL of the MX records and make sure that it is not set too high or too low.

FAQs

  • What is MX record?

An MX record, or Mail Exchange record, is a type of DNS record that directs incoming emails to the mail servers specified for a domain. These records ensure emails are delivered to the correct servers.

  • What is the MX record level?

The “level” in an MX record is the same thing as the “priority.” The priorities of the various email servers show which of them are primary and which of them are secondary.